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Get Started With the Toast Now App

Toast Now is a mobile app designed to run your restaurant from your phone with easy access to real-time reporting and key controls at your f

Written by Agent Support Bot

Toast Now Overview


Toast Now is a mobile app that lets managers and owners run their business from a phone, with real-time reporting and operational controls.

What you can do with Toast Now:

  • View sales and labor reporting with quick day-over-day comparisons.

  • View and edit employee shifts and read or post in the manager log (also called the logbook).

  • Throttle online ordering, snooze takeout or delivery, and mark items in or out of stock.

  • See a Product Mix (PMIX) breakdown of items sold.

  • Open a Toast Now chat support session with Customer Care.

What you need to use Toast Now:

Who can use Toast Now: any user with a Toast Web account and the appropriate Toast Web permissions. To grant a manager, GM, or other employee access, see Grant Toast Web Access to Existing Employees.

Access the Toast Now app

To access Toast Now, download the app on iOS or Android:

For supported operating system versions and device requirements, see Toast Now App Version & Operating System Requirements.

When you open the app, select Log in at the bottom of the screen and sign in using the email address and password that you use to sign in to Toast Web. Your phone may offer to save your password or set up Face ID for faster return visits.

To grant a manager, GM, or other employee access to Toast Now: set them up with a Toast Web account and assign the appropriate permissions in Toast Web. They will then sign in to Toast Now with those Toast Web credentials. For step-by-step instructions, see Grant Toast Web Access to Existing Employees.

Note: A user's permissions for Toast Now mirror their access permissions in Toast Web. For a breakdown of the specific permissions required for different parts of the Toast Now experience, see Required permissions for Toast Now below.

Toast Now app for multi-location restaurants

If you have access to multiple restaurant locations on Toast Web, you can access all of them on Toast Now. The first time you log in, the app shows the multi-location view with high-level data for every location you have access to. Select a specific location to open that location's homepage overview.

location selector screen on Toast Now app

The next time you log in, the app opens to the homepage overview of the last location you viewed. To return to the multi-location view and switch to a different location, select the restaurant name at the top of the screen.

You can only switch to locations you have permissions for. If a location you expect is missing, an administrator needs to grant you the required permissions for that location in Toast Web.

Account settings on the Toast Now app

To open your account page, select Account on the bottom right corner of the screen. From the account page you can:

  • Send feedback to improve the app experience.

  • Invite your team to download the app.

  • Review legal and privacy agreements.

  • Share your screen with a Customer Care agent.

  • Log out of the app.

Push notifications are coming soon! To enable these when they become available, select Notifications on the account page.

How it works

Date selection and comparison

The date selection bar appears at the top of every screen. All data shown in the app reflects the date on this bar. By default, the bar is set to Today.

date selection bar

Three ways to change the date:

  • Select the left or right arrow on the date selection bar to move one day at a time.

  • Select the down arrow on the left side to open a calendar view and pick any date directly.

  • Select the calendar icon on the right side to return to today.

Data is shown to the nearest whole hour in the restaurant location's time zone.

Note: Toast Now displays one date at a time. You can't select a custom range like current week, last week, or last month. For custom-range reporting, use Toast Web.

Below the calendar, the Comparison toggle is On by default. Choose what date your data is compared against:

  • The same day last week

  • The same day last year

  • The same day two years ago

Comparison toggle followed by time period selection options

If you disable the Comparison toggle, the app shows data for the selected date only — no prior-period comparison.

Homepage overview: sales and labor

The homepage overview is the main page of Toast Now. At the top, two bar graphs show sales and labor data for the selected date.

Net sales data and Labor cost data from Toast Now app homepage

Note: Permissions inherit from Toast Web. You need the 4.1 Sales Report permission to view sales data, and the 4.3 Labor Report permission to view labor data.

When the Comparison toggle is on, prior-period data appears as gray bars and you cannot view current-day data on the comparison overlay. A green or red arrow shows the percentage change between the selected date and the comparison period. To refresh data on any screen, pull down on the screen.

Selecting the Net sales card opens a detailed view with filters:

  • Hourly

  • Weekly

  • Dayparts (also called service periods)

  • Employees

  • Revenue centers

  • Sales categories

  • Dining options

Net sales data detail view

The Employees filter on the net sales card lists net sales by employee in descending order, including any employee who recorded sales during the selected date. Select an individual employee to see that employee's net sales by hour.

net sales by employee Toast Now app

Selecting the Labor cost card shows labor cost per hour for the selected date. The labor cost detail view includes a Net sales toggle that lets you compare hour-by-hour labor and sales side by side, in the chart or in the table view.

Labor cost data detail view

Operational data cards

Below the sales and labor charts, the homepage shows additional data and control cards. Cards with an arrow in the top right corner open a detailed view when selected. The table below describes every card.

Card

What it shows

Team

Total number of employees clocked in. Detail view: filter by all employees, clocked-in, clocked-out, or auto-clocked-out. Select an employee to view timecard details and edit shift information if needed.

SPLH (sales per labor hour)

Total revenue earned divided by labor hours worked by non-salaried employees.

Guests

Number of guests for the selected date. Detail view: guests per hour.

Avg/Guest

Average spend per guest.

Orders

Number of orders for the selected date. Detail view: orders per hour.

Avg/Order

Average spend per order.

Item Sales

Quantity and net sales for top-selling items. Detail view: see Product Mix (PMIX) and Item Sales below.

Stock

Search and select any menu item or modifier; toggle in-stock status; update stock quantity. Also shows 86'd items.

Refunds

Refunds organized by server by default; switch between server and approver.

Voids

Voids for the selected date, broken down by void reason, server, approver, and item. Detail view: group by discount name, server, or approver; see quantity of discounts and total discounted amount; matches much of the Order report in Toast Web.

Discounts

Number of servers associated with each discount.

Labor Cost

Labor costs by individual employees and job titles.

Checks

Total open checks. Find and view check information including order item details, guest, and payment. Filter by date or check status.

Product Mix (PMIX) and Item Sales

Product Mix (PMIX) shows how individual menu items sold for a given day. To open it from the homepage:

  1. Select the Item Sales card.

  2. Select Top Sellers.

The Product Mix screen lists every item sold on the selected date. You can sort by:

  • Quantity sold

  • Net sales

To see modifiers for a specific item, select the item in the Product Mix screen. The modifier list shows each modifier's quantity and net sales.

For a deeper dive into how Toast calculates and displays Product Mix data, see Product Mix (PMIX) Report Overview.

Stock and 86'd items

To mark an item out of stock (also called 86'ing) or to restock an item from your phone:

  1. Select the Stock card on the homepage.

  2. Search for the menu item or modifier.

  3. Toggle its in-stock status.

  4. Update the stock quantity if needed.

The Stock detail view also lists items currently 86'd so you can mark them back in stock.

Manager log (also called the logbook)

The manager log — sometimes referred to as the logbook, manager notes, or pre-shift notes — is an internal message board for managers to post notes about guests, shifts, maintenance, and operations. It appears below the data cards on the homepage overview, and entries are also included in the Daily Performance Summary email.

Manager log entry on Toast Now

Any user with the 3.26 Log Book permission can read and post messages in the manager log, in either Toast Now or Toast Web.

To work with the manager log on Toast Now:

  • Swipe left or right to read all entries for the selected date.

  • Select the Manager log card to open the full log.

  • Select + Add entry at the bottom to create a new note.

  • Select an existing note to add a reply.

  • You can edit or delete entries you created. You cannot delete entries created by other users.

For more on the manager log, including its use in Toast Web, see Manager Log Overview. For more on the Daily Performance Summary email, see Create Email Lists and Configure Employee Notifications.

Online ordering and third-party delivery controls

If your restaurant uses Toast Online Ordering or one of the third-party direct integrations, the Takeout & delivery card appears below the manager log on the homepage. Depending on the features at your restaurant, you'll see icons for Toast ordering (Toast Online Ordering, Toast Local, Order with Google) and third-party integrations (DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats).

Selecting the Takeout & delivery card opens a detail view with toggles for each order source. Toggle any source to Off to pause orders temporarily.

The Toast ordering section has a Status drop-down used to control Toast ordering availability. The options match Toast Web:

  • On

  • Snooze for 20 min

  • Snooze for 40 min

  • Off until tomorrow

  • Off

Toast Ordering controls on the Toast Now app

When Takeout or Delivery is toggled On, the estimated quote time appears with a slider that adds a delay if needed. If the Status is set to Off, the Takeout and Delivery toggles are unavailable.

A Quote time section at the bottom shows your current quote time strategy (manual, kitchen capacity, or order price). Select the time value (for example, 15 min) for a channel toggled On to adjust its quoted time.

To change your quote time strategy or access controls not available in the app, sign in to Toast Web on a browser.

Finance tab

For those enrolled in Toast Checking, you’ll see a Finance tab available next to your Overview tab to help inform you on the financial health of your Toast accounts and deposit activity. Specifically, this page will show you the following:

  • Accounts

    • Sum of balances from the Toast Checking accounts you use, including the standard Toast Checking account and any jars (see Jars FAQ)

    • Transfer money between accounts

    • Account activity

  • Payouts

    • View recent payouts

Toast Now chat support

To start a Customer Care chat from inside the app, select the Support icon at the bottom of the screen. From the same icon you can open a new chat or review previous chat conversations.

Note: Chat sessions remain open for up to 48 hours of inactivity. After 48 hours without activity, the chat closes automatically.

Required permissions for Toast Now

The cards and data you see in Toast Now depend on the permissions assigned to your Toast Web profile. For example, if you only have the 5.2 Inventory & Quantity permission, your homepage shows only the Stock card. To request more access, select the Looking for more? link at the bottom of your Toast Now homepage to text or email your manager.

Toast Now dashboard with cards labeled

dashboard with cards labeled by required permission]

Required permissions by feature:

Feature

Required Toast Web permissions

Net sales, Checks, Discounts, Voids, Refunds, Product Mix, Upsells, Guests, Avg/Guest, Orders, Avg/Order, Device hub

4.1 Sales Reports

Labor cost

4.3 Labor Reports

Team (edit employee shift, view employee profile)

4.3 Labor Reports, plus one of: 3.14 Edit Time Entries, 4.9 Employee Info, or 4.10 Employee Jobs & Wages

SPLH

4.1 Sales Reports, 4.3 Labor Reports, and 4.10 Employee Jobs & Wages

Inventory (Stock, 86 items, restock)

One of: 4.5 Edit Full Menu or 5.2 Inventory & Quantity

Pre-shift notes, Manager log

3.26 Log Book

Takeout & delivery settings

6.6 Restaurant Operations Setup

To learn more about Toast Web permissions, see Permissions Reference Guide. If a user has the listed permissions but still cannot access a feature, see Why aren't my permissions working correctly?. [Link may be broken – requires validation]

Known limitations

  • One date at a time. You can view only one calendar day in the app — no custom range, no week or month rollups. Use Toast Web for custom-range reporting.

  • No combined multi-location totals. The multi-location view shows net sales, labor percentage, and SPLH for each location separately. There is no combined view of all locations together.

  • No cash drop or deposit visibility. Cash drop totals are not available in Toast Now. View this information in the Sales Summary report on Toast Web.

  • No table status view. Toast Now does not show which tables are open or occupied at your restaurant.

  • PMIX accuracy. If PMIX numbers in the app don't match what you expect, the cause is usually related to how items are recorded at the POS or how modifiers are mapped. [Suggested approach – requires validation: confirm with PMIX SME the most common causes of perceived PMIX inaccuracy in Toast Now.] For more on PMIX, see Product Mix (PMIX) Report Overview.

  • Push notifications. [Information missing: requires input on whether push notifications for voids, comped items, manager logs, and third-party ordering are now available.]

  • Country availability for chat support. [Information missing: requires input on current chat support country availability — particularly Canada, Ireland, and the U.K.]

  • POS Broadcast option. [Information missing: requires input on whether the Toast Now app supports a POS Broadcast option. Raised in escalated user conversation; not in current article body.]

For troubleshooting questions ("error fetching data," "I have permissions but can't access," comparison dates off by one day, login or password issues), see Get Help With the Toast Now App.

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