Use Advanced Properties to Edit Your Menu in Bulk

In this Article:

• Before You Begin
• Open Advanced Properties
• Bulk-Edit Settings on the Advanced Properties Page
  • Step 1: Choose Which Settings to Edit From the Show/Hide Menu
  • Step 2: Expand Your Menu to Find the Items You Want to Change
  • Step 3: Edit the Values in the Columns
  • Step 4: Save and Publish Your Changes
• Settings You Can Bulk-Edit on Advanced Properties
• Why a Menu or Field Looks Greyed Out
• When to Use Advanced Properties vs Other Bulk Tools
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Articles

Before You Begin

Applies to: Toast Web

Permissions needed:

• Menu edit permissions in Toast Web. Restaurants on Multi-Location Management (MLM) need restaurant group-level permissions to edit menus that are targeted at the group level. 

What you'll accomplish: Edit settings across many menus, groups, items, and modifiers from a single page — without opening each one individually.

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Open Advanced Properties

The Advanced Properties page lives under the Bulk Management tab in Toast Web.

1. In Toast Web, navigate to Menus > Bulk management > Advanced properties.
2. The page lists every part of your menu — menus, groups, items, and modifiers — in a single view.

Expected outcome: You see your full menu hierarchy in one table, with rows for each menu, group, item, and modifier. If you do not see this page at all, the Bulk management tab may be hidden by your permission set — contact your account owner or Customer Care.

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Bulk-Edit Settings on the Advanced Properties Page

Advanced Properties lets you edit one or many settings (called "columns") at the same time across multiple parts of your menu. The procedure below works the same way for descriptions, prep stations, sales categories, taxes, visibility, inventory, and every other column listed in the Settings You Can Bulk-Edit section below.

Step 1: Choose Which Settings to Edit From the Show/Hide Menu

1. Select the Show/Hide drop-down menu on the top right corner of the Advanced Properties page.
2. Select each setting you want to edit. Each selection appears as a new column on the table.
3. You can select more than one setting at once — for example, Sales Category, Prep Stations, and Applicable Taxes all together — so you can edit them in the same session.

Expected outcome: Each setting you selected appears as a new editable column on the Advanced Properties table.

Step 2: Expand Your Menu to Find the Items You Want to Change

1. Use the arrow (>) icons on the left side of each menu, group, or item to expand or collapse sections of your menu.
2. Continue expanding until the menus, groups, items, or modifiers you want to edit are visible.

Expected outcome: Every row you need to edit is visible in the table. You can also select the name of a menu, group, item, or modifier to open its full details page if you need a setting that is not available as a column on Advanced Properties.

Step 3: Edit the Values in the Columns

1. For each row, edit the value directly in the column. Text fields accept typed input; drop-downs let you select from a list; checkboxes toggle eligibility.
2. To make the same change across many rows quickly, edit each row one after another — the page keeps your earlier edits until you save.

Expected outcome: Your edits show in the table but are not yet active in your restaurant.

Step 4: Save and Publish Your Changes

1. Select Save to keep your changes on the Advanced Properties page.
2. Select Publish to push your updates to all of your ordering channels — POS, Toast Online Ordering, kiosks, and third-party integrations.

Expected outcome: Your changes appear on the POS, on Toast Online Ordering, and across every ordering channel within a few minutes. If updates do not appear on the POS, see Toast Web Updates Not Appearing on POS in the Related Articles section. 

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Settings You Can Bulk-Edit on Advanced Properties

The settings below are available from the Show/Hide drop-down. Each becomes an editable column when selected. You can mix and match as many as you need in one session.

Properties

• POS Name — A shortened name that appears to staff on the POS terminal. Useful for quick-order screens — for example, "CHX SAND" for "Californian Chicken Sandwich".
• Kitchen Name — A shortened name that appears to kitchen staff on tickets or KDS screens. For example, "Lava Cake" for "Molten Chocolate Lava Cake".
• Description — The item description shown on digital ordering menus, Toast Online Ordering, and the POS item details screen. Group-level descriptions do not appear on Toast Online Ordering.
• Calories — Caloric information per item or modifier. At this time, calorie counts only appear in the Nightly Menu JSON export.
• Visible To — Controls whether the menu, group, or item shows on the POS, on kiosks, on Toast Online Ordering, and with online ordering partners.
• Prompt for Quantity — Requires the server to enter a quantity at the POS. Useful for items sold by the pound or in multiple quantities.
• SKU — Bulk-enter SKUs for all items in one place.
• PLU — Bulk-enter PLUs for all items in one place.
• Inventory — Manage current inventory quantities. Lets you mark items out of stock or set a count on daily specials. For full inventory help, see "Troubleshoot Item Count" in the Related Articles section.
• Modifier Ordering Priority — Controls the order modifiers appear on kitchen tickets and KDS screens.

Preparation

• Course — Sets the course each menu, group, or item belongs to.
• Prep Stations — Sets which station the menu, group, or item is sent to when ordered.
• Prep Time — The time in seconds it takes to prepare an item or modifier.
• Sort Order — Sets the order items appear on KDS screens and printed kitchen tickets.

Scanning

• Embedded Amount Type — Choose between price, price-composed, and weight.

Weighing

• Tare Weight — The weight of containers used to hold weighed food.
• Unit of Measure — Choose between pounds (lb), ounces (oz), kilograms (kg), or grams (g) for weighed items.

Reporting

• Sales Category — Sets which sales category a group or item belongs to for reporting.

Discounting

• Can be discounted? — Sets whether the menu, group, or item is eligible to have a discount applied.

Rewards

• Exclude from Rewards program? — Sets whether the menu, group, or item is eligible to accrue loyalty or rewards points.

Taxes

• Applicable Taxes — Select which taxes apply to a group or item (for example, state, local, or both).
• Tax Inclusion Option — Sets whether the price in Toast includes tax or whether tax is added at the payment step.
• Dining Option Tax (California) — Manages applicable taxes based on California's 80/80 Exemption Law (No Tax for Takeout).

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Why a Menu or Field Looks Greyed Out

If a menu, group, item, or specific column on the Advanced Properties page is greyed out and you cannot edit it, one of the conditions below is usually the cause.

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When to Use Advanced Properties vs Other Bulk Tools

Toast offers three bulk tools under Menus > Bulk management. Each is best for a different job.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I bulk-edit descriptions on Advanced Properties?

Also asked as:

• • "is there a way to bulk add descriptions for items?"

Yes. You can bulk-edit descriptions on the Advanced Properties page. Select Description from the Show/Hide drop-down, expand your menu to the items you want to update, then edit each description directly in the column. Save and publish when finished. Note that group-level descriptions do not appear on Toast Online Ordering.

Can I bulk-update prep stations on Advanced Properties?

Also asked as:

• • "if a prep station is listed in the advanced properties, where will it print"
  • "why is one of my prep stations not showing up in my advanced properties"

Yes. Select Prep Stations from the Show/Hide drop-down to bulk-update which station each menu, group, or item is sent to. If a prep station you expect is not appearing in the drop-down for an item, it may not be configured for your restaurant — confirm the prep station exists in your restaurant configuration first.

Can I bulk-update sales categories on Advanced Properties?

Also asked as:

• • "I need to bulk update menu items so that have the correct sales category"
  • " bulk edit categories"

Yes. Select Sales Category from the Show/Hide drop-down, then assign the right sales category to each row. You can also do Sales Category, Prep Stations, and Applicable Taxes in the same session — select all three from Show/Hide before you start editing.

Can I bulk-update taxes on Advanced Properties?

Also asked as:

• • "how do i bulk update taxes"
  • "On manage menus > advanced properties, what should I set applicable taxes to if I want to have the taxes add on to the charge"

Yes. Select Applicable Taxes and Tax Inclusion Option from the Show/Hide drop-down. Applicable Taxes controls which taxes apply (state, local, or both); Tax Inclusion Option controls whether tax is included in the price or added at the payment step. For full guidance on tax setup, see "Set Up Tax Rates and Adjust Tax Options" in the Related Articles section.

Can I bulk-set items as out of stock or in stock from Advanced Properties?

Also asked as:

• • "can i bulk set all menu items to instock"
  • "When I create new items, I would like for them to default to out of stock for all locations. is there an easy way to do this from toast web without going in one by one"

Yes — for in-stock counts. Select Inventory from the Show/Hide drop-down to set counts or mark items out of stock across many rows at once. For per-location defaults across an enterprise rollout, see "Troubleshoot Item Count" in the Related Articles section.

Can I bulk-change prices on Advanced Properties?

No. Price is not a column on Advanced Properties. Use the Price Editor for bulk price changes — see "Use the Price Editor Tool" in the Related Articles section. The Price Editor supports setting a price, increasing by a dollar amount, increasing by a percentage, and decreasing by a dollar amount or percentage.

Can I bulk-add new menu items or modifiers from Advanced Properties?

Also asked as:

• • "how to bulk edit modifiers"
  • "HOW TO CHANGE A MODIFIER IN BULK"
  • "how can you bulk add tags to menu items"

Adding new items, modifier groups, or modifiers in bulk happens from the + Add drop-down within Advanced Properties — using Add Existing Items or Bulk Add New Items. The procedure is documented in "Bulk Add Items, Modifier Groups, and Modifiers" in the Related Articles section. The procedure on this page (editing existing columns) is for changing settings on items that already exist, not for adding new ones.

Can I bulk-copy a menu or items between locations?

Also asked as:

• • "I want to copy the menu folder how can I do? from the advanced properties"
  • "is there a way to BULK copy a menu over as I need to create a retail list"
  • "is there a way to copy items as bulk in our drink menu to another location"

Not from Advanced Properties directly. For copying menu entities within a single location (reuse, copy, or deep copy), see "Reuse or Copy Menu Groups, Items, and Modifiers" in the Related Articles section. For copying menus across multiple locations using Multi-Location Management, see "Manage Menus Across Locations Using Multilocation Management" in the Related Articles section. If your restaurant does not use MLM, Customer Care can copy menus between locations on your behalf.

Why is the Bulk Management tab missing in my Toast Web?

Also asked as:

• • "I can't find the bulk management tab to add new item"

The Bulk Management tab is part of the Menus section in Toast Web and is gated by your user permissions. If you do not see Menus > Bulk management in your navigation, your user account most likely does not have menu edit permissions. Contact your account owner or Customer Care to confirm your permission set.

Is "Advanced Properties" the same as "advanced settings"?

The Advanced Properties page is sometimes informally called "advanced settings." In Toast Web's navigation, the canonical name is Advanced properties under Menus > Bulk management. The Advanced settings button on a menu group's details page is a different control — it opens that single group's settings panel, not the bulk-edit table.

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Related Articles

• Bulk Add Items, Modifier Groups, and Modifiers.
• Use the Price Editor Tool
• Use the Menu Bulk Import Tool
• Reuse or Copy Menu Groups, Items, and Modifiers 
• Manage Menus Across Locations Using Multilocation Management 

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