Menu Categories, Dishes & Real-Time Stock (86ing)
Create categories, dishes, dietary badges, image uploads, and 1-tap stock status toggles.
How It Works
Categories organize your menu logically (e.g., Starters, Mains, Pizzas, Desserts, Beverages) and control the navigation dock on customer phones.
Each menu item includes a title, base price, detailed ingredient description, preparation time estimate, and dietary tags.
Dietary Indicators: MintLight supports mutually exclusive dietary badges: Vegetarian (green leaf), Non-Vegetarian (red triangle), and Eggetarian (yellow badge), alongside a Spiciness flame toggle and allergen disclosures.
Real-time 86ing (Out of Stock): When a dish sells out mid-shift, managers can toggle its status to Out of Stock with 1 tap. This prevents customers from ordering the sold-out dish immediately without removing it from the menu.
What You Need to Do (Step-by-Step)
- 1. Create Menu Categories
Navigate to Dashboard -> Menu Manager. Click "+ Add Category". Enter category title (e.g., Starters, Beverages) and set sort sequence.
- 2. Add a Menu Dish
Click "+ Add Item" inside the target category. Fill in the Dish Name, Base Selling Price, and rich ingredient description.
- 3. Upload Dish Photography
Click the image upload box to select a photo. Use the canvas crop guides to center the dish, then click Save Photo.
- 4. Set Dietary Flags & Prep Estimates
Select Veg, Non-Veg, or Egg. Toggle the "Spicy" switch if applicable. Enter estimated prep minutes (e.g. "15 mins") and list allergens.
- 5. Manage Shift Availability (86ing)
During service, use the 1-tap stock switch on any dish card to immediately flip between In Stock and Out of Stock.
Key Screen Controls & Options
Action: Opens a modal to name the category (e.g. "Wood-Fired Pizza") and assign a sort order.
Action: Opens the comprehensive DishModal editor for dish details, pricing, and dietary badges.
Action: Available makes it live; Out of Stock disables the Add button with a Sold Out badge; Hidden conceals it entirely.
Action: Uploads and crops dish photos to standard food-card dimensions for mobile screens.
- Out of stock items show a red "Sold Out" badge; the Add button is disabled.
- Hidden items disappear from the customer menu while remaining visible to managers.
- Dietary filters on customer phones (e.g. "Veg Only") include or exclude the item instantly.
- Deleting an item does NOT erase it from historical sales reports; past orders keep the historic item name and price.
- An item marked Out of Stock cannot be added to new customer carts, but orders already sent to the kitchen are unaffected.
- Categories cannot be deleted if they still contain dishes. Move or delete the dishes first to prevent orphaned records.
⚡ Common Floor Scenarios & Edge Cases
What to do: When the customer taps "Place Order", the backend validates stock and informs them: "This item has just sold out. Please remove it to proceed."
What to do: The customer cart refreshes with the updated price upon submission, preventing undercharging.
📋 Real-World Shift Walkthrough
At 8:30 PM, the head chef informs manager Alex that fresh salmon portions have run out. Alex opens Menu Manager on his phone, scrolls to "Mains", and flips the switch on "Grilled Salmon" to Out of Stock. Within 2 seconds, all guest phones display "Sold Out", preventing waitstaff from having to apologize for unavailable orders.