Add Modifier Groups and Modifiers in the Menu Builder

Last updated: Mar 25, 2026, 1:52 PM

In this article, learn how to create modifier groups, modifiers, and configure modifier settings in the menu builder.

The menu builder makes it easy to create and add modifier groups to your Toast menu. A modifier group contains modifiers that allow guests to customize their orders. For example, a salad item might have a salad dressing modifier group that contains modifiers for dressing options. 

 

For more information and examples on modifier setup, or for instructions to add modifiers using other menu editors in Toast, see this Support Center article: Create and Manage Modifier Groups and Modifier Options.
 

In this Article:

 

Create a New Modifier Group

Modifier groups can be made to apply to an entire menu group, or to a specific item. Follow these steps to create a modifier group for either setup:
 

  1. Navigate to the menu builder (Menus > Menu management > Menu builder, or by selecting Menu builder from the Quick actions section of your Toast Web homepage).
  2. Navigate to where you want to add this modifier group.
    1. If you're adding this modifier group to a menu group, select the name of the menu group and then select Manage modifier groups at the top of the list of items in that menu group. 

      Manage modifier groups button on top of list of items of a menu group

    2. If you're adding this modifier to a specific item, select the item name from the menu group and then scroll down to the Modifier groups section of the item details page.
  3. Select + Add new to create a new modifier group. You can select + Add existing if you want to search for and add an existing modifier group that was used elsewhere in your menus. This is recommended whenever possible to reduce the number of modifiers you have to manage and to simplify reporting). The next steps in this section are for new modifier groups. 
  4. This will bring you to the modifier group details page, where you can can configure your settings for this modifier group:
    • Modifier group name
    • "Point of Sale (POS)" nickname: Shortened name for the POS, if needed
    • "Point of Sale (POS)" button color
    • Pricing strategy: The options are as follows
      • No charge: There is no charge for the modifiers in this group. Guests will not be charged for a selection.
      • Individual: Each modifier in the group has its own price. When you select this option, the table in the modifiers section will display a Price column that you use to specify the prices of the modifiers. If you want to add a negative pricing to a modifier, you can do so by entering a minus (-) sign before a modifier's price.
      • Group: All modifiers in the group share the same price. When you select this option, a price field appears in the Pricing section where you can enter the price for all the modifiers in this modifier group.
    • Modifiers: This is where you'll create the individual modifier options that are part of this modifier group. Learn more in the section below.
    • Modifier group settings: Select your desired modifier behavior (optional, optional with a POS prompt, or required) and decide whether you want to allow guests to select more than one modifier from this group. If you set the toggle to allow for duplicate modifier selections, you'll see settings where you can select the maximum number of selections, and whether or not a single modifier can be selected more than once. Required modifiers that allow for duplicate modifier selections will also prompt you to set the minimum number of selections a guest or server must make. To learn more, see this Support Center article: Set Up and Use Duplicate Modifier Selections.
    • Channel visibility: Select which ordering channels (i.e. POS, Online Ordering, etc.) this modifier group is available for. This setting can be used if you don't want guests to be able to modify Online Ordering orders. Make sure to consider whether or not a modifier group is required before adjusting the visibility settings. Learn more: Set Menu Visibility in the Menu Builder.
      • If a modifier group is not visible on a channel: A modifier selection will not be required when ordered through that channel, and the order will succeed without a modifier selection from the required modifier group
      • If a required modifier group is visible on a channel: A modifier selection will be required when ordering through that channel, the order will succeed only when a modifier from the required group has been selected, and the order will fail if a modifier from the group hasn't been selected
      • The sequence of modifier groups in Toast ordering channels is affected by the settings you specify here. In general, required modifier groups are shown first, followed by optional groups that use a POS prompt, followed by optional groups that don't use a POS prompt. However, there are other facts that affect modifier group display order. Learn more in the section below.
  5. Save your changes to the modifier group and remember to publish them to send them to the POS and other ordering channels.


Modifier groups created at the menu group level will automatically be inherited by all items in that menu group. For example, if you create a Salads menu group with a Dressing modifier group, all the salad menu items would inherit the Dressing modifier group. This can be controlled on an item-by-item basis. If you navigate to an item details page in the menu builder and scroll down to the Modifier group settings, you can select the link icon to remove the modifier group that was inherited from the menu group.

 
unlink button for inherited modifier groups

At any time, you can preview how your menus will look on your POS using the View POS layout button at the top of the menu builder page. To learn more, see Can I preview how my menus will look on my POS?.
 

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Add Modifiers to a Modifier Group

You can add new or existing modifiers to your modifier group. 

If you need to add modifiers to this group that already exist in other places in your menus, follow step 1 to get to the Modifiers table, and then select the down arrow next to the + Add button and select Add existing. This is recommended whenever possible to reduce the number of modifiers you have to manage and to simplify reporting.

To add new modifiers:

  1. In the menu builder, navigate to the modifier group page and scroll down to the Modifiers section.
  2. Enter a Name for your modifier. If your modifier group has been configured for individual pricing, you'll also need to add a Price for each modifier that you add.

    Note: If you enter a minus (-) sign before a modifier's price, the value you enter is deducted from the menu's item price. Consider using this method if a guest wants to remove a costly ingredient such as meat from a pizza or salad.

  3. To add another modifier, select + Add. A new row is added to the table where you can specify the details of the next modifier.
  4. To reorganize your modifiers select the six dots (⋮⋮) icon to the left of the modifier name and drag it up or down to reposition it on the list. To remove a modifier, select the minus (-) icon to the right of the modifier name and price. Select the pencil icon for a modifier to edit the Calories or POS button color.
  5. Once you've added all the modifiers for this group and priced them, save and publish your changes. 


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View the Order of Your Modifier Groups 

With the menu builder, you can see a preview of the order the modifier groups will display on the POS. The sequence of modifier groups in Toast ordering channels is affected by the settings you specify here. In general, required modifier groups are shown first, followed by optional groups that use a POS prompt, followed by optional groups that don't use a POS prompt. However, there are other facts that affect modifier group display order.

Learn more about what affects the modifier group display order in this Support Center article, Manage Modifier Group Display Order. 

To see a preview, navigate to the item details page and scroll down to the Modifier groups section. Select Preview display order. This will give you a sneak peek of the order the modifier groups will display on the POS. 

 

preview display order button at the bottom of the modifier groups settings   
 

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