# Restaurant step 4: menu items and modifiers

> Add your dishes and drinks, use sizes as variations, and build modifier sets with rules and nested options such as pizza flavour → sauce.

Source: https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/restaurant/step-4-menu-items-and-modifiers/  
Last updated: 2026-10-30  
Product: SmartPOS Hub (https://smartposhub.com)

Your menu in SmartPOS Hub is made of **products** (dishes, drinks, combos) and **modifier sets** (the choices a guest makes: size, crust, toppings, sauce, milk). This step shows how to add menu items quickly and how to build modifier sets with rules, so the cashier can't forget a required choice.

## Before you start

- **Modifiers** is switched on ([step 2](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/restaurant/step-2-turn-on-restaurant-modules/)).
- Your menu categories exist ([step 3](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/restaurant/step-3-import-prebuilt-restaurant-setup/)).
- Have your menu with prices ready, ideally as a spreadsheet.

## Add your menu items

1. Open **Products › Add Product**.
2. Enter the **Product Name** as guests see it ("Chicken Tikka Pizza").
3. Pick the **Category** and sub-category. The category decides which kitchen station gets the item.
4. For drinks and dishes you don't count, untick **Manage Stock?** For bottled drinks and retail items, keep it ticked.
5. Choose **Product Type**:
   - **Single** for one price.
   - **Variable** when each size has its own price (Small 9", Medium 12", Large 14").
   - **Combo** for meal deals made of other items.
6. Enter the selling price, add a photo (it shows on the POS, the online menu and the Shopper app) and save.

For a long menu, use [Import products from Excel](https://docs.smartposhub.com/catalog/import-products-excel/). For sizes and combos in detail see [Variable products](https://docs.smartposhub.com/catalog/variable-products/) and [Combo and service products](https://docs.smartposhub.com/catalog/combo-and-service-products/).

## How modifier sets work

A **modifier set** is one question the cashier asks: "Which crust?", "Any extra toppings?". Each set has:

| Part | What it does | Example |
|---|---|---|
| **Options** | The answers, each with a price (0 = free) | Thin & crispy (free), Stuffed cheese crust (+12.00) |
| **Selection rules** | **One choice** (radio) or **Several choices** (checkboxes), **Required**, min / max, **free choices** | Crust: one choice, required |
| **Opens** | Child sets that appear when an option is picked | Margherita › Sauce – Margherita |
| **Products** | The menu items that ask this question | All pizzas |

![Modifiers list showing Crust, Dips and Extra Toppings sets with rule badges, options and linked products](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/modifiers-list.CwJPShVY.png) (web app page: `/modules/modifiers`)
*Restaurant › Modifiers lists each set with its rule badges, options and the products that use it.*

## Build a modifier set

1. Open **Restaurant › Modifiers** and click **Add modifier set** (or **Edit** on an imported set).
2. Under **Set details**, enter the **Set name** (for staff) and, if you like, a **Title shown to customers** ("Choose your crust") and **Short help**.
3. Under **Selection rules**, pick **One choice** or **Several choices**. Switch on **Required** if the item can't be sold without it. For several choices, set the maximum and how many are free.
4. Under **Options**, add each option with its price. Mark a common choice as pre-selected to save taps.
5. To nest options, use **Opens** on an option and pick the child set (for example the flavour opens its sauce set).
6. Under **Products**, search for items or add all products of a category.
7. Check the **What the cashier sees** preview on the right, then click **Save modifier set**.

![Modifier set builder with Set details, Selection rules One choice or Several choices, and a live preview of what the cashier sees](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/modifier-set-builder.ZGtDKRjd.png) (web app page: `/modules/modifiers/{id}/edit`)
*The builder shows a live preview and a structure tree of nested sets.*

:::tip[See an example first]
Click **Create pizza example** on the Modifiers page. It builds a complete pizza: size (one, required), flavour (one, required), a sauce and extras set per flavour, and a third level under one sauce. Study it, then delete or rename it.
:::

## What the cashier sees

When the cashier taps an item with modifiers, an options window opens. Required sets are marked, the counter shows how many are picked, and the footer shows the running total. The item can't be added until the rules are met.

![POS options window for a Margherita pizza with Crust and Extra Toppings sets and an Add to order button with the total](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/pos-v2-options-window.Csp44kU0.png) (web app page: `/pos-v2/create`)
*The options window on the POS. Each picked option becomes a chip on the cart line and prints on the kitchen ticket.*

## Tips and mistakes to avoid

- **Don't make every set required.** Only questions the kitchen must have answered (size, cooking level) should be required.
- **Keep set names unique and clear** ("Sauce – Margherita", not "Sauce 2"); staff see them in reports.
- **Paid extras vs. details:** paid choices are modifiers; free text the guest types (a name on a cake) belongs in [Order options](https://docs.smartposhub.com/modules/order-options/).
- **Use Set order** on the Modifiers page to control which set appears first.

## Next step

  - [Step 5: Tables and floor plan](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/restaurant/step-5-tables-and-floor-plan/)
  - [Modifiers module reference](https://docs.smartposhub.com/modules/modifiers/)

## Frequently asked questions

### Should pizza sizes be variations or modifiers?

Use variations when each size has its own price and you want separate sales reports per size, for example Small, Medium and Large. Use a required one-choice modifier set when the size only adds a surcharge to one base price.

### Can a customer pick only one option from a group?

Yes. Set the modifier set to One choice and switch on Required. The cashier then has to pick exactly one option before the item can be added.

### Can options open more options?

Yes. In the builder, use Opens on an option to link one or more child sets. For example Margherita can open its own sauces and extras. You can go up to three levels deep.

### Can the first topping be free?

Yes. Set Free choices to 1 in the selection rules. The first option picked is free and the rest are charged.

### Do modifiers reduce stock?

Modifier options are priced extras, not stock items. Track ingredient stock with the Manufacturing module if you need recipes.

### Where do I put notes like "no onions"?

Add a set such as Dietary Requests with free options, or type a note on the cart line. For details the customer enters (a name on a cake, an allergy note), use Order options.

### Do modifiers work in the online menu and the apps?

Yes. The same sets and rules show in the POS, the SmartPOS Business app, the Offline POS, the online menu widget and the Shopper app.