How to update your digital menu: sold-out items, seasonal menus and new prices

Sold-out items

When a dish runs out during service, you mark it as sold out in the dashboard. Guests still see it on the menu, labelled “Sold out”, but can’t order it from the table. That’s better than hiding it: guests learn it exists and may come back for it.

• decide who marks items as sold out (the head chef or the floor manager);
• make it a routine gesture, as soon as the kitchen calls it;
• at closing or in the morning, check which items need reactivating.

Schedules for categories and dishes

Many restaurants have items available only at certain times: breakfast until 11:30, the lunch special at midday, some dishes only in the evening. In Menu3D you can set a schedule for categories and for items. Outside the window, guests see from what time the item is available, and orders for it are stopped automatically.

Kitchen hours work the same way: if the kitchen is closed, the menu still opens for browsing, but table orders are paused and guests see from what time they can order.

New prices

A price change in a digital menu takes seconds, but a few rules save you trouble:

• change prices outside peak hours, not in the middle of service;
• keep the same values on any spare printed menus;
• after updating, check a few items straight from a phone by scanning a table code;
• note the date of the change — it helps with menu analysis.

The seasonal menu

A seasonal menu usually means a few new dishes and a few that leave temporarily. Prepare them ahead in the dashboard: add the new items with description, price, allergens and translations, then activate them on launch day. Items that leave can be deactivated rather than deleted, so you can reuse them next year.

Redoing 3D scans

If you change a dish’s presentation — another plate, another side, another portion — the old 3D model no longer matches. Rescan with the new dish and replace the model attached to the item. Guests must get exactly what they saw in the menu; otherwise the 3D model sets the wrong expectations.

If you started with an AI-made model as a preview, the moment a dish becomes stable is a good time for a real scan. The steps are in the guide to 3D scanning with your phone.

Allergens after a recipe change

Any new ingredient can bring a new allergen. Make allergen checks a mandatory step for every recipe change, not just for new items. The list of the 14 allergens and how to display them are explained in the allergens guide.

A ten-minute weekly routine

1. Monday morning: check items still marked sold out from the weekend.
2. Confirm the daily special and the category schedules for the week.
3. Check whether any supplier changed prices and update the affected items.
4. Scan the code on a table and browse the menu like a guest, including on mobile data.

When printed code materials wear out — scratched stands, peeling stickers — you can replace them with durable stickers and printed materials; the code stays the same, so nothing changes in the menu.

Who has access to the dashboard

Quick updates only work if it’s clear who makes them. In a small restaurant, usually the manager and the head chef. In a larger one you can split it: the kitchen marks sold-out items, the manager changes prices and the seasonal menu. Write the rules down and keep a list of who has access to the admin account.

A useful rule: any price or recipe change is checked by a second person before it goes live. Typos in prices are rare, but embarrassing in front of guests.