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Menu build best practices

A Clover menu is a small database. Build it the way the register and the kitchen use it, not the way the printed menu reads, and it stays fast for cashiers and clean for reports. These are the rules the Menu Converter applies and the ones our techs follow on a hand build.

Categories are register tabs

  • One category per screen a server should see: Apps, Entrées, Sides, Kids, Desserts, N/A Drinks, Beer, Wine, Cocktails. Eight to twelve tabs is comfortable; more than fifteen means scrolling.
  • Order them the way an order is taken: food first, drinks last (or drinks first at a bar).
  • Use sub-categories for big sections (Wine → Red / White / Sparkling). A sub-category inherits its parent's colour.
  • An item can live in more than one tab. "Iced Latte" under Coffee and Seasonal is one item, listed twice.

Sizes: modifier or separate item?

  • Modifier when it is the same product in a different portion: coffee 12 / 16 / 20 oz, pint or pitcher, cup or bowl, glass or bottle. One item at the smallest price plus a required Size group (min 1, max 1, pops up). The price the cashier sees is the base plus the size.
  • Separate items when the portion changes what the kitchen makes or what you count: 6 / 12 / 24 wings, half tray / full tray. Name them "Wings (12 pc)".
  • Per-size items when add-ons cost more on the bigger size, which is every pizza menu. "Cheese Pizza (16")" gets its own "Pizza – Toppings (16")" group.

Modifier groups

  • Groups are global. Build one "Burger – Temp" and attach it to every burger; do not make a temp group per item.
  • Name them Family – Purpose: "Burger – Temp", "Salad – Dressing", "Shared – Choice of Side". The family tells a manager where it is used; the purpose tells the cashier what it asks.
  • Required choices (temp, side, dressing): min 1, max 1, pop up automatically.
  • Add-ons (bacon +2, extra shot +1): min 0, max = number of options, do not pop up.
  • Removals ("No onions", "No pickle"): $0.00, min 0, do not pop up. Put them in their own group so the kitchen sees them and the cashier is not slowed down.
  • Modifiers only add. For "no cheese −$1", lower the item's base by a dollar and add a default "With Cheese +$1.00".
  • Keep option lists short. A group with twenty options is a sign it should be two groups.

Names and prices

  • Names are unique across the whole inventory (Clover drops duplicates on import) and at most 127 characters. "Caesar Salad (Lunch)" and "Caesar Salad (Dinner)" when the price differs.
  • Title case on the register: "BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger", not "BBQ BACON CHEESEBURGER".
  • Numbered menus keep the number in the name ("12. Pad Thai") because cashiers search by it.
  • Market-price items are Variable; the cashier enters the amount. Gift cards are not inventory; use Clover's Gift Cards app.

Labels

Every item that is cooked or poured carries a printer label: Grill, Fry, Sauté, Pizza, Cold, Dessert, Bar, Expo. Labels are what route tickets; categories are not. See kitchen printers and labels.