Prepare your autumn menu: update menu items and prices in your point of sale system

The kitchen is working on new autumn dishes, the wine pairings are ready, and the seasonal menu is taking shape. Now it is time to make the new offering available to your service team at the till.

The autumn menu can be prepared easily in the Lightspeed Back Office: you can create items yourself, update prices directly and organise the till menu to match your new offering. This guide takes you through the process using Lightspeed K-Series.

1. Put together the changes for autumn

A short overview of what is changing is a good place to start: Which dishes are being added? Which summer items are being removed? And where are prices or side dishes changing?

This creates a shared basis for the kitchen, service team and the person responsible for maintaining the point of sale system. Agreeing on a launch date also helps coordinate the changes with the switch to the new printed menu.

2. Organise the autumn offering at the till

You can create new dishes and drinks in the Lightspeed Back Office with their name, product group and price. You can then place the items in the till menu where your team can find them easily during service.

A pumpkin soup, for example, could be placed under starters. For a more extensive seasonal menu, a dedicated autumn section may also make sense. What matters is choosing a structure that feels familiar and is easy for your team to use in day-to-day service.

Prices can also be edited directly in the item list without having to open each item individually. If your business uses price lists, permanent price changes are made in the relevant list.

If you have multiple locations

Your restaurants may offer the same autumn dishes but use different prices. In this case, how the items are shared in Lightspeed is important:

Local: The item is only available at one location.
Shared: Certain settings, such as prices, can vary by location.
Global: Changes to the item apply to all connected locations.

3. Check the new menu across your ordering channels

After saving your changes in the Back Office, reload the tills so that the latest configuration is applied. The device status shows whether the current configuration has already been loaded.

If you also use QR ordering or a self-order terminal, the autumn menu needs to be updated there as well. A quick check will show whether the new dishes and prices are displayed correctly and whether discontinued summer items can still be selected.

For connected ordering solutions, how information is transferred depends on the specific integration. This is why every ordering channel you actually use should be included in your preparation.

4. Run through the first orders together

A short run-through with the service team helps introduce the new menu into day-to-day operations. Using a few typical orders, you can test how an additional side dish is entered and whether the information reaches the kitchen or bar clearly.

This also gives the team an opportunity to raise questions and make small adjustments before guests order from the autumn menu for the first time.

Support with your seasonal menu changes

Would you like to manage your items yourself but need some support getting started? Vendomat supports hospitality businesses in Switzerland with the Lightspeed point of sale system.

In a personal online training session, we show you how to manage items and prices in your own system. We can also focus on your business's menu structure and answer your specific questions.

Request a consultation

Raoul Corciulo

CEO
Sales & Customer Success