Disclaimer: This article is for Lunchbox 2.0 customers only. If your dashboard header looks the same as below, you are in the right place:
Note: Lunchbox can only send 1 menu to 3rd Party Marketplaces for Order Aggregation.
Lunchbox Menus are pulled into the Admin Dashboard through two types of Menu Syncing: Initial Menu Syncs, and Subsequent Menu Syncs.
NOTE: Lunchbox does not automatically import newly created menu GUIDs. If you wish to add a new menu you must reach out to Lunchbox support, provide the new menu GUID to [email protected] and the support team will assist in getting the new menu setup.
Sequencing multiple menus requires a ticket to Engineering so communicate the order that you want the menus to appear in the support request and Lunchbox will take it from there.
For faster menu updates we recommend adding new categories and items to menus that exist in Lunchbox already. In Toast simply add a new category to a menu that exists in Lunchbox, adjust your targets accordingly and publish to all affected restaurants. These new categories will automatically appear in the menu. Items can easily be turned on and categories can easily be adjusted with a simple drag and drop.
Importing Multiple Menus is supported through the Toast and Lunchbox integration through the use of Additional Modes that can be implemented by a Lunchbox Team Member. Every single menu needs to be assigned a unique mode by location. Example: 4 Menus 4 different Modes. Click here to learn more about modes.
Lunchbox recommends only having one menu imported per dining type whenever possible.
WARNING: Toast is a penny perfect and structure perfect POS that requires every item selection to match price and placement within a menu to transmit to POS properly. The following changes to your menu can cause future orders to fail to send to Toast…
Item & Modifier price changes
Category, Item, Modifier Group and Modifier Option Removals
Moving item selections between menu categories
Changes to Tax Rates
Should an order fail to send to POS you will need to manually complete the order in Lunchbox and then manually add the order to the POS. Click here for instructions on how to handle orders that fail to send to POS. https://support.lunchbox.io/hc/en-us/articles/14715970287127-Telephone-Escalated-Support-Order-Status-Workflow
ADDITIONAL NOTE: For clients who are not on MLM once you have built your menu in a single location reach out to Toast Support via 617 682 0225 and a support agent can you help you copy this menu to the other non MLM locations over the phone.
Locating your Menus GUID
Step 1: Click Menus
Step 2: Click into the Blue Menu Link
Step 3: See below to locate your menus GUID!
Initial Menu Sync
This is the first time that Lunchbox pulls your menu(s) into the Lunchbox Dashboard. It is important to make sure that your menu items are set up properly in Toast before the sync is started.
Once the New Menu GUID is Added by a Lunchbox Team member the initial menu sync includes:
Menus
Name, Menu Groups and Menu Subgroups (Subgroups Appear as Menu Categories)
Note: Menus are assigned to locations using the Admin Dashboard and setup during menu configuration.
Menu Groups
Name, items in the group, Item subgroups (Subgroups Appear as Menu Categories), location availability and Category Sequence.
Note: Subgroup functionality is supported differently in Enterprise.
In Lunchbox 2.0 subgroups will appear as a Menu Category not as a single item.
Descriptions for Menu Groups are not yet supported through the integration. These will need to be manually transferred into Lunchbox.
Menu Items
New Menu Items - Name, description, price, image, location availability and modifier option groups
Menu Option Groups
Name, menu modifier options, modifiers in the group, min/max selections, location availability and modifier ordering priority.
Note: We do not support importing modifier groups that contain some modifiers that are multiselect and some that are not. With the multiselect functionality, all modifiers have to be multiselect or no modifiers can be selected more than once. We do not support Modifier Overriding the Duplicate Modifiers Setting.
Note: We do not support the same item inheriting a modifier group from one category and not from another.
Note: Menu Option Groups named ‘Size’ do not properly import to Lunchbox. We recommend asking the restaurant if they have any groups with this name in Toast prior to the initial menu import and rename them accordingly.
WARNING! When naming modifier groups it is important to NOT use the word Size. If you do, this will cause the pick list to import as a size based pricing modifier group. Which will break the integration. If you need to create a modifier group with modifiers that are not based on size based pricing strategies we recommend using the word “Sizes” or “Choose your Size”. If you are making modifers that are size based we recommend changing the pricing strategy to Size Based Pricing.
Note: Some restaurants may want to hide certain modifier groups from the menu in Lunchbox. Example: Service Modifier Group containing kitchen specific prompts that are for in store use only. Modifier groups CANNOT be hidden from the Menu if they contain Default Modifiers or if the modifier group is set to required.
Warning!: When offering a modifier item where the same item is being chosen more than once between modifier groups with nested modifier selections. The modifier and the nested modifier group should be different.
Example: Choose 2 Tacos
>Mod Group 1: Choose your first taco
>>Modifier 1: Taco Choice 1 (GUID SHOULDN'T MATCH)
>>>Nested Mod Group 1: Choose your First Tortilla Type
>>>>Tortilla (GUID CAN MATCH)
>Mod Group 2: Choose your second taco (Items in mod group 2 should be a different with a different modifier)
>>Modifier 2: Taco Choice 2 (GUID SHOULDN'T MATCH)
>>>Nested Mod Group 2: Choose your Second Tortilla Type
>>>>Tortilla (GUID CAN MATCH)
Menu Modifiers
Name, description, price, location availability, menu modifier groups, default modifiers, duplicate modifiers setting, default modifier overrides and modifiers within those groups. ^^
Note: Calories are not currently imported from Toast and must be maintained on the admin dashboard.
Addtional Note: Priority can be adjusted on the admin dashboard to adjust the sort order.
Subsequent Menu Syncs
Subsequent menu syncs are any sync placed after the initial onboarding phase. These include new and previously imported menus, modifiers and items. Please read the following list of settings included in each of these syncs.
Note: Menu items on subsequent syncs are imported into Lunchbox as inactive. To activate Menu Items simply go to the menus tab on the Lunchbox admin Dashboard. Find the item in the menu by clicking the plus sign to the left of the category and then click the red inactive hyperlink.
Menus
New Menus - Name, Menu Groups and Menu Subgroups (Subgroups Appear as Menu Categories)
Previously Imported Menus - All of the above unless otherwise specified.
Menu Item Groups (Subgroups Appear as Menu Categories)
New Menu Item Group - Name, items in the group, Item subgroups (Subgroups Appear as Menu Categories), location availability and Category Sequence.
Previously Imported Menu Item Group - All of the above unless otherwise specified. Also, we will not overwrite any manually overwritten sequence.
Note: Subgroup functionality is supported differently in Enterprise.
In Lunchbox 2.0 subgroups will appear as a Menu Category not as a single item.
Descriptions for Menu Groups are not yet supported through the integration. These will need to be manually transferred into Lunchbox.
Menu Items
New Menu Items - Name, description, price, image, location availability and modifier option groups
Previously Imported Menu Items - All of the above unless otherwise specified. Also, we will not overwrite any manually overwritten sequence.
Menu Option Groups
New Menu Option Groups - Name, menu modifier options, modifiers in the group, min/max selections, location availability and modifier ordering priority^
Previously Imported Menu Option Groups - All of the above unless otherwise specified except Name. Also, we will not overwrite any manually overwritten sequence.
Note: We do not support importing modifier groups that contain some modifiers that are multiselect and some that are not. The multiselect functionality has to be all modifiers are multiselect or no modifiers can be selected more than once. We do not support Modifier Overriding the Duplicate Modifiers Setting.
Note: We do not support the same item GUIDs shared between two categories inheriting different modifier groups from one category and not from another.
Warning!: Some restaurants may want to hide certain modifier groups from the menu in Lunchbox. Example: Service Modifier Group containing kitchen specific prompts that are for in store use only. Modifier groups CANNOT be hidden from the Menu if they contain Default Modifiers or if the modifier group is set to required.
Additional Warning!: When offering a modifier item where the same item is being chosen more than once between modifier groups with nested modifier selections. The modifier and the nested modifier group should be different.
Example: Choose 2 Tacos
>Mod Group 1: Choose your first taco
>>Modifier 1: Taco Choice 1 (GUID SHOULDN'T MATCH)
>>>Nested Mod Group 1: Choose your First Tortilla Type
>>>>Tortilla (GUID CAN MATCH)
>Mod Group 2: Choose your second taco (Items in mod group 2 should be a different with a different modifier)
>>Modifier 2: Taco Choice 2 (GUID SHOULDN'T MATCH)
>>>Nested Mod Group 2: Choose your Second Tortilla Type
>>>>Tortilla (GUID CAN MATCH)
Menu Modifiers:
New Menu Modifiers - Name, description, price, image, location availability, menu modifier groups, default modifiers, default modifier overrides and modifiers within those groups.
Previously Imported Menu Modifiers - All of the above unless otherwise specified. Also, we will not overwrite any manually overwritten sequence.
Item and Sequence Priority can be overridden on the Dashboard for sequence and profitability.
Menu Building Rules
The following is a list of menu-related rules that must be adhered to on the Toast Admin Dashboard before doing the initial menu sync. There are a few Rules when configuring the menu in order to make sure it communicates properly with Lunchbox.
Make sure to read through all of these carefully before proceeding to edit or build your menu.
RULE 1: Price It Right - Toast Menu & Modifier Pricing Limitations
Supported Toast Pricing Structures
Base Price, Size Price, Menu Specific Price, Location Specific Price, Location Pricing Overriden to Menu Specific Price
NOTE: We have two options for uplifting a menu price for order aggregation, Menu Specific Pricing & Uplift Pricing sent through an Open Price Tax Included Menu Item.
When employing Menu Specific Price this requires pulling in both Menus into Lunchbox and using modes for the varying Menu Types to ensure the menu imports properly. Toast requires us to send the exact price that's in the POS with this method.
When using Lunchbox Uplift for Toast the same menu can be used and pricing will be sent to the POS through as an Open $ Tax Included Menu Item. Check out section 2h - Create An Uplift Open $ Tax Included Menu Item to learn more!
WARNING! When naming modifier groups it is important to NOT use the word Size. If you do, this will cause the pick list to import as a size based pricing modifier group. Which will break the integration. If you need to create a modifier group with modifiers that are not based on size based pricing strategies we recommend using the word “Sizes” or “Choose your Size”. If you are making modifers that are size based we recommend changing the pricing strategy to Size Based Pricing.
ADDITIONAL WARNING! Size-based menu item sizes should never have the same exact name on the same menu item.
Each Size name by menu item should be unique as shown below. See an example of the correct format below.
We DO support Modifier Pricing Overrides.
We DO support Modifier Group No charge pricing strategies & Each modifier has a unique price.
We DO support Modifier Group All Modifiers share the same price. Fixed Price & Size Price.
We DO support Fixed Tax Rates on Menu Items
Example: .05 bottle tax rates.
Unsupported Toast Pricing Structures
We DO NOT support Time Specific Price, Open Price
We DO NOT support Menu Group Pricing Inheritance, Menu Group Provides Pricing
We DO NOT support Substitution Pricing
We DO NOT support Modifier Sequence-Based Pricing or Size-Sequence Based Pricing
NOTE: Menu Items should never be based on unsupported pricing structures on the item level, on the restaurant group level, or on the modifier level.
WARNING: When viewing the GET Locations Menu Payload we do not support.
"defaultOptionsSubstitutionPricing": "YES"
Modifier Sequence Pricing Alternative
We recommend using two separate groups, free options in the first group, and limiting the amount that can be ordered in the group. Then create a second group with additional charges. The GUIDs will have to be separate for all of those options to support the pricing change.
Modifier Specific Pricing Limitations
Adjusting prices through price inheriting (or on the outside layer of modifier groups) is not yet supported.
NOTE: When creating Popular Addition modifier groups under a menu item, once imported from Toast, it is important to set these picklist types to Upsells.
Popular Additions Modifier Group Category Lunchbox Setup
When creating modifier groups inside of menu items that are independent of the menu item itself these must be additionally configured in the admin dashboard to have a Pick List Type called Upsell.
Example: Hamburger with a modifier group that includes full-priced items like desserts, beverages or sides.
To adjust the pick list type.
Step 1: Click the small blue papers.
Step 2: Click the name of the modifier group note for pizza this will appear multiple times. Setting one will fix them all.
Step 3: Adjust the Pick List Type to Upsell and click Submit.
Note: When configuring menu items with Upsells and Portions. Upsells will sort to above the Portions based Modifier Groups when displayed on the KDS or on Kitchen Tickets.
RULE 2: Multiple Menus Require Multiple Unique Modes in Lunchbox
When setting up a location it is important to set up unique Modes in the Lunchbox Admin Dashboard for each menu. We will assign these during onboarding. See this link for Setting up Modes in the Admin Dashboard.
Note: We recommend naming each mode the name of the menu for easier assignment to places where modes are visible like discounts, service charges etc. Also Lunchbox Loyalty In Store Lookup requires having both your In Store Menu and Lunchbox Menu imported into our dashboard.
Example Mode to Menu Setup
RULE 3: Don’t Create Redundancy
In order for items to import correctly it is very important that we avoid creating menu redundancy in nested layers and throughout the menu.
Don’t have a nested modifier reference an item that contains the parent modifier. (it creates a circular reference) For example, do not nest item (GUID 123) as a modifier inside of itself (GUID 123)
RULE 4: Subgroup Limitations
Subgroups in the Lunchbox 2.0 look like a menu category. Also don't go two layers deep with subgroups. This means that you should not put a subgroup inside of a subgroup. If you do, by default Lunchbox drops the parent subgroup and just flattens both into one.
Example:
Group: Pizza
Subgroup: → Chicago Style
Subgroup in a subgroup: → → Large Pizza Chicago Style 1
Item in a subgroup: →→→
Subgroup in a subgroup: → → Medium Pizza Chicago Style 2
In Lunchbox becomes:
NOTE: Toast Subgroups present as a category with the 2.1 integration. These cannot be turned in menu items as they did in 1.0.
RULE 5: Image Sizing Requirements
It is important that menu images be uploaded in the proper format. If images aren’t uploaded properly, it can cause resolution problems, scaling issues, and delayed image loading times. Please follow these guidelines carefully:
Menu Item Images
Size: 1280x720px; landscape (16:9) ratio
File: JPG recommended or PNG
160kb or smaller
Menu Modifier Images are Supported
Size: 720x720px; landscape (1:1) ratio
File: JPG recommended or PNG
160kb or smaller
RULE 6: Target Your Menus, Items, and Modifiers Properly
Menu Items should be owned and targeted to the parent restaurant group in order to ensure that all locations have visibility. The three restaurant groups listed below are examples of how to limit menu visibility:
Parent Group/All Locations Target - Includes all restaurants. This means all restaurants will have access to this Menu or Menu Item.
Region Group Target - Includes restaurants within a specific region.
Location-Specific Target - This will allow one restaurant to see this menu item.
NOTE: When you want to limit visibility on an item, the Owner needs to be set to the parent restaurant group and the target needs to be set to the subgroup, which should be added to the Parent Restaurant Group in the restaurant group section of Toast to ensure visibility.
WARNING: This menu will be required to have Lunchbox import three menus and assign each menu to that individual mode. This will help to ensure that the correct Items are being viewed for each smaller subset of the menu.
NOTE: Restaurants using Smaller Region Groups or Location Specific Targets within the same Master Menu will require their own Mode and Menu be setup on Lunchbox to ensure the correct menu items are visible to the correct restaurants.
RULE 7: Copying Menu Items & Modifiers
Toast has two ways to copy Menu Groups, Items and Modifiers: Copy & Deep Copy.
Copy: Refers to when the item is copied and a separate GUID has been created for that new item or modifier. Make sure all of your functionality settings have been set and they will copy over to the new menu item of modifier on Toast as well.
Deep Copy: Refers to when the item is copied and a separate GUID has been created for that new item or modifier as well as all items groups and modifiers nested within that item as well.
Deep Copies are made when the Make Deep Copy Checkbox has been checked. This is most typically used for copying modifiers without nested modifiers inside of them to ensure the external & internal layer of the modifier are copied.
WARNING: This is not recommended for Menu Groups that contain Menu Items with Modifiers and nested modifiers or Modifier Groups With Modifiers with nested modifiers. Don’t use Deep Copy unless you intend to make a copy of every item and modifier nested below the group or item! Selecting Deep Copy will create a copy of the selected Menu Groups and any items, subgroups, modifier groups, and modifiers it contains. Any changes made to these copies will not impact the originals.
Always double-check where your targets are when copying menu items, modifiers.
RULE 8: Maintain Fewer GUIDs for Inventory Depletion & 86ing
When building your menu for simplified depletion and 86ing purposes it is important to try and maintain a small number of GUIDs on like items. (For example, a modifier group containing a side portion of fries that is also sold as an item should have the same GUID across both the side item and the side item built as a modifier.)
NOTES:
Exceptions include price changes and portion changes unless you are using an external party to interpret the information into your inventory system. These instances are required to have separate GUIDs and will have to be manually toggled off across multiple GUIDs.
When nesting items as modifiers inside of a modifier group, it is important that any layers nested below that item not have any additional items as modifiers. The second layer of modifiers should be modifiers only.
(Example: I want to sell popular additions on an item. So I add a brownie item as a modifier. Any modifiers nested below the brownie cannot have items as modifiers, they must be modifiers only.) The only way that Lunchbox can process a request like this is if all modifiers in the second popular additions group are modifiers not items as modifiers.
Item
>Modifier Group
>>Item As Modifier
>>>Modifier Group
>>>>Modifiers Only
RULE 9: Size Based Menu Items, Portions and Size Based Modifiers
The following is the recommended setup for Pizza Restaurants that sell pizza of varying sizes with size-based ingredients.
Warning: You will need to let ENG know that the restaurant will be using Toast Size Based Pricing and submit a ticket labeled Enable Size Pricing - Toast - [Client Name] or note this requirement when you submit your admin chain request.
Note: This setup uses…
Portions -
1st HALFWHOLE2nd HALF(Must Match Exactly for Proper Pizza Placement)Size based items & modifiers -
SmallMediumLargeX-LargeFor items that have sizes enabled the sequence, spelling and punctuation must match exactly for every size that is entered into the POS.
THIS IS AN INDUSTRY REQUIREMENT FOR PROPER MATCHING.
See below for examples of matching text and sequence.
Creating Portions
Note: Portions are currently in limited release with Toast. Simply request that your Toast Rep have the portions added to your account or you can also call in or message into support and have the feature activated. Sending them the link below can help guide them in getting it setup.
Step 1: On the Toast Admin Dashboard homepage, scroll down and click Portions under the Menu section.
Step 2: Click +Add button
Step 3: Add the text 1st HALF to the Name field and click Save.
Step 4: Repeat steps 2 & 3 and add the text WHOLE & 2nd HALF to the Name field and click Save.
Step 5: Click Save on the Portions listing page. Publish to all locations once the menu is completed.
Applying Portions To Menu Items and Modifiers
NOTE: Don’t have modifiers or modifier groups that use portions nested inside of items that don’t have portions enabled. This will cause duplicate placement modifiers to appear.
Step 1: On the Toast Admin Dashboard homepage, scroll down and click Advanced Properties under the Menu section.
Step 2: Locate and click the blue link of the Menu Item you wish to apply portions.
Step 3: Scroll down to Portions and check the newly created portions that you wish to apply to the Menu Item and click Save.
Step 4: For Modifier Groups that contain ingredients that can be added to half or the whole pizza, scroll down and click into the modifier group blue link.
Step 5: Scroll down to Enable Portions? and click Yes, this modifier group will appear under portions. Then click Save
Set Up Multi-Select Size Based Pricing on Items and Corresponding Modifiers
NOTE: Multi-Select Pizza Modifiers are now supported on Web & App!
Step 1: Set the item to Size Price
Step 2: Click the blue link of the modifier groups that house the size-based toppings.
Step 3: Scroll down to Properties and set the following…
Multi-select? - More than one modifier can be chosen
Duplicate Modifiers - By default, the same modifier can be added more than once in this group (Overridable on the modifier).
Note: We do not support importing modifier groups that contain some modifiers that are multiselect and some that are not. The multiselect functionality has to be all modifiers are multiselect or no modifiers can be selected more than once. We do not support Modifier Overriding the Duplicate Modifiers Setting.
Step 4: Scroll down to Size Configuration and select Modifier sizes match item sizes and do not prompt for size then click Save.
Step 5: Click into all of the toppings modifiers inside of the modifier category and set to size-based pricing.
Size based items & modifiers -
SmallMediumLargeX-LargeFor items that have sizes enabled the sequence, spelling and punctuation must match exactly for every size that is entered into the POS.
Be sure to click Save.
Location-Based & Size-Based Pricing Combined
Note: This setup is for locations who have varying pricing across multiple restaurants.
Step 1: On the Toast Admin Dashboard homepage, scroll down and click Advanced Properties under the Menu section.
Step 2: Locate the menu item you are looking to apply this pricing logic to and click the dropdown directly to the left of the menu item to find the Size-Specific Price Modifier and click the drop down to the left of the size.
Note: This modifier group was created when you set the item to sized based pricing. It is not clickable from inside of the item.
Step 3: Click the blue size modifier link in the white line below the size modifier in the blue line.
Step 4: Set this modifier to Location Specific Price
Step 5: Use the + Add button and drop downs to assign the prices by restaurant group or location.
Step 6: Click Save. Repeat for all Size-Based Modifiers.
Menu-Specific & Location-Specific Pricing Combined
Step 1: From the size-based modifier screen, scroll down to the Location Prices. Click into the blue Location/Restaurant Group link that was created by adding location-specific pricing.
Step 2: Set this Pricing Strategy to Menu Specific Price and then in the price field add the Price by menu type as seen below.
Step 3: Click Save. Repeat for all size-based modifiers that require Menu Specific Pricing uplifts.
Pizza Placement Modifier Lunchbox Setup
NOTE: Pick Lists that are imported into Lunchbox need to be configured with Pick List Type Combo and Display Style Gallery with Children.
To adjust the pick list type.
Step 1: Click the small blue papers.
Step 2: Click the name of the modifier group note for pizza this will appear multiple times. Setting one will fix them all.
Step 3: Adjust the Pick List Type to Combo and Display Style to Gallery with Children and click Submit.
RULE 10: Default Nested Modifiers
When using default nested modifiers it is important that when all modifiers in the top layer of the modifier have required selections in the second layer, you set the top layer modifier group…
Servers must make a selection for this group
More than one modifier can be chosen
Min # of selections set equal to the number of modifiers in the group (See below)
Example:
Menu Item 1
>Modifier Group: Ingredients (THIS MODIFIER GROUP SHOULD BE REQUIRED, SINGLE SELECT WITH A MINIMUM SELECTION OF 3 BECAUSE THERE ARE THREE MODIFIERS THAT HAVE TO BE SELECTED)
>>Modifier: Meats (1)
>>>Modifier Group 1 With Required Selections
>>Modifier: Cheese (2)
>>>Modifier Group 2 With Required Selections
>>Modifier: Vegetables (3)
>>>Modifier Group 3 With Required Selections
RULE 11: Prep for Proper Printer Routing
Make sure your new Lunchbox menu is assigned to the correct Prep Stations. Prep stations can be inherited from Menus or Categories so it is important when consolidating menus to ensure that the new categories are also set up with the proper prep station inheritence.
If you are using Toast KDS it is important to make sure that all prep stations are being properly routed to your KDS.
Step 1: Select the Toast icon in the top left corner of your screen, navigate to the Setup section, and select Device Setup.
Step 2: Under the Kitchen Setup section, select Prep Stations to double-check that all prep stations are assigned to your Kitchen Display Screen device. If any prep stations need to be added, select the checkbox next to the name of the prep station and choose Continue.
Step 3: If all prep stations are enabled, double check that none of them are listed under Non-Printing Prep Stations. If any are listed, deselect the checkbox and select Continue to remove them from the list.
Step 4: Then, check Ticket Display Options to see if any ticket filters are currently enabled. If any adjustments need to be made, select/deselect the checkbox and choose Continue.
RULE 12: Archive Rules
When archiving in Toast it is important to remember…
When archiving a menu remember to also archive the categories within that menu UNLESS they are being shared with another menu version. Not archiving these categories can clutter up your Toast database and lead to potential modifier group inheritance issues.
When archiving Categories with Modifier Groups built to inherit from the parent level be sure to archive the modifier group as well UNLESS those modifier groups are being used in other areas of the menu. Not archiving the modifier group and only archiving the category or the items in that group can lead to empty modifier groups appearing on Lunchbox.
RULE 13: Finish Your Menu on Toast and Be Thorough
Make sure your menu is finalized in Toast before pulling the initial sync following all of the aforementioned rules and you should be all set to go and ready to sync!
For a full detail on how to build out the Menu on Toast check out the Toast article below:
RULE 14: Sync It Before You Sink It!
Before pulling a menu sync, remember to publish the menu to all affected locations and this will automatically sync to the Admin dashboard.