> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.now-os.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Menu and items

> Create your items in the backoffice, set their prices, organize them into screens, then publish so your registers pick up the new version.

Everything you sell is defined in the backoffice. This page covers creating items, pricing them, and publishing to your registers. It applies to both restaurant mode and retail mode — only the labels change: in retail mode the backoffice says **Products** instead of **Items**, and **POS layout** instead of **Menus & screens**. For the difference between the two modes, see [modes](/en/modes).

## Where to find it

In the backoffice sidebar, open the **Menu & Catalog** section (**Catalog** in retail mode). Two screens matter here:

* **Item library** (**Products** in retail mode): the list of all your items, with their prices. This is where you create and edit items.
* **Menus & screens** (**POS layout** in retail mode): how items are organized into screens and tiles, the way your staff will see them on the register. See [POS layout](/en/backoffice/pos-layout).

A location can run several menus — for example a **Lunch** menu and a **Dinner** menu. You create and switch between them directly in **Menus & screens**, see [POS layout](/en/backoffice/pos-layout).

## Create an item

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Item library">
    The list shows each item with its base price, its customization if any
    (modifier groups), and an **On menu** badge showing how many menu tiles the
    item is placed on. In restaurant mode, the **Preparation stations** column
    shows its destinations and flags **Unassigned** when needed. The **Tax**
    column flags **Needs setup** until a valid group is assigned. Search filters
    by item or station name.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click New item">
    The editor opens as a **full page** (**New product** in retail mode).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Fill in the details">
    * **Name**: the name shown on the register and on the receipt. - **Base
      price**: the item's starting price. The label says **tax incl.** or **tax
      excl.** depending on your location's tax setting — see
      [taxes](/en/backoffice/taxes). - **Tax group**: the tax group applied. When
      only one active group exists, it is preselected. **Configure before
      publishing** keeps an incomplete draft saveable but blocks publishing. A
      tax-exempt item uses an explicit 0% group. As soon as a group is picked, a
      preview under the price shows the tax breakdown. - **Color**: optional.
      Colors the item's tile on the register; without a color, the tile stays on
      the neutral surface. - **SKU** and **Barcode**: optional. The barcode can be
      an EAN/UPC, a supplier code, or an internal code created with the **Generate
      internal** button — handy in retail mode for scanning at the register. - In
      retail mode, you can turn on **Variants** to sell the product in several
      versions (sizes, formats…), each with its own price, barcode and stock — see
      [variants](/en/backoffice/variants). - In restaurant mode, **Preparation
      stations** lets you search for and select one or more destinations. An item
      without an active station cannot be sent.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Click Create item">
    The item is added to your catalog draft. It only appears on the registers
    after publishing — see below.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  In restaurant mode, this page is also where you add modifier groups (size,
  extras…). See [modifiers and combos](/en/backoffice/modifiers-combos).
</Note>

## Edit or delete an item

* Click a row in the list to reopen the item, or use **Edit item** in the row's **⋯** menu. Your changes are only saved when you click **Save item**.
* To delete, choose **Delete item** in the **⋯** menu, then confirm.

<Warning>
  Deleting an item also removes all its modifier groups and every menu tile that
  pointed to it.
</Warning>

## Place items on the menu

An item created in the library is not yet visible on the register: it needs to be placed as a tile on a menu screen. Items without a tile are flagged with an **Unused** badge in the **On menu** column — handy for spotting what still needs a home.

Organizing screens and tiles happens in **Menus & screens**, see [POS layout](/en/backoffice/pos-layout).

## Coursing

<Note>Restaurant mode only.</Note>

**Coursing** organizes the meal into courses (starters, mains, desserts) that the register sends to the kitchen one after another. On the floor, see [coursing](/en/pos/coursing).

Everything is set in **Menu & Catalog → Courses**:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Turn on coursing">
    On the right, the **Enable coursing** switch turns the course mode on across
    your registers. While it is off, sending to the kitchen fires everything in
    one go.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Define your courses">
    On an empty menu, **Use Starters / Mains / Desserts** creates the three
    classic courses in one click — rename them afterwards if you like. Otherwise
    add them one by one with **Add course**. The list order is the **firing
    order**: reorder with the arrows, delete with the trash icon, rename by
    tapping the field. Finish with **Save**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Give each item a default course">
    In an item's editor (**Item library**), the **Default course** field sets
    which course the item lands in automatically when staff add it to an order.
    Leave it on **No course** for an item with no course.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Publish">
    Like any catalog change, click **Publish all changes** to push the
    configuration to the registers.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  The **Default course** field only appears in the item editor once at least one
  course is defined.
</Note>

## Publish to the registers

Your changes (items, prices, screens) are saved automatically into a draft, but the registers see none of it until you publish.

In the backoffice's global header, a badge tells you where you stand:

* **Saved changes ready to publish**: your draft contains changes that are not published yet.
* **Changes to save**: the current page still contains local edits. Save them before publishing.
* **Up to date**: every saved change is already published.

The **Publish all changes** button remains available from every location page.
It publishes the location's entire draft — including catalog, tax, receipt, and
settings changes — not only the page on screen.

A confirmation dialog restates that scope. After publishing, open the main
register and tap **Refresh** to download the new configuration. Until that step is
completed, the registers continue using the previous version. See [the main
register](/en/pos/main-register).

Publishing is refused while an item is marked **Needs setup** or uses a group
without an active rate. The message opens the exact item or group to fix; for
several items, it opens the **Item library** filtered to tax issues.

<Note>
  You can prepare big menu changes at your own pace: until you publish, service
  on the floor keeps running on the current version. Orders already open keep
  the prices they were created with in any case.
</Note>