Menu Item Grouping

Owned by Andrea Patterson
Last updated: Sept 20, 2023 by Jenn Ferreris
8 min read

The Decision Logic Menu Item Grouping report gives users the ability to better evaluate total potential plate cost by aggregating all menu item options into a total plate cost. 

Users also have the ability to create custom report groups for like menu items within the Menu Item Grouping system.

Plate Items

  • The first step in the process is to create Plate Item Sets. 

  • Plate Items Sets are groups of menu items available as options when other “primary” menu items are purchased. 

For example, if all burgers come with a single side item choice, the side items would be added to a Plate Item Set.

Navigate to Maintenance > Menu > Menu Item Grouping > Plate Items



  • Click on the New button under the Plate Item Set heading. 

  • A pop-up window will load allowing the user to define the Plate Item Set name and the menu items that are part of the Plate Item Set.

  • Enter the Set Name into the Set Name text box.  Choose a name that easily distinguishes the group of menu items.

  • Enter a search term into the Set Items text box and click Search to locate menu items to be added to the Plate Item Set.

  • Assign items to or remove items from the Plate Set Items list by Double Clicking a menu item, Drag and Drop a menu item or group of items selected by Ctrl or Shift-Click,

  • OR using the single Right Arrow button to move a menu item or group of menu items selected by Ctrl OR Shift-Click. 

Note, The Double Right and Double Left arrows will move all menu items to the Plate Set Items list.

  • Click Save to complete the menu item assignment once all items have been added to the Plate Item Set.

Templates

  • The next step is to create Templates for the Plate Item Sets. 

  • Templates will be used as a quick way to assign specific quantities of plate set options to menu items. 

  • If lunch menu items include a single side option and dinner entrees include two side options, creating a Template for each will ensure that the proper number of sides is applied to each menu item.

  • Navigate to Maintenance > Menu > Menu Item Grouping > Plate Items

  • Click on the Create button under the Templates heading.

  • A pop-up window will load allowing the user to define the Template Name and the Plate Set Items and Quantities to be used in the Template.

  • Enter the Template Name into the Template Name text box.  Choose a name that easily distinguishes the template.

  • Enter a numeric value in the Qty column next to any Plate Set Items that belong to the Template. 

In screenshot 2, Steak Side Options are part of the Steak Side Options Template.

  • Click Save to complete the new Template.

Bulk Plate Assignment

The final step in the setup process is to assign Templates and Report Groups to individual menu items on the Bulk Plate Assignment tab. 

 

Report Groups

Report Groups are used to compare similar menu items on the Total Plate Cost report. 

Report Groups can be created for major ingredients like chicken, seafood, and steak or for order modes like dine in, to go, and catering, or for menu items that may span multiple menu item categories like entrees or combos. 

A menu item can belong to multiple Report Groups.

  • Navigate to Maintenance > Menu > Menu Item Grouping > Bulk Plate Assignment

  • Click on the New button in the Report Group window.

Note, A pop-up window will load allowing the user to define the Report Name.

  • Enter the Report Name into the Report Name text box.

  • Click Save to create the new Report Name.

Note, Report Group assignment is additive, meaning adding an additional Report Group to a menu item will not remove an existing Report Group from the menu item selected in the left pane.

Template and Report Assignment

After all Templates and Report Groups have been created, the final setup is to apply the Templates and/or Report Groups to menu items on the Bulk Plate Assignment tab.

  • Navigate to Maintenance > Menu > Menu Item Grouping > Bulk Plate Assignment

  • Enter a menu item search term into the search text box and click the Search button. 

  • Check the box in front of the menu item(s) you would like to apply a Template or Report Group to. 

  • A Check All option is available if all menu items will be applied to the same Template or Report Group.

 



  • Select the Template from the drop-down box in the Template section in the top right pane.

  • Click Apply to apply the template to the menu item(s).

  • OR Check the box in front of the Report Group(s) in the Report Group list in the bottom right pane.

  • Click Apply to apply the Report Group(s) to the menu item(s).

  • The Clear Existing checkbox allows the user to remove all options EXCEPT the current selection from the selected menu items. 

For example, if I incorrectly assigned the Steaks, Chicken, Salads, and Entrees to a steak item checking Steaks, Entrees, and Clear Existing would remove all Report Groups except for Steaks and Entrees after clicking Apply.

Note, the Template and Report Group assignments are additive, meaning adding an additional Template or Report Group to a menu item will not remove an existing Template or Report Group from the menu item selected in the left pane.

The Menu Plates tab gives users the ability to view plate cost, Template assignment, Plate Item Set assignment, and recipe information for menu items that have been assigned to a Plate Item Set. 

Report Groups and Plate Options can be edited at the menu item level from the Menu Plates tab.

  • To view, a specific menu item, you will want to enter part of the menu name into the search text box and click Search.

  • The other option is to view a specific menu category and select the category from the Category drop-down selector.

  •  Click on a menu item on the report page to populate the Recipe and Optional Items windows.

Note, Costs are based on the order guide information for the store selected in the Store drop-down.

Edit Plate Options

  • Click on a menu item on the report page.

  • Click on Edit Options in the Optional Items window in the bottom right.

  • Edit the Plate Option Items quantity and/or Plate Option Items assignment.

  • Click Save to complete the editing process.

Edit Report Groups

  • Click on a menu item on the report page.

  • Click on the Edit Reports button below the Menu Plates tab in the upper left corner.

  • Check the boxes in front of the appropriate Report options.

  • Click Save to complete the editing process.

Delete Template and Report Assignments

If you need to remove all Template and Report Groups assigned to a menu item, complete the following steps.

  • Click on a menu item on the report page.

  • Click on the Delete button below the Plate Items tab in the upper left corner.

  • Select Yes when prompted to approve the deletion.

  • OR Click on a menu item on the report page.

  • Click on the Remove button in the Optional Items page in the bottom left corner.

  • Select Yes when prompted to approve the deletion.

  • The Menu Item Grouping report allows users to view historical menu mix data for the selected Report Group. 

  • Historical sales are compared to the average total plate cost to derive the average margin and profit.

View Report 

Navigate to Reports > Menu Mix > Menu Item Grouping

  • Select the scope of the report with the Region/Group/Store selectors.

  • Select the Report Group via the Report Group drop-down.

  • Select the report range Start and End dates with the Year/Period/Week selectors.

  • Click Next to generate the report.

  • Once the report has been generated, the selectors on the report page can be utilized to generate a new report for a different Report Group, scope, or time frame.

Plate Cost Calculation

  • Plate Cost looks at the ingredients of the indicated Menu Item and pulls their market multipliers and prices to calculate the total cost of ingredients for that Menu Item.

  • It uses the market multipliers and prices for the ingredients by looking at the most recent order.

  • If it finds an order, it will go to the bid file for that order and pull the RMX, IMX, Price, and Shrink.

  • If an order can't be found for the product, then it's going to use the replacement cost or the cost to reorder those ingredients if bought today.



Any Menu Item that has the following will report on Plate Cost, and can not be excluded:

  • Has a menu category.

  • Is on a menu set.

  • Has ingredients linked to bid files with nonzero multipliers.

To get plate cost, all Shelf Extensions must be met first.

Plate Price

The Plate Cost > Price comes from the Menu Set price that was manually entered in Menu Maintenace and does not pull the price from your POS like other sales reports in Decision Logic does. 

Plate Cost looks at the ingredients of the indicated MenuItem, pulls their market multipliers and prices, then comes out with a total cost from ingredients for that MenuItem.

The process uses market multipliers and prices for the ingredients. To determine these, it's going to first look for the latest order. If it finds one, it's going to go to the bid file for that order and pull the RMX, IMX, Price, and Shrink from there (remember that it's angling for the current, market values). If the order doesn't have a big file association, e.g. it's a substitution, then it's going to pull the RMX, IMX, Price, and Shrink from the order itself. If an order can't be found for the product, then it's going to pull the best guess from the bid files mapped to that product which that store can order.

The idea of pulling "market multipliers" is a central part of a lot of the site, because it's about replacement cost. It represents what it would cost for you to reorder those ingredients today (based on current bid file prices). 

 


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