Menus
A menu defines the set of categories and products that a store offers for a given order type — eat in, takeaway, delivery, and so on. Rather than configuring a single flat list of products per store, Future Ordering separates the definition of what is available from the compiled result the customer sees.
This section describes menus and products on a conceptual level. See Importing menus for a complete menu import format reference.
Core entities
Five entities make up the menu data model:
- Menu definition — a definition of what content, paired with what pricing, to compile into a finished menu
- Content group — specifies a set of categories and products
- Price group — specifies the currency and price of items; also controls VAT
- Category — groups products for easier browsing; supports up to two levels of nesting
- Items — either a Product (a sellable item) or a Container (a configurable slot inside a product)
When a menu is imported, these entities together are compiled into a menu instance: the fully resolved list of categories and priced products that the platform presents to a guest.
Product types
Products can be configured to deliver different customer experiences: a simple snack, a sized coffee, a configurable burger, or a multi-part combo meal. These patterns are described in Product types.