How to set up your restaurant menu in billing software

A well set-up menu is the difference between a counter that flies and one that crawls. The good news: you only do it once. Here is how to set up your menu in restaurant billing software so billing is fast from the first day.

1. Categories that match how staff think

Group dishes the way your staff look for them: Soups, Starters, Main course, Breads, Rice, Drinks, Desserts. Keep it to one level; long lists of sub-categories slow people down. If a category is long (for example Drinks), split it into Hot drinks and Cold drinks.

2. Short item codes

Give every item a short code, such as 101 for the first soup or 251 for bajra rotla. Cashiers quickly remember the top 20 codes, and typing a code and pressing Enter is faster than finding a tile on the screen. Keep codes in blocks per category (100s for soups, 200s for starters) so they are easy to guess.

3. Sizes instead of duplicate items

Instead of "Paneer Tikka Half" and "Paneer Tikka Full" as two items, make one item with two sizes, each with its own price. The menu stays short and reports show the dish as one line.

4. Add-ons for extras

Extra cheese, extra butter, extra scoop: set these as add-ons with prices on the items they belong to. Then extras are never forgotten on the bill.

5. GST rate per item

Set the GST rate on each item once. Most restaurant food has the same rate, but some items, such as packaged drinks, may be different. Ask your CA which rate applies to your business and items, and set it once. The billing software then works out CGST and SGST on every bill.

6. Prices with or without GST

Decide whether your menu prices include GST or have GST on top. Both are allowed; just be consistent with your printed menu so the bill matches what the customer expects.

7. Mark items that run out

When a dish runs out, mark it as off for today instead of deleting it. Staff still see it, greyed out, so they know to tell the guest, but it cannot be billed until you turn it back on.

Start from a ready menu

Typing hundreds of items takes days. A ready menu lets you tick the dishes you serve and change the prices, and you are done in an afternoon.

How DeviPOS does it

• Ready menu at first start: tick the sections and dishes you serve (Gujarati, Kathiyawadi, Punjabi, South Indian, Chinese, fast food, drinks, desserts, mithai and bakery: 500+ dishes); untick the rest
• Short item codes; press F2, type the code and Enter to add it to the order
• Sizes and add-ons with their own prices
• GST rate per item; prices with GST on top or included
• Mark a dish "Off today" when it runs out; it cannot be billed until you turn it back on

See DeviPOS for restaurants, dhabas or cafés, or book a free demo and we will set up your menu with you.