Last updated: Nov 6, 2025, 4:58 PM
Find answers to frequently asked questions about bundles and alternate packages.
| The inventory linking features described in this article are in limited release with select customers. Check back soon for updates! |
Note: Bundles and alternate packages are only available for items managed via Toast Retail.
Here is how archiving will impact linked items:
No, an alternate package cannot transition directly to a bundle or vice versa. Only standard retail items can be changed into alternate packages or bundles. If you have an alternate package that you’d like to change into a bundle (or vice versa), select Change type on the item details page to change the alternate package to a standard retail item, save changes, and then select Change type again if you want to transition the standard item to a bundle.
No, at this time it is not possible to build custom bundles (like build-your-own cheese board or flight) using modifiers with Toast Retail.
No, at this time it is not possible to temporarily swap out one item in a bundle for a different item if you’re out of stock.
No, bundles and alternate packages are not shared across locations using Toast Multilocation Management. Bundles and alternate packages are only available for the location they were created in. If you want a certain bundle or alternate package to be available for multiple locations, you will need to build them for each back-end.
Yes, you can include alternate package items within a bundle.
Yes, item bundles and alternate packages can work with the Shopify integration if they are set to manual inventory depletion. Automatic inventory depletion isn’t compatible with this integration because it only shows items as In stock or Out of stock, but an explicit inventory count is required for the Shopify integration to work.
Yes, you can link two items of the same size together as an alternate package using a ratio of 1:1 if you need to indicate inventory movement between departments or sections of your business (like a wine bar vs. the bottle shop).
Currently, for alternate packages, you can only link items together if they have the same unit of measure selected, otherwise you’ll see an error message. If you sell items in different weight measurements (e.g. you sell Parmesan cheese by the pound, but you also want to offer smaller packages of shredded Parmesan), you should make sure that the source item and the output item have the same unit of measure (in this case, both should be measured in pounds). Bundles can have a mix of weighed items and standard items without any error.
Inventory linking (bundles and alternate packages) can be used for food items as long as they are managed in the Toast Retail module. If you have food items on a different (non-Retail) menu in Toast, you need to share those items to Toast Retail by adding the menu on the Categories page (Retail > Item management > Categories).
Yes, you can continue to sell bundles or alternate packages if the items show low or no inventory. However, once an item is marked out of stock, the button for that item on the POS is disabled. If the item is scanned, it can still be added to an order and sold into a negative on-hand value. If the item is not scanned, you cannot select the button on the POS manually to add it to an order.