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Assign Sales Categories in the Menu Builder

Learn how to create and assign sales categories in the menu builder.

Written by Agent Support Bot

Menu Builder will be retired on September 1, 2026. To continue managing your menus, start using Menu Manager today. Menu Manager includes all the functionality available in Menu Builder, along with new tools that make menu updates easier. Learn more about Menu Manager.

Assign sales categories to menus, groups, and items in the menu builder so your Sales Summary and PMIX reports break down sales by category.

Before You Begin

Applies to: Toast Web

Permissions needed:

  • Menu management access in Toast Web

  • MLM locations will need group level Menu Management permissions depending on how their target and owner are structured

What you'll accomplish: Assign a sales category to a menu, menu group, or menu item so its sales report under the correct category.

About Sales Categories

A sales category is a label used to organize sales into groups such as Food, Drinks, Liquor, Wine, Beer, or Retail. Each menu, menu group, and menu item has a sales category setting in its Reporting section. The Sales Summary, PMIX, and other Toast reports use sales categories to break down your sales into these groups.

You can assign sales categories in the menu builder, but you must create the sales categories themselves on the sales categories page first. To create them, see Configure Sales Categories. You can assign only one sales category to each item.

Note: Sales categories are optional but highly recommended for a better reporting experience. If you select None selected from the sales category menu, no sales category is applied.

Assign a Sales Category in the Menu Builder

To assign a sales category to a menu, group, or item, follow these steps:

  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Menus > Menu management > Menu builder.

  2. Find the menu, group, or menu item you want and select the three-dot (⋮) overflow menu icon, then select Edit.

    Locate your desired menu, group, or menu item.

  3. Scroll down to the Reporting section and use the drop-down menu to select your Sales category.

    screenshot of the menu builder reporting section

  4. Repeat for any other menus, groups, or items, then Save and Publish all changes.

Expected outcome: You should now see the selected sales category in the Reporting section, and future sales will report under that category.

Note: You can set a sales category at the menu, menu group, or item level. By default, menu groups inherit their sales category from their parent menu, and menu items inherit their sales category from their parent group. To give an item or group a different sales category than its parent, select the link icon to unlink the configuration, then select the sales category you want.

link icon next to Sales category setting

For information about the reports that use sales categories, see Sales Reports Overview and Menu Reports Overview.

Change or Remove an Item's Sales Category

To change the sales category for a menu, group, or item, edit it in the menu builder and select a different Sales category in the Reporting section, then Save and Publish your changes. To remove a sales category, select None selected from the drop-down.

When you change a sales category, the change applies to future sales reports. Existing reports stay the same. Customer Care can update historical sales category data for the past two weeks. For details, see the Frequently Asked Questions below.

Note: If you want a single item to use a different sales category than the rest of its group, select the link icon to unlink it from its parent first, then choose the new sales category.

Find Items With No Sales Category Assigned

If your Sales Summary shows a "No Sales Category" line, some items do not have a sales category assigned. To find them, follow these steps:

  1. In Toast Web, navigate to Reports > Menus > Product Mix. If you see a banner at the top of the page, switch to the new version of the PMIX report.

  2. Select More filters at the top of the report.

  3. Open the Sales categories drop-down and select the No sales category option.

  4. Select Apply filters.

Expected outcome: You should now see only the items that do not have a sales category assigned. Use the steps in Assign a Sales Category in the Menu Builder above to assign a category to each one.

Note: Items can still appear as uncategorized if they belong to an archived menu. To resolve this, restore the archived menu, assign sales categories to the items in it, and then re-archive the menu. For help managing archived menus, see Use the Items Database to View and Manage Menus.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I assign a sales category to a menu item?

To assign a sales category to a menu item, edit the item in the menu builder, scroll to the Reporting section, and select a Sales category from the drop-down, then Save and Publish. You can also assign a category at the menu or menu group level, and items will inherit it from their parent group.

Can I update historical sales after I correct a sales category?

You can have historical sales category data updated, but not on your own. When you change a sales category, the change applies only to future sales reports, and existing sales keep their original category. Customer Care can update historical sales category data for the past two weeks. Contact Toast Customer Care and provide the date range, the specific locations, and the items that need updating.

Note: When reassigning sales categories updates aren’t always reflected right away. Most common when reassigning a large amount of missing sales categories. Please wait up to 24 hours if the historical data is still not reflecting the changes please reach out to customer care.

How do I find items with no sales category assigned?

To find items with no sales category assigned, navigate to Reports > Menus > Product Mix, select More filters, open the Sales categories drop-down, select No sales category, and select Apply filters. The report will show only the items that need a category. If items still appear uncategorized, check whether they belong to an archived menu.

How do I assign a sales category to an open item?

To assign a sales category to an open item, edit the open item in the menu builder and select a Sales category in its Reporting section, the same way you would for any other item. If the open item inherits its category from a parent group, select the link icon to unlink it before choosing a different category.

How do I bulk edit sales categories for many items?

To bulk edit sales categories for many items, navigate to Menus > Bulk management > Advanced properties, open the Show/Hide drop-down, and under Reporting select Sales Category. You can then assign a sales category to items at the menu, group, or item level and Save and Publish your changes. For full steps, see Configure Sales Categories.

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