Menus - Items, Menus & Templates

29 June 2021 13:06

	Table of Contents
	Creating Menu Items Menu Item sub-types colour picker Item Nutrition Allergens Diet type Item Usage log (Menu, Template and Site) Variable Meal Prices by Year Menus Menus Search Bar Creating Menus Assigning Menu Items Archiving Menus Templates Creating a Menu Template Assigning Menus to Templates Assigning Student Templates

Creating Menu Items

The Add Menu Item window lets you create a new Menu Item with nutritional, allergen and dietary information. When filling in the details for the new Menu Item make use of the Name field to include words like Gluten-free, Vegan, Dairy-free, etc.

Go to Items > select an Item Type [1] > click Add [2] > Add Menu Item window Details [3] tab

In the Details tab you can record the following:

Menu Details [4] - Enter the key Menu information
- Menu ID: This is a unique Alpha/Numeric ID that cannot be duplicated
- Name (Cymraeg): This field is for the name of the Meal which can be entered in both English and Welsh (Cymraeg)
- Description (Cymraeg): This field is for the Meal description (100 character limit) which can be entered in both English and Welsh (Cymraeg)
  NOTE: Cymraeg or any other language boxes will only appear if a second language is enabled, refer to School Gateway Welsh language support (Desktop ONLY)
Type [5] - Assign the Item Types for the Meal Item
- Menu Type: This can be set to Main, Vegetables, Dessert, Drink or Other
- Sub Type: This option is only available when the Menu Type is set to Main and has the following options:
  - Packed lunch (home)
  - Packed lunch (school)
  - Default
  - Meat/Fish
  - Vegetarian
- Light Lunch pop-up: A light lunch option is a separate price for a small meal (e.g. Main) rather than a large meal (e.g. Main, Vegetables and Dessert)
Pricing [6] - All these prices are defined per Student Type e.g. Nursery, Student (Child), etc. However, with the introduction of Meal prices by year group, prices can be defined at two more levels, refer to Items - Editing Menu Items.
Photo [7] - Click on the Cypad logo to select a photo to upload, this will be displayed on the Desktop, Tablet and Whiteboard meal selection screens.

When you have filled in the Details click Save [8].

NOTE Cannot edit a Menu Item Name or Description on the Desktop after the Menu Item has already been uploaded to the ParentPay site.

Menu Item sub-types colour picker

In Menus a colour picker has been added to make a wider range of colours available for menu item sub-types. Existing Menu Item sub types with colours assigned will not change with this update. The colours applied to Menu Item sub-types are also displayed on the Whiteboard.

Go to Menus > Admin > Menu Item Sub Types [1]

In Menus a new column, Colour [2], has been added to the Sub Types table and a Colour picker [3] has been added to make a wider range of colours available for menu item sub-types. If a custom sub type is deleted it will use the default colour.

NOTE Existing Menu Item sub types with colours assigned will not change with this update.

When adding a new Item Sub Type click Add [4] and in the Edit Menu Sub item window enter a Description [5], and if required a Welsh Description [6], then select a colour from the Colour picker [3] and click Save [7].

Go to Menus > Items > select a menu item > Details tab [1] > Sub Type [2] drop-down menu

Item Nutrition

The Nutrition tab [1] contains the nutritional facts for a single serving/portion of the menu item. This information will typically be available on the item packaging or container. On the Nutrition tab you can enter the nutritional information of the item in the Value Column [2].

Click Save [3] when complete.

Allergens

The Allergens tab [1] contains a checklist of the 14 most common dietary allergens and an option for No allergens [2] if a menu item does not have any known allergens.

Use the Present column [3] check-boxes to record the student's Allergies then click Save [4].

Diet Types

The Diet type tab [1] contains a check list of dietary restrictions for cultural or religious purposes (e.g. Buddhists are Vegetarian).

If a Meal Item is Vegetarian, tick only “Vegetarian” not “Beef” or “Pork” (even if it is available to students who eat meat). If “Beef” or “Pork” are selected, then it will be assumed that the Item contains meat. The Diet type Meal Item section is a way to select what is Present [2] in the Item relative to certain Diet types.

Click Save [3] to record the Diet type.

Refer to Menus - Creating allergy safe menus.

Item Usage log (Menu, Template and Site)

When School Admin users apply an Item to a Menu, Template or Site it is logged in the Usage tab. This data is not editable and will be automatically updated when the Item is removed from the Menu, Template or Site.
Go to Menus > Items > select an Item [1] > Edit Menu Item window Usage tab [2]

The Menu column [3] identifies which Menu the Item has been applied to.

The Template column [4] identifies which Template the Item has been applied to.

The Site column [5] identifies which Site the Item has been applied to.

Variable Meal Prices by Year

Meal prices are defined in Menus > Items (at Item level) and Settings > Site Info > Meal Prices (at Site level). All these prices are defined per Student Type e.g. Nursery, Student (Child), etc. With the introduction of Meal Prices by year group, prices will be defined at two more levels, the price priority is given in following hierarchy:

Year pricing set against Menu Items
Type pricing set against Menu Items
Year pricing set against a Site
Type pricing set against a Site
Year pricing set against Payments Admin
Type pricing set against the Payments Admin

Go to Menus > Items > select an Item [1] > Prices by year tab [2]

Use the Meal price (£) column [3] to set the item price for each year. A Meal price by year set to £0.00 reverts to the Student Type prices on the Details tab [4] (Nursery Price, Child Price, & Special Price).

Click Save [5] when done.

NOTE If the Meal price is undefined (price box is blank) it is considered as £0.00.

Menus Search Bar

A search bar is at the top of the Menus tree so School Admin users can search through the Menus that have been created. This makes it possible to easily manage the different Menus for each school/term/week.

Desktop Menus > Menus [1] > Search bar [2]

Entering a keyword in the Search bar [2] filters the Menu tree [3] so that only entries which contain the keyword are displayed (i.e. searching for 'father').

NOTE The search results are case insensitive.

Positive entries which are returned by the Search bar are brought to the top of the Menu tree [3]. The search results will return all entries where the keyword exists.

Creating Menus

Create a Menu selection for Meals, Dessert and Drinks and then add to a weekly Calendar, Templates and Theme days:

Go to Menus > click on a Menu type > click Add Menu [1]

Enter a Description [2] for the Menu and set the Category [3], the Category check-boxes [4] are only available for the Lunch Category. The Main and Dessert options are selected by default, you can decide if you wish to include Vegetable Items and Drink Items in the Menu options.

NOTE Only Manager users can select one or more Available areas [5] check boxes from the list to use the same menu across multiple sites.

Press Save [6] to create a new Menu.

Assigning Menu Items

Administrators can add Main Items to a Main Menu [3], Vegetable Items to a Vegetable Menu [4], Dessert Items to a Desserts Menu [5] and Drink Items to a Drinks Menu [6]. The Whiteboard UI has been updated to make this larger selection visible by using left and right screen scrolling. The Web based Parent Pre-selection also supports the increase in available Menu Items.

Go to Menus > Menus [1]> select a Lunch Menu [2] to edit

The user can Scroll [7] to see the extra Menu Items.

Archiving Menus

Menus that are no longer needed can be Archived [1] by doing the following:

Go to Menus > select Menu of choice > select Menu again > click Edit Menu [2]

In the Edit Menu window click the Archive check-box [3] and click Save [4].

To un-archive a Menu click the Archive [1] collapsible menu to navigate to the Menu you want to un-archive, left mouse click the archived Menu and select Edit Menu [2].

In the Menu window click the Archive [3] check-box so it is un-ticked and click Save[4].

Templates

Creating a Menu Template

In the Templates sub-menu, left mouse click on the Templates [1] or Student Templates [2] sub-menu item and click the Add Template [3] option.

The Templates [1] sub-menu is used to create templates to be assigned to Sites
The Student Templates [2] sub-menu is used to create Special Menu templates to be assigned to a student.

In the Menu Templates pop-up window, enter a Description [4] and press Save [5].

Assigning Menus to Templates

Menus are available for selection in the Templates menu [1], these menus can be added to the Weekly Menu calendar [2].

After assigning menus to the template calendar click Save [3].

Admin users can add menus to the current week's template if the current week's template is Blank menu [4]. This feature will only be available if the current week's template is blank.

NOTE The current week's menu cannot be changed between 8.45 am and 10:00 am.

To remove a template from the calendar click the Delete [5] icon to the right of the menu entry.

Important: When removing a menu from the calendar be aware that this action will automatically remove all pre-orders that have been made for that week.

Assigning Student Templates

School administrators can assign a Special Menu Template to any pupil, not just those with allergies. Special Menus make it possible to meet student’s dietary or lifestyle requirements e.g. Gluten Free.

Go to Payments > Students > select a student > Edit Student window Student tab [1] > Menu template dropdown [2] > select a Menu template [3] (i.e. Gluten Free Menu)

Menu templates for students with Dietary Requirements and Allergies remain active if a Theme day menu is applied to a site/area, making it possible for these students to keep their Special Menu items.

Important: When a student has a Menu Template assigned to them, any meal pre-selections for today or in the future are automatically deleted. A pre-selection for today which has been applied (e.g. it is now the afternoon and the pupil has taken the meal) are not deleted. The records of the deleted pre-selections are recorded in the deleted pre-selections table with information that they have been deleted due to a student menu being applied.