Best Practices for Managing Menus & Items

The Menus and Items feature allows you to efficiently create and modify menus for Experiences, Events and To Go offerings. In this article, we offer best practices for managing Menus and Items.

Creating a menu

A menu consists of optional and/or required additions to your offerings. For example, a Tasting Menu selection, Gluten Free modifier, or Adult vs Child ticket. Menus live within a shared library, and can be shared across experiences. One Menu can link to one or more offerings. I

To get started building a menu:

1. From the Control Panel tab, click Menus and Items, then select Menus from the dropdown.
2. Before creating a new menu, reference the Steps to building a menu guide in the top-right, to learn more.
3. Click + Create new menu in the top-right.
4. In the pop-up window, enter a menu name, then click Create menu. The name is for your own reference and is not visible to guests.

Adding sections

Menus are made up of sections, items, and modifiers. A section organizes your menu items into groups to make browsing easier for your guests (for example, Appetizers, Entrees, Dessert). Once you've created a menu, add sections:

1. From the Menus tab, click + Add section in the top-right.
2. In the pop-out menu on the right, give your section a name and a description. Note, the section name is what guests see on your exploretock.com page. Select a name that is short yet informative (i.e. Optional Wine Pairing).
3. Select the Limit type, whether the selection is required, and whether all guests must select the same item in the section.
4. Click Add Section to save changes.

Adding menu items

Now that you've created sections within your menu, add menu items to each section. You can either add a new item, or link an existing item to your menu. 

To add a new item to the menu:

1. From the Menus tab, click + Add Items in the top-right.
2. Click Add new item.
3. Choose a menu section from the drop down.
4. Enter item details. 
   • The item name is what your guests will see when ordering. Item names must be unique and cannot be reused.
   • Upload an image to help sell your item on Tock.
   • Add an optional categories are for reporting purposes.
   • Add an enticing item description to help your guests make yummy decisions. If this is not filled out, the customer will only see the item name.
   • Enter an optional chit name and SKU. Keep chit names short and concise.
   • Enter the item price, and age restrictions, and select a sales tax category.
5. Click Add item in the bottom-right, then click the X in the top-right to close the pop-out window.
6. To view your new menu item, click the down arrow to the left of the corresponding section.

Keep in mind, your business' menu items live within an item library, and one item (and its stock limits) can be shared across multiple menus. To view your item library, click Menus and Items, then click Item library.

To add an existing item to the menu:

1. From the Menus tab, click + Add Items in the top-right.
2. Click Add existing item to menu.
3. Choose a menu section from the drop down.
4. Either Search items using the open field, or manually select an item(s) from the list.
5. Click Save in the bottom-right.

If using the same item name across multiple menus, ensure the item name is unique and distinguishable. The Display name will be the same for all menus. For example, if you offer a Caesar salad at a different size or price for lunch and dinner, name your items "Caesar Salad - Lunch" and "Caesar Salad - Dinner" so they're distinguishable.

Adding modifiers to menu items 

A modifier is an additional specification for a menu item. For example, a guest selects the 3 Course Tasting Menu and has the option to modify an item to gluten free or vegetarian. 

To add a modifier to an item:

1. From the Menus tab, click the down arrow to the left of the a section name.
2. In the expanded item list, click the hyperlinked name for the item you'd like to modify.
3. In the pop-out window to the right, scroll down to Item modifiers, then click the pencil icon to the right. There are a few options to add a modifier to your item:
   • Use the open field to search for an existing modifier.
   • Click on a hyperlinked modifier name to edit an existing modifier. 
   • Create a new modifier.
4. With either of these options, fill in the modifier details, including modifier name, minimum selection required for each item, maximum selections allowed, and whether all guests must select same option.
   • Is the modifier optional? Set the minimum required to 0.
   • Is the modifier required? Set the minimum required to 1. For example, a guest adds a Wine Pairing to their order and must select between a Standard Wine Pairing and Reserve Wine Pairing.

Modifiers live within a shared library and can link to multiple items. To view the modifiers for your business, click Menus and Items, then click Menus.

Linking a menu to an experience

Once you’ve built menu, it’s time to link it to your experiences! Visit Linking a Menu to an Experience, to learn how to link a menu to an Experience.

Learn More

Visit Configuring Stock Limits for Menu Items, to learn more about configuring item stock limits.