Overview
The Daily Menu module lets restaurants plan, publish, and distribute daily menus across every channel — from a branded PDF menu card and an embeddable website widget to automated mailing list sends and digital signage. Menu groups (e.g. Business Lunch, Dinner Menu) each have their own scheduling rules, mailing lists, and release logic. Deeply integrated with the Mailings module for automated distribution and with the Table Reservations module to allow guests to pre-select their menu at booking time. Daily menus are restaurant-scoped — each outlet manages its own menus independently.
Core Daily Menu Features
Feature | Description |
Menu group management | Define multiple named menu groups per restaurant (e.g. Business Lunch, Dinner Menu), each with its own scheduling rules, mailing lists, and course structure |
Flexible course definition | Any number of courses per menu; each course can be a fixed dish or a guest-choice selection with configurable option limits |
Dish library | Reusable dish library: a dish defined once (e.g. "Wiener Schnitzel") can be reused across multiple menus and weeks without re-entry |
Pricing options | Configurable per restaurant: price per full menu, price per course, or per-choice pricing — supports all common daily menu pricing models |
Extras & add-ons per course | Optional extras with a surcharge per course (e.g. sauce choice, side swap) — analogous to product options/add-ons |
Weekly planning view | Full-week overview for planning all menus at once; previous week can be copied as a starting point to reduce repetitive entry |
Release scheduling | Per menu group: define when menus are released (same-day, day-before, next-day, or full-week release) — configurable independently per group |
Manual override | Any authorized user can edit or publish a menu immediately, bypassing the scheduled release — for last-minute ingredient changes |
Blackout days & closed days | Define holidays, closed days, and rest days per restaurant; no automatic sends or releases fire on blocked dates — synchronized with opening hours |
Preview & approval step | Optional approval gate before automated distribution: a responsible staff member confirms the menu before it is sent to subscribers |
Branded menu card export | Export any daily menu as a branded PDF (DIN A4 stand-up display and DIN A5 handout templates) or as a multilingual menu card (DE / EN / FR / IT) |
QR code menu card | Generate a QR code linking to the current digital menu — always up to date; designed for table displays to replace printed cards |
Embeddable website widget | Embed the current daily menu directly on the restaurant's website via a widget |
Digital signage output | Live menu output for screens at the entrance or in the kitchen via digital signage integration |
Reservation pre-selection | Guests can pre-select their menu choices when booking online (requires Table Reservations module) — optional pre-order discount configurable per restaurant |
Automated mailing distribution | If the Mailings module is booked: each menu group has its own mailing list; menus are sent automatically on the configured release schedule |
Availability limits per choice | For choice-per-course menus: define a maximum count per option (e.g. max 20× daily special A); the option is shown as unavailable once the limit is reached |
Popularity analytics | Per-dish statistics on how often each menu option was selected — data basis for kitchen planning and food-waste reduction |
Planned vs. actual comparison | Compare planned portion quantities against actually sold quantities per course and option |
Menu Groups & Course Structure
Each restaurant can define any number of named menu groups. Groups are completely independent in their scheduling, mailing lists, and course structure.
Typical groups: Business Lunch (released daily), Dinner Menu (released one week in advance), Event Menu
Courses: any number of courses per menu — e.g. starter, soup, main, dessert
Course type: each course can be a fixed dish or a choice (guest selects from a defined list of options)
Choice limits: for choice courses, a maximum available quantity can be defined per option — once reached, that option is marked unavailable
Extras & add-ons: each course supports optional extras with a surcharge (e.g. sauce choice, side swap), configured the same way as product add-ons elsewhere in servEase
Dish library: dishes are stored in a shared library per restaurant and can be reused across any number of menus and weeks without being re-entered
Pricing
Pricing mode is configured once per restaurant and applies to all menus of that restaurant:
Pricing mode | Description |
|---|---|
Full menu price | One price for the complete menu regardless of course count or choice |
Price per course | Each course has its own price; the guest's total is the sum of chosen courses |
Price per choice | Prices are set individually per choice option within a course |
Extras and add-ons always carry a separate, configurable surcharge on top of the selected pricing model.
Release Scheduling
Each menu group has its own release schedule, defined independently from other groups.
Same-day release — menu is published and sent on the day it applies
Day-before release — published and sent the evening before
Next-day release — published after the day (suitable for retrospective menus or last-call sends)
Full-week release — all menus for the coming week are published and sent at once (e.g. every Monday for the upcoming week)
Different schedules per group — Lunch can be released daily while the Dinner Menu is released one week in advance
Blackout days — closed days, public holidays, and rest days are defined per restaurant; no automatic release or send occurs on those days; the schedule automatically aligns with configured opening hours
Preview & Approval
An optional approval gate can be enabled per restaurant or per menu group. When active:
A responsible staff member is notified before any automated send fires
They review the menu and confirm with one tap — only then does the mailing go out
Designed to catch last-minute errors (wrong price, unavailable dish) before the menu reaches guests
Publication & Distribution Channels
Channel | Description |
Embeddable website widget | Displays the current daily menu directly on the restaurant's website — always shows the active menu without manual updates |
Branded PDF export | DIN A4 stand-up display and DIN A5 handout templates, ready to print — branded with the restaurant's corporate design |
Multilingual export | PDF and widget output available in German, English, French, and Italian — relevant for DACH and CH markets |
QR code menu card | QR code linking to the live digital menu — scannable from table displays; always current, replacing static printed cards |
Digital signage | Live output to screens at the entrance or in the kitchen via digital signage integration |
Automated mailing send | Menus sent automatically to one or more mailing lists per menu group on the configured release schedule (requires Mailings module) |
Automated Mailing Distribution (requires Mailings module)
If the Mailings module is booked, each menu group can be connected to one or more dedicated mailing lists.
Separate mailing lists per menu group — guests can subscribe to Lunch only, Dinner only, or both
Automated sends fire according to the menu group's release schedule — no manual action required once configured
The optional approval/preview step can be inserted before any automated send
Mailing templates for daily menus are branded and managed within the Mailings module's email builder
Guests subscribe and unsubscribe via the standard double opt-in mechanism of the Mailings module
Reservation Pre-Selection (requires Table Reservations module)
If the Table Reservations module is booked, guests can pre-select their daily menu choices at the time of online booking.
Menu selection is offered as an optional step in the online reservation flow
The kitchen receives pre-order data ahead of service — enables better planning and reduces food waste
An optional pre-order discount can be configured per restaurant or tenant to incentivize early selection
Pre-selected choices are visible on the reservation detail in the table plan
Manual Override
Any authorized staff member can bypass the release schedule at any time:
Edit a menu immediately and publish it — overrides the scheduled release
Designed for last-minute changes such as ingredient unavailability or supplier shortfalls
Override is logged with timestamp and user for audit purposes
Analytics & Reporting
Popularity Analytics
Per-dish and per-choice tracking: how often was each menu option selected
Aggregated over any date range — week, month, or custom period
Identifies which daily specials perform best — data basis for kitchen planning and purchasing decisions
Supports food-waste reduction by aligning planned quantities with actual demand
Planned vs. Actual Comparison
Compare the quantity planned per course option against the quantity actually sold
Highlights systematic over- or under-planning per dish or course
Exportable as a report for kitchen and purchasing review
Dashboard Metrics
The Daily Menu module provides operators with always-current key figures at a glance:
Number of menus planned for the current week vs. menus still missing
Total mailing subscribers per menu group
Most-selected dish option of the current week
Average fill rate per choice option (planned vs. sold)
:::danger Pricing
DO NOT QUOTE FROM THIS PAGE Quotable pricing information can be found only at Pricing & Packages :::
:::info Known Issues