Setting Up Categories
To set up your Departments navigate to Configuration > Items
You should see the list of departments that you set up previously. We're going to add categories to those departments now by clicking on the department you want to edit and then clicking Add.
You will be taken to a new screen where you can add/edit your categories.
Tip: You'll definitely need to create separate categories for items and their modifiers (for example, specialty sandwiches will be one category, sandwich toppings another). You can't combine modifiers from one department into another, so if you've set up a set of veggies for your pizzas, you'll need to create a separate category of veggies for your sandwiches. You may want to divide these further for reporting purposes, or for easier set up (group similarly priced items into categories, so you can default pricing from the category level). Keep in mind that these categories may flow into your online ordering set up, so it can be useful for the consumer to see modifiers broken out into categories of cheeses, sauces, meats, veggies, etc.
- Category Name: Name your category
- Display Name: This can be the same as the category name. It is what will display on the list and to customers.
- Description: This description may appear online, so it's good to explain to your customers what they can expect.
- PLU: If you have one enter it in here as well. Don't worry if you don't have one - the system will assign one for you.
- Corporate: Check the "Corporate" box if you are building a master menu that may be used by many locations.
- Abbr Name: The abbreviation will auto populate once you enter in the category name
- Item Based Pricing: This is the most common option to use.
- Topping Based Pricing: Typically used only for make your own pizzas where the more toppings you add, the less or more expensive each topping is.
- This is a Topping: Checking this box allows the customer to add this item as a modifier on top of another item within a department. If the category you're setting up is a base item then you would not use this option.
- Revenue Center: This is used to organize categories for server sales reporting. Click Add New to add your own revenue centers such as "Food", "Alcohol", "Retail".
- Verify Customer Age: Check this box if this item requires age verification such as liquor.
- Active Category: Check this box if you want this category to be active.
- Not Available Online: Check this box if you do not want to include this category for online purchases.
- Duplicate Items: If you have other categories and items already set up, you can copy those items into this new category. For example, if you've already set up a list of sauces in your pizza department, and you want to make the same sauces available for your appetizers.
Tip: If you're starting from scratch, the next article you will want to read is Setting Up Pricing.
Got questions you can't find the answer to here? Let us know so we can improve the help system!