Menu builder basics

The Menu builder (Menu & QR → Menu builder) is where owners and managers build the food and drink menu that guests see when they scan a QR code. Every change goes live on all your QR menus instantly, so you never need to reprint anything.

How the menu builder is organised: menus, categories and items

The AirQR menu has three levels:

• Menus group your categories, for example All Day, Breakfast, Bar or Happy Hour. Each menu appears as a round tab at the top of the menu builder. A small calendar icon on the tab means the menu has a schedule; a crossed-out eye means it is unpublished.
• Categories are the sections inside a menu, for example Starters, Mains or Small Plates. Each category is a card with its items listed inside.
• Items are the dishes and drinks. Each row shows the photo, veg/non-veg mark, name, description, price, and a switch for availability at this outlet.

Under the menu tabs there is a bar with the current menu's name, the number of items, its schedule and the outlets it is shown at. Next to the name, the gear button (Menu settings) opens Menu settings & schedule, Duplicate menu and Delete menu.

The search box (Search items) and the filter buttons help you find things fast: All, Sold out, No photo and Hidden. The number next to Sold out and No photo tells you how many items fall in that group.

Only owners and managers can open the menu builder.

A category with a lot of dishes shows the first 40, then a Show more button at the bottom to open the next 40. This keeps even a very large menu quick to scroll and edit. Search and the filter buttons look through every dish, not only the ones shown.

How do I create a new menu and add categories in the menu builder?

If you have no menu yet, the page shows Create your first menu with two choices: New menu or Import menu. Import reads a CSV, Excel, PDF or Word file or photos of your printed menu (see Import your menu).

To create a menu:

1. Click + New menu (next to the menu tabs).
2. Enter a Name (for example Breakfast) and an optional Subtitle (for example "Served 8 – 11:30 am").
3. If you have more than one outlet, tick the outlets under Available at.
4. Leave Published on if guests should see it now.
5. Click Create menu.

To add a category to the menu you are viewing:

1. Click + Add category at the bottom of the page.
2. Enter a Name (for example Small Plates) and an optional Note for guests (for example "Built for sharing").
3. Keep Visible on menu on, then click Add category.

To rename a category, open its … menu (Category actions) and choose Rename / edit.

Category photo: in the same Rename / edit window you can add a Category photo. Choose a file, then crop it in the editor (the dashed box shows the small square version). Guests see it as a wide banner above the section, or as a small tile beside the category name. Pick which one under Design & brand → Style → Category photos, or hide them there. See Design and branding.

To set time-based menus like Breakfast or Bar, see Menu schedules.

How do I add an item and set its price in the menu builder?

1. Click + Add item at the top of the page, or + Item on a category card (this puts the item straight into that category). An empty category shows Add the first item.
2. The New menu item window opens. Enter the Name (for example Butter Chicken).
3. Add a Description, and check the Category the item belongs to.
4. Under Pricing, type the Price. You can also enter an optional Food cost; AirQR then shows the food cost percentage and your margin (it turns red above 35%).
5. Click Add item. You see "Item added to menu".

If the dish comes in sizes such as Half / Full, click Add sizes instead of entering one price. See Sizes and add-ons.

The same window has sections for Dietary & allergens, Highlights, Add-ons & choices, Goes well with, Parcel price & POS code, Kitchen, Custom fields, and the In stock everywhere and Visible on menu switches. See Item details and photos for the details fields, Parcel pricing for the parcel price change and Short codes and fast POS entry for short codes, barcodes and custom fields.

The Add item button stays greyed out until the item has a name.

What are the Short code and Scan code fields?

In the item window, POS codes & parcel price has two codes for the POS. Both are for staff only; guests never see them.

Each dish has at most one of each, and no two dishes of your business can share one. If you enter a code another dish already has, you see which dish, for example "Scan code 8901544011144 is already used by Officers Choice Whisky (180ml)."

A USB or Bluetooth barcode scanner works anywhere on the POS: scan the product and the dish is added (see Barcode scanner and Point of sale basics). To give a whole menu its scan codes at once, open the gear next to the menu name and choose Assign scan codes: pick a dish, scan its product, and it moves on to the next one.

In the menu builder, an item row shows its short code, and on wider screens its scan code next to a small barcode icon. Search items finds a dish by either code. Duplicate does not copy the short code or the scan code: give the copy its own.

How do I choose the station for a menu item?

Each item is sent to a station, such as the kitchen, the tandoor or the bar. The station decides which screen shows the dish and which KOT printer prints it. Your stations come from Settings → Stations, so the list is your own (see Stations and station screens).

• One dish: open the item, scroll to Kitchen and pick one under Send to station.
• A whole category: open the category's … menu (Category actions) and choose Send all dishes to station…. It shows how many different stations the dishes go to now; pick one and click Move N dishes. Every dish in the category then shows on that station's screen and prints on its KOT printer. You can also choose Send every item to a station when you edit the category.

On the Kitchen display, cooks can filter to their station. For printed kitchen tickets (KOTs), each printer is set to the stations it prints, so a drink sent to the bar prints at the bar printer.

If a dish prints or shows in the wrong place, check its Send to station, then the printer's stations in Settings → Printing. See Kitchen display and Print settings and receipts.

How do I add short codes to a whole menu?

Short codes let staff type a code on the POS (like BC) and press Enter to add the dish. To fill them in at once, open the gear button next to the menu name (Menu settings) and choose Create missing short codes. AirQR suggests a code for every dish without one, for example Royal Stag Whisky (180ml) → RS180, and keeps existing codes. Click Add N codes. See Short codes and fast POS entry.

How do I export the menu?

Click Export CSV at the top of the menu builder and choose a menu or All menus. The file opens in Excel or Google Sheets and reads back through Import menu. Importing adds dishes and never updates the ones you have. See Export and re-import your menu (CSV).

How do I reorder items and categories by dragging?

Guests see categories and items in the same order as the menu builder.

• Move an item within its category: press and hold the six-dot handle (Drag to reorder) on the left of the item row, drag it up or down, and let go.
• Move a category: drag the six-dot handle on the left of the category header (Drag category).

The new order saves as soon as you drop it.

Things to know:

• The drag handles disappear while you are searching or using a filter (Sold out, No photo, Hidden). Clear the search box and choose All to get them back.
• You cannot drag an item into another category. To move it, open the item and change its Category dropdown. The dropdown lists the categories of every menu, so you can also move an item to a different menu this way.
• Menu tabs cannot be reordered by dragging.

How do I edit, duplicate or delete items, categories and menus?

Edit an item: click the item row (or … → Edit), change what you need, then click Save changes. You see "Item updated".

Duplicate an item: … → Duplicate. A copy named "(copy)" appears just below, with the same sizes, add-ons, parcel price change and custom fields. It starts without a short code, because each code belongs to one dish. Use it for similar dishes, then rename it.

Delete an item: … → Delete, then confirm. This can't be undone. If you only want to take a dish off the menu for a while, use Visible on menu or mark it sold out instead. See Sold out and availability.

Delete a category: … on the category header → Delete category. The confirmation tells you how many items will be deleted with it.

Duplicate a menu: gear button → Duplicate menu. The copy includes all categories and items, is named "(copy)", and starts unpublished so guests don't see it until you turn on Published.

Delete a menu: gear button → Delete menu. This deletes the menu and everything in it and cannot be undone.

Orders already placed keep their item names and prices even if you later edit or delete the item.

Troubleshooting the menu builder

Still stuck? Call or WhatsApp +91 96573 22724, or email support@airqr.in.