Designing a kiosk menu: photos, modifiers and upsells

A kiosk menu works when a guest can finish an order without asking anyone. That means plain item names, choice groups that say how many to pick, a photo for each item, and one add-on offer before checkout. Build it in your POS: Square, Toast and Clover kiosks all read their menu from the POS, so a clear POS menu is most of the work.

Staff know that "BYO BWL" on the register means a build-your-own bowl. A kiosk puts that same text in front of a guest with nobody to explain it. The rules below come from Square's, Toast's and Clover's own kiosk help pages, plus a worksheet and a worked example you can copy.

Where do you build the kiosk menu?

POS	Where kiosk items come from	What the help pages say to watch
Square	A menu with Kiosk turned on under Sales channels; several menus can switch by menu hours	Keep the kiosk to 100 items or fewer; more can slow the app and overwhelm guests
Toast	Menus, groups and items set to Visible To: In-store orders: Kiosk	The POS Name shows on the kiosk, so abbreviations there reach guests
Clover	The kiosk pulls the menu from Clover POS; you turn categories, items and modifiers on or off for the kiosk	Guided setup starts by checking your items and images

Sources: Square's kiosk menu guide, Toast's Kiosk Menu Setup, Clover's kiosk page and Clover's kiosk launch post.

Hide what guests should not order: staff meals, open-price items and anything that needs an age check. Square's menu guide says its kiosk does not support age verification. It also says an item with no price shows as $0 and can go in the cart, so remove placeholder items before launch.

How should you name items?

Toast's guide says to name items as guests would say them: "Chicken Tenders", not "Chix Tend". Keep short forms in the kitchen name field, which prints on tickets but does not show on the kiosk. Toast also suggests turning on item descriptions for dishes whose names do not explain themselves, such as a house torta.

Fill in this worksheet for every item before you touch the kiosk settings:

Column	What to write	Example
Name on the register today	Copy it exactly	SPCY CHKN SAND
Guest name	The words a guest would say, spelled out	Spicy Chicken Sandwich
Kitchen name	The short form cooks read	SPCY CHKN
Description	Only if the name leaves a question; one line with the main parts and heat	Fried thigh, pickles, chili mayo, brioche bun
Required choices	Each group the guest must answer, with how many to pick	None
Photo	Yes, or which category photo covers it	Yes
Kiosk	Show, hide, or show only at certain hours	Show

How should you set up modifier groups?

1. Name each group as a question or an instruction. Toast gives "Toasted?" and "Choose Your Protein" as examples.
2. Mark required groups as required. A protein on a build-your-own sandwich has to be chosen. Toast notes that optional groups should not pop up on screen, so set the right behavior on each group.
3. Set a minimum and maximum. Square lets you set a maximum, such as three toppings. On Toast's kiosk, once a guest reaches the maximum for a group, the ordering screen moves them to the next group.
4. Add "No" options for removals. Toast suggests a group of options like "No Black Beans", with none selected by default.
5. Keep nesting shallow. Toast's kiosk supports one level of nested modifiers, such as a side salad that then asks for a dressing.
6. Allow doubles where guests expect them. Toast's kiosk can let a guest pick the same sauce twice on wings if you turn on duplicate modifiers.
7. Give guests a place for notes. Square offers a text modifier of up to 150 characters, Toast has special requests and Clover has special instructions. Toast also suggests an optional "Allergies?" group applied to all food items.

What photos work on a kiosk?

Square's kiosk guide strongly suggests an image on every item and category, and says a category with no image borrows one from its items. Toast adds images to items and menu groups, and both appear on its kiosk screens.

POS	File types	Size guidance
Square	JPG, JPEG, PNG, GIF, up to 15MB	At least 2000 x 2000 pixels, square (1:1)
Toast	JPG or PNG, up to 5 MB	A 750 x 450 pixel rectangle; the screen may crop it, so center the food

Sources: Square's image upload guide and Toast's menu image guide.

Because Square wants a square image and Toast a wide one, shoot with room around the plate and crop for each system. Photograph the dish as your kitchen serves it, in the same bowl or wrap, on the same background for every item. A photo that shows more than the guest gets can lead to a complaint at the pickup counter.

Where should upsells go?

Both Square and Toast put the add-on offer at the end, before payment:

• Square: Smart Upsells shows up to three suggested items on the order review screen, chosen from your catalog. Items that need a modifier choice (with no default that answers it) and combo items are not suggested.
• Toast: you pick up to six upsell items to offer before checkout, per Toast's kiosk setup guide.

The Square rule has a practical side: a fountain drink that makes the guest choose a size will not appear as a suggestion. Give it a default size and it becomes eligible. On any kiosk, offer items that need no further choices (a cookie, chips, a drink with a default size), and check that the price on the kitchen ticket matches the price on screen.

What does a before-and-after kiosk menu look like?

This example uses a made-up bowl restaurant. It is an illustration, not a customer's menu.

Part	Before (register menu)	After (kiosk menu)
Item name	BYO BWL	Build Your Own Bowl, with kitchen name BYO BWL
Base	BASE (optional, no limit)	Choose your base: required, pick 1
Protein	PROT (optional, no limit)	Choose your protein: required, pick 1; double protein as a paid option
Toppings	TOPS (no limit)	Add toppings: optional, up to 4
Removals	Staff type "no cilantro" in a note	Remove anything? No Cilantro, No Onions, none selected by default
Allergies	Told to the cashier	Allergies? optional, pick any
Drink	FTN DRK, size required, no default	Fountain Drink, Medium set as default, so Square can suggest it
Photos	None	One bowl photo, one per protein, one per drink
Hidden from kiosk	Nothing	Staff meal, open-price catering item, beer

Do chains have extra menu rules?

If your restaurant is part of a chain with 20 or more locations, the FDA's menu labeling rules require calorie counts on menus and menu boards. The rule's text (21 CFR 101.11) includes electronic menus in its definition of a menu. Ask your lawyer how that applies to your kiosk screens.

If your kiosk vendor lets you design your own buttons, the W3C's accessibility guideline sets a minimum touch target of 24 by 24 CSS pixels, with 44 by 44 as the enhanced level.

How do you test the menu before launch?

1. Order every item once and compare each kitchen ticket with the screen.
2. Try to check out without answering a required group. The kiosk should stop you.
3. Pick one more topping than the maximum.
4. Mark an item sold out in the POS and time how long it takes to leave the kiosk.
5. Accept an upsell and check its price on the ticket.
6. Hand the kiosk to someone who has not eaten at your restaurant before and watch where they stop.

The same cleanup helps any channel that reads your POS menu. Maple's voice ordering kiosk, in early access with a small number of restaurants, takes its menu from the POS, and our phone-ordering menu worksheet covers the same item and modifier checks for phone orders. For the hardware and fees behind a kiosk, see the kiosk buyer's guide.

Published by Maple. This AI-assisted guide combines Square's, Toast's and Clover's kiosk help pages, the FDA's menu labeling rule and W3C accessibility guidance with an original naming worksheet and a made-up before-and-after menu. It does not report a Maple test of any kiosk or claim any sales result from menu changes.