Combo Menu Items

A combo menu item bundles multiple recipes or menu items into a single sellable product — like a lunch special with an entrée, side, and drink, or a catering tray with seven sandwiches. Each component in the combo has its own cost, modifiers, and optional substitution options.

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Start with Set Up Product/Package — the packing table

Select Set up product/package in Components. The screen is a packing
table: Your kitchen on the left (a searchable palette of the location's
recipes, prepared items, and resale ingredients), the product itself in
the middle, and the live preview on the right. You assemble the product
from what your kitchen makes — there are no internal serving ratios, size
gates, or active-size IDs to enter.

First tell it what you are selling, which only chooses the packing tools that
appear:

• Single dish, pan, or beverage — one kitchen item with optional customizations
• Sized product — one recipe that grows, or a different recipe for each size
• Package or bundle — fixed contents, customer choice lists, or both
• Per-person package — price and food multiply by guest count

Building the product

Every builder concept is a gesture with an obvious meaning (each gesture also
has a button, so drag is the fast path, not the only path):

• Drag an item into the product (or press its Add button) — the item
  is included: a slot card appears holding it.
• Add an alternative to a slot (drop a second item onto it, or press
  Add an alternative) — the slot becomes a customer choice, shown as a
  fanned stack with the alternatives as chips. The previous fixed item becomes
  the first option of the new choice list.
• The ×N quantity badge on each slot — how many are included, per size.
  Two sandwiches means the badge reads ×2.
• The tags on the product — the price tag, the "Feeds 4–6" tag, and a
  Fine print tag holding the order minimum, lead time, package price
  mode, and grouped tally switch.
• Sizes — turn on "This package comes in more than one size" and each
  slot's quantity badge gains one entry per size ("Small ×5 · Large ×10").
  Per-person packages have badges that read "per guest."
• Item settings — each included item's settings button opens one focused
  panel. It leads with plain questions: Name on the order (what the line
  is called — "Sandwiches", "Drinks", "Setup kit") and How does it work for
  the customer? (Everyone gets the same thing or The customer
  picks). Everything rarer — upcharges, per-choice limits and renames,
  repeats, "must add up to one total," presets and customizations,
  fulfillment labels, and Include once per order — sits below or stays
  collapsed until needed. The choice list's customer-facing name auto-fills
  from the item's name.

For each choice slot, set a starting mix for every size or select Customer
chooses all. A starting mix pre-fills the order with those items. Customer
chooses all leaves every position empty and requires an explicit choice before
the order can be saved. An empty choice is never silently replaced with the
first item in the list.

The live preview updates automatically as you pack: the customer price and
choices, kitchen lines, ingredient expansion, and sample production
quantities. The preview is rollback-only; canceling leaves the saved product
unchanged. Users with cost permission also see cost and margin.

Customizations & presets

The primary kitchen item and every fixed slot offer an optional
Customizations & presets editor (in the slot's settings panel):

• Link customization groups — search for existing modifier groups (the same
  autocomplete used everywhere else) and attach them to the item or to every
  included position of the slot. Groups a recipe already carries are inherited
  automatically and need no linking.
• Preset a starting choice — when the linked item has customization groups,
  each included position shows its groups so you can pin a starting choice per
  item ("Item 1 is the bacon burrito, Item 2 is the ham"). Customers can still
  change it when ordering.

Menu-specific or excluded slot rules created in Advanced settings are kept
unchanged when you publish; the slot shows a small "menu-specific rules" tag
when it carries such rules.

Existing products open on the packing table only when they can round-trip
without losing behavior. Products with irregular nested choices, per-slot
modifier price overrides, or presets pinned onto choice slots display a reason
and link to Advanced component settings.

Mix-and-Match Tallies

Turn on Use a grouped quantity tally (under the product's Fine print
tag) for orders such as “20 boxed lunches: 10 Turkey, 5 Roast Beef, 5 Vegetarian.”
A choice slot can enforce (via Choice quantities must add up to one total
in its settings panel):

• an exact or ranged total across all choices
• a quantity increment
• a maximum number of varieties
• minimum, maximum, and increment rules for each choice

The order entry screen presents one compact tally rather than one visible row
for every lunch. Production and sales snapshots still expand the entered
quantities. If the package also contains an Include once per order setup
item, the system produces and costs that setup once, not once per selected
variety.

Legacy grid-tally products created before the builder reopen on the packing
table with their tally rules reconstructed from the order minimum and each
choice's quantity increment. The slot shows an "Adds up to a total" tag.

Fixed Once per Order

Use Include once per order (in the slot's settings panel) for a setup kit,
tray, chafing rack, packaging, or other item that must not multiply with trays
or guests. The slot shows a "Once per order" tag; per-person food still
multiplies normally.

Common Setup Recipes

• Plated entrée or beverage — use Single dish, pan, or beverage and link
  one recipe. Add normal modifier groups for doneness, sides, milk, or extras.
• Half pan / full pan or beverage dispenser sizes — use Sized product.
  Enter what the customer sees and the kitchen quantity for each size.
• Pizza sizes with different recipes — use Sized product, choose
  Different recipe by size, and map each size to its recipe.
• Sandwich or pastry tray — use Package or bundle, add one choice group,
  set the included count by size, and decide whether repeated choices are
  allowed.
• Boxed lunch — use Package or bundle with separate fixed and choice
  groups, such as one sandwich choice, one fixed cookie, and one drink choice.
• Buffet package — use Per-person package for food that scales with
  guests, plus Include once per order for serving utensils or setup kits.
• Conference assortment — enable a grouped quantity tally when varieties
  must add up to one total, such as 20 lunches in increments of five.

Use structured Preparation Instructions for repeatable kitchen requests such
as No, Light, Extra, On the side, or doneness. Use channel and schedule
availability when a group or option should appear only on Storefront, Kiosk,
Delivery, or during a specific daypart.

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How Combos Fit Together

Combo Menu Item: "Lunch Special" ($15.00, fixed price)
├── Component 1: Burger (Recipe) ×1.0 → cost: $5.00
│   └── Inherited modifiers: Toppings, Size
├── Component 2: Side (Menu Item) ×1.0 → cost: $2.00
│   └── Choice Group: "Pick Your Side" (Fries, Salad, Soup)
└── Component 3: Drink (Menu Item) ×1.0 → cost: $1.50
    └── Choice Group: "Pick Your Drink" (Soda, Juice, Water)

Total food cost: $8.50  |  Selling price: $15.00  |  Margin: 43%

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Three Types of Components

Every component in a combo is one of two types:

Type	What It Is	When to Use
Recipe component	A direct recipe reference with a serving size	When the combo always includes that specific dish (e.g., the burger in a burger combo)
Menu Item component	A reference to another menu item	When the component has its own pricing, modifiers, or substitution options
Ingredient component	A direct resale or supply ingredient	Canned drinks, packaged goods, disposable kits, or other inventory leaves

Each component shows a badge — Recipe (green) or Menu Item (blue) — so you can tell them apart at a glance.

Serving Sizes on Components

Every component has a serving size multiplier (shown as ×1.0, ×1.5, etc.). This controls how much of the recipe makes up one order of the combo:

• ×1.0 = one full serving of the recipe
• ×0.5 = half a serving (e.g., a half-sandwich in a combo)
• ×2.0 = double serving

The component's cost is calculated as: recipe cost per serving × serving size.

Per-Slot Count Scaling (Scales vs. Fixed)

Each component row also exposes a small Scales / Fixed select that controls how that slot reacts when a whole-item size modifier is picked (e.g. attaching a Regular / Large 2x size group directly to the combo itself):

Mode	What happens at "Large 2x"
Scales (default)	The slot's portion count multiplies by the size ratio. A 5-burrito tray becomes 10 burritos for production and customer customization.
Fixed	The slot's count stays at its base value. Use this for packaging, tray boxes, sauce cups, garnishes, or anything that comes "one per order" regardless of size.

The customer-facing modifier preview reflects this immediately: picking "Large" on a tray with one Fixed packaging slot grows the burrito rows but keeps the packaging row at 1.

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Creating a Combo Menu Item

1. Create a menu item and choose Package or bundle or Per-person package
2. Open Set up product/package
3. Drag (or Add) what the customer gets from Your kitchen into the
   product; stack alternatives on a slot to create customer choices
4. Set each slot's ×N quantity badge, the price tag, and the optional serves
   range (per-person packages bill per guest automatically)
5. Check the live preview for every size and a realistic sample order quantity
6. Publish the setup

For an exception that cannot use beginner setup, open Advanced component
settings and add components directly:

• Recipe components: Search for and add recipes
• Menu Item components: Search for and add existing menu items

7. Adjust internal serving amounts only when required
8. Drag components to reorder them

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Choice Groups (Combo Component Pools)

Choice groups let customers swap a component for an alternative. Instead of locking in "Fries" as the side, you create a choice group with Fries, Salad, Coleslaw, and Soup — and customers pick the one they want.

Creating a Choice Group

1. On a combo's component row, click Add Substitution Options (or New Choice Group if pools already exist)
2. The system creates a choice group named after the component (e.g., "Club Sandwich Options")
3. Click Edit Options to open the choice group modal

Managing Choice Group Items

In the choice group modal, you'll see:

• Eligible Item — The menu items customers can choose from
• Upcharge — An extra charge when they pick this item (shown as +$X.XX, or "included" if $0)
• Add item to choice group... dropdown — Add more menu items to the pool

For each item, you can set a price adjustment:

• $0.00 = included at no extra cost
• +$2.00 = costs $2 more than the base option
• Items with no upcharge show as "included"

How Price Adjustments Work

Upcharges are relative — they represent the extra cost when a customer picks a premium option. For example, in a sandwich tray:

Sandwich	Base Price	Upcharge in Pool
Grilled Cheese	$6.00 (cheapest)	+$0.00 (included)
BLT	$7.00	+$1.00
Club	$8.00	+$2.00
Reuben	$12.00	+$6.00

Sharing a Choice Group Across Slots

Multiple component slots can reference the same choice group. This is useful when a combo has several slots that all offer the same set of options — like a sandwich tray where every slot lets you pick from the same sandwich menu.

To assign a choice group to a slot, use the dropdown on the component row to select an existing group (or "No choices" to remove it).

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Per-Component Modifiers

Combos support modifiers at the component level. There are two ways modifiers appear on combo components:

Inherited from Recipes

When a component references a recipe that has recipe-level modifier groups, those groups are automatically inherited — scoped to that specific component. For example, if the burger recipe has "Toppings" and "Size" groups, the burger component in the combo inherits both.

Manually Assigned

You can also assign modifier groups directly to the combo item, either for the whole item or scoped to specific components. This is done from the menu item's Pricing & Modifiers section.

Default Modifier Selections

For combos where each component needs a pre-selected modifier, you can set default modifier selections. This is shown as a badge on the component row (e.g., "1 default" or "2 defaults").

Click + set defaults (or the defaults badge) to open the defaults panel, where you can pick which modifier option should be pre-selected for that component. Click Save Defaults to apply, or Clear All to remove all defaults.

The Set up product/package builder can pin the same presets per included item on fixed content — see Customizations & presets above. The advanced panel remains available for choice slots and other exceptions.

Real-world example: Breakfast Burrito Tray

A tray has 5 burrito components, all using the same burrito recipe. Each component has a different default protein selected:

• Slot 1 & 2: Default = "Add Bacon"
• Slot 3 & 4: Default = "Add Ham"
• Slot 5: Default = "Add Avocado"

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Combo Pricing Strategies

Strategy	How It Works
Fixed Price	The combo has one set price regardless of component costs. Most common for combos.
Fixed Price per Person	The entered price is charged for each guest.
Sum Selected Items	The package starts from the included child item prices.
Package Discount	A discount amount is subtracted from the included child item prices.

The fixed_price strategy is the most common — you set a single price for the combo (e.g., $15.00) and the food cost is calculated from the components.

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Real-World Examples

Lunch Combo

"Weekday Lunch Special" — $14.00 (fixed price)
├── Main: Grilled Chicken Sandwich (Recipe, ×1.0)
│   └── Inherited: Bread Choice, Add-Ons
├── Side: French Fries (Menu Item, ×1.0)
│   └── Choice Group: Pick Your Side (Fries, Salad, Soup)
└── Drink: Lemonade (Menu Item, ×1.0)
    └── Choice Group: Pick Your Drink (Lemonade, Iced Tea, Water)

Catering Sandwich Tray

"Sandwich Tray for 7" — $55.00 (fixed price)
├── Slot 1: Club Sandwich (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 2: BLT (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 3: Grilled Cheese (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 4: Turkey Wrap (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 5: Italian Sub (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
├── Slot 6: Veggie Sandwich (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection
└── Slot 7: Reuben (Menu Item, ×1.0) → Pool: Sandwich Selection

Pool: "Sandwich Selection" (7 items, upcharges: $0–$6)

All 7 slots share one choice group. The customer can swap any sandwich for any other — with an upcharge for premium options.

Breakfast Burrito Tray

"Burrito Tray (5 Pack)" — $55.00 (fixed price)
├── Slot 1: Burrito (Recipe, ×2.0) → Default: Add Bacon
├── Slot 2: Burrito (Recipe, ×2.0) → Default: Add Ham
└── Slot 3: Burrito (Recipe, ×1.0, Fixed) → Default: Add Avocado (garnish)

Same recipe used three times with different default protein selections. The avocado garnish slot is marked Fixed so it stays at 1 portion even when the customer picks Large 2x on the whole tray.

Seeded beginner examples

• Conference Lunch Assortment — customer-entered sandwich quantities must
  total 20, in increments of five.
• Dinner Buffet Package — priced per person, choose two mains and two sides,
  with one fixed compostable service setup per order.

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Common Questions

Q: Can a combo contain other combos?
A: A combo can include other menu items as components, and those menu items could themselves be combos. However, deeply nesting combos adds complexity — keep it simple where possible.

Q: What happens to the combo cost if I change a component's recipe?
A: The combo's food cost recalculates automatically based on the updated component costs.

Q: Can I use the same choice group for different combos?
A: Yes. Choice groups are reusable within the account and visible locations. The
builder warns before changing a list used by another product and offers Make a
private copy.

Q: How do I remove a choice group?
A: Open the choice group modal and click Delete Choice Group at the bottom. Components using that group will lose their substitution options.

Q: Do customers see the component breakdown?
A: Components and choice groups are used internally for operations — meal planning, production requirements, and cost tracking. How they're presented to customers depends on your ordering system.

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Next Steps

• Understanding Modifiers — The modifier system overview
• Recipe Modifiers — How recipe-level modifiers auto-inherit to combo components
• Advanced Modifier Settings — Pricing strategies, portions, and nested choices