Dish options, without shouting them to the kitchen
Every dish comes with its questions: which bread? how would you like it cooked? anything to leave out? Option groups ask them once, properly, and carry the answers in writing all the way to the kitchen.
The sum hardly anyone does
Take the extra people ask for most. Say, extra bacon at €1.20. If it’s ordered six times a day and jotted down by hand on the order, some get lost along the way: the dish goes out with bacon and gets charged without it. Six extras a day for thirty days is €216 a month. Only you know how many slip through; the arithmetic is stubborn: every extra that isn’t rung up is its full price lost, because the product has already gone out of the door.
The other side costs more. A “no mayo” said out loud that never reaches the kitchen comes back: you pay for the product twice, the table waits twice as long and the waiter gets the blame for something they did ask.
An option group is that question written down just once: what can be chosen, how many things, whether it’s required and what each one costs. You write it in the panel and from there it travels on its own to the order, the receipt and the kitchen screen.
How it works in etlas
There are two pieces and one rule. The big piece is the group (“How the meat is cooked”, “Toppings”): it holds the name and the rules. Inside go the options (“Medium”, “Extra bacon”), and each one has its own surcharge in euros: €0 if it’s free.
The group is created once and attached to the dishes that use it. If you have eight burgers, “How the meat is cooked” is written once and ticked on all eight. The group’s page tells you how many dishes it’s on.
The rules are Min., Max. and the Required tickbox. The register turns them into a phrase the waiter reads without thinking:
| How you set the group | What the register says | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Required · Max. 1 | Pick 1 | How the meat is cooked, the type of bread |
| Required · Min. 2 · Max. 2 | Pick 2 | The two sides in a set menu |
| Required · Min. 1, Max. 3 | Required | At least one sauce, up to three |
| Not required · Max. 3 | Up to 3 | Toppings with a surcharge |
Not required · Max. 0 | Optional | Taking things out: no mayo, no onion |
At the register, a dish with a required group opens the options screen by itself when you tap it. If the customer is still ordering, there’s “Choose later”: the line stays flagged on the ticket and the charge button takes you to what’s missing in one tap. With anything pending, it won’t take payment.
Surcharges are added to the line price, and the names of what was chosen appear under the product: on the customer’s receipt and on the kitchen screen, which also marks anything that costs money with a “+”. The line keeps a snapshot of what was chosen, so putting up the price of bacon tomorrow doesn’t change yesterday’s receipts.
Setting it up, step by step
- Go to Menu → Option groups and press New group.
- Give it a name (“Ceviche options”), fill in Min. and Max.
(
0in Max. means no limit) and tick Required if the customer has to choose. - Add the options one by one: name and surcharge. Leave it empty for the ones that are free.
- Go to Menu → Menus, open the menu and on the dish press All details. At the bottom, under Option groups for this dish, tick the ones it offers.
- Save. In POS → Register that dish now asks for its options.
Which groups you need, depending on your business
- Café. Two groups and that’s it: “Milk” (optional, max. 1) and “Extras” with a surcharge. Don’t turn a coffee into a form.
- Burger or poke place. One required group that decides how it’s cooked and one optional group of priced toppings. That required one is what prevents dishes coming back.
- Set lunch menu. One required group per course (“Starter”, “Main”) with max. 1. The register says “Pick 1” and nobody writes the menu down by hand.
- À la carte restaurant. Only what changes the order: cooking, side, common allergens. Everything else fits in the line note.
The usual mistakes
- A required group with no options in it. The dish asks you to choose something that doesn’t exist: the line stays on “Needs choosing” and blocks payment. If the group has ended up empty, remove it from the dish or remove the dish.
- One group per dish. Eight different “How the meat is cooked” groups are eight places to correct a price. Create it once and tick it on all eight.
- Giving the extra away. If it has a product cost, put a surcharge on it. A €0 topping you’ve been giving away for years costs more than one at €0.80 that nobody argues about.
- Turning the register into a survey. Every required group is two taps per dish. At peak times you notice it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I charge for an extra through option groups?
Yes. Each option carries its own surcharge in euros, and €0 means it’s free. Whatever is chosen is added to the price of that line on the receipt, and the names appear under the product on the receipt and on the kitchen screen.
Can one group be used for several dishes?
That’s what it’s for. You create the group once in Option groups and tick it on each dish’s page, under “All details”. Changing the price of an option changes it on every dish at once, and the group’s page tells you how many dishes it’s on.
What happens if the waiter doesn’t choose the required option?
The register won’t take payment. The button stops showing the amount and instead says how many products are unfinished; tapping it takes you to the line that’s missing something. If the customer is still ordering, “Choose later” leaves the line flagged so you can finish it before charging.
Do the options also appear on the public menu?
No. For now they’re chosen at the register —the business’s web or app version— and at the kiosk; the public menu shows the dish at its base price. If an extra is part of how you sell the dish, mention it in the product description too.