If your DoorDash menu is connected to a POS (such as Toast, Square, or Clover) or to a menu management provider (such as Deliverect, Chowly, or ItsaCheckmate), your menu is managed in two places. Your POS is the primary source for your menu, and changes you make there sync to DoorDash automatically. The DoorDash Merchant Portal handles a smaller set of DoorDash-specific settings.
Menu changes on a POS-managed menu belong in your POS. Menu edits made in Menu Manager in the Merchant Portal are not permanent and may be overwritten by your next POS update. This article shows where each change belongs.
How to Check Whether Your Menu Is Managed by a POS
To check whether your DoorDash menu is managed by a POS, look at your menu hours in the Merchant Portal.
In the Merchant Portal, click Settings, then Store availability.
Look at the Regular menu hours section. If it shows an Edit in Toast button and the note "Changes can only be edited directly from Toast," your menu is managed by Toast.
If you use a POS or menu management provider other than Toast, you won't see the Edit in Toast button. To see which POS and technology integrations are connected to your store, click Settings, then Integrations.
If your menu is managed directly on DoorDash and has no POS integration, you make menu changes in Menu Manager in the Merchant Portal, and you don't need the table below.
If you're still not sure which system manages your menu, contact DoorDash Support at oosupport@doordash.com and include your Store ID.
Where to Make Each Change on a POS-Managed Menu
The table below lists common menu and store changes for a POS-managed DoorDash menu, where to make each one, and what to expect after you make it.
What you want to change | Where to do it | Notes |
Add, rename, or remove menu items | In your POS | New items appear on DoorDash after your next menu sync. |
Item descriptions | In your POS |
|
Item prices | In your POS | Depending on your provider, prices sync instantly or take up to 24 hours. |
Modifiers and options (sizes, add-ons, choices) | In your POS |
|
Categories and category order | In your POS |
|
Item photos | In your POS | DoorDash pulls photos from your POS, reviews them, and publishes the ones that are approved. See How to Update Menu Photos below. |
Mark an item out of stock | In your POS | The out-of-stock status syncs to DoorDash. |
Which items appear on DoorDash | In your POS | Turn on your POS's online ordering or third-party visibility setting for each item. |
Regular weekly menu hours | In your POS | With Toast, DoorDash shows these hours as read-only. Some other providers also allow hour changes in the Merchant Portal, but managing hours in your POS avoids sync issues. |
Pickup pricing, alcohol or age-restriction tags, and bike-friendly Dasher tags | In DoorDash, depending on your POS provider | Not every provider allows these edits on DoorDash. |
Pickup and delivery price markup or markdown | Merchant Portal | If your POS doesn't support separate pickup and delivery prices, go to Settings > Account Settings and click Add next to Menu Pickup and Delivery Price. The adjustment applies to one store at a time. |
Special hours and closures (holidays, events, one-day changes) | Merchant Portal | Settings > Store availability > Set special hours. See How to Set Special Hours or Pause Your Store below. |
Pause your store (stop orders right now) | Merchant Portal | Settings > Store availability > Pause my store. See How to Set Special Hours or Pause Your Store below. |
Busy mode (extra prep time at peak periods) | Merchant Portal | |
Store phone number and website | Merchant Portal | |
Customer pickup instructions | Merchant Portal |
In short, your POS owns your menu and your regular menu hours. The Merchant Portal is for exceptions, such as special hours and pausing, and for DoorDash-only settings like busy mode and pickup instructions.
Note: DoorDash shows your closing time 20 minutes earlier than your actual closing time, to allow time for late orders.
How to Set Special Hours or Pause Your Store With a POS-Managed Menu
Even when your POS manages your regular menu hours, you set special hours and pause your store on DoorDash. Both options are on the Store availability page in the Merchant Portal.
In the Merchant Portal, click Settings, then Store availability.
At the top of the page, click Set special hours to change your hours for a holiday, event, or single day, or click Pause my store to stop taking orders now.
The Store availability page also shows:
Store status, which shows whether your store is open or closed and includes Pause all ordering channels and View status history
Ordering channel, which shows the status of each channel you sell through, such as Marketplace and Online Ordering
Special hours and closures, which lists the special hours you've already scheduled. Click Add new to create one.
Special hours apply only to the dates you choose and leave your regular weekly schedule as it is.
Note: For a holiday or one-day change, use special hours instead of editing your regular hours in your POS and changing them back later.
Why Menu Manager Edits Don't Last on a POS-Managed Menu
If your DoorDash menu is managed by a POS, make menu changes in your POS, not in Menu Manager in the Merchant Portal. This includes items, descriptions, prices, modifiers, photos, and category order. The only exceptions are the edits your POS provider allows on DoorDash, listed in the table above.
Menu Manager edits on a POS-managed menu are not permanent. They may be overwritten by updates from your POS, and they can cause orders to fail.
Important: If a change you made in Menu Manager has reverted on DoorDash, make the same change in your POS and wait for the next sync.
How to Update Menu Photos When Your Menu Is POS-Managed
When your DoorDash menu is managed by a POS, add or change menu photos in your POS, not in Menu Manager. Each photo needs a public image URL. DoorDash pulls photos from your POS, reviews each one against its quality standards, and publishes the photos that are approved.
To give your menu photos the best chance of approval:
Show the item and portion accurately, with at least 80% of the item visible.
Show one item per photo.
Avoid unrealistic presentation or styling.
Use high-resolution, in-focus images with even lighting and no overexposure.
Don't include text, graphics, borders, or people.
Use a 16:9 aspect ratio, a JPG, JPEG, or PNG file, and a maximum file size of 2 MB.
How Long POS Changes Take to Reach DoorDash
How long a POS change takes to appear on DoorDash depends on your POS provider and the type of change:
New menu items: Some integrations sync immediately. Others sync on a regular schedule, typically every hour or so.
Prices: Some providers sync price changes instantly. Others can take up to 24 hours.
Toast menu hours: Changes to your menu hours in Toast appear on DoorDash within 2 hours.
If you need a change live today, such as closing early or removing an item, make it in your POS as early as you can. With Toast, make an hours change at least 2 hours before it needs to take effect. After the sync window, check the Merchant Portal to confirm the change came through.
If you need to stop orders right now, use Pause my store in the Merchant Portal instead of waiting for a POS sync.
Help for Your Specific POS or Menu Provider
Some POS and menu management providers have their own steps for managing your DoorDash menu. For provider-specific help, see these articles or contact your provider directly:
Questions? If you need help with this process or have questions, reach out to DoorDash Support at oosupport@doordash.com.