SpotOn Menu Import Template & Menu Setup Guide

Searching for a "SpotOn menu import template" usually means you want a spreadsheet you can fill in once and upload. That specific file does not really exist for SpotOn. Setup happens through the dashboard, building items, modifier sets, and menus directly. What actually functions as the template is the data structure underneath it, and once you understand that structure, the entry work goes fast, whether you do it yourself or hand it to an onboarding specialist.

Is there a SpotOn menu import spreadsheet template?

Not a standardized, public one built for self-serve upload. SpotOn menu setup happens directly in the dashboard, and larger accounts often get help from an onboarding specialist for the first build. The honest advice here is to stop looking for a file and start building the structure: item names, prices, modifier sets, and which revenue centers each item belongs to. That structure is what an onboarding specialist, or you, will actually need typed in, regardless of the format it started in.

What fields does SpotOn actually need for each item?

• Item name, what shows on the register and on any online ordering page
• Price, or prices, if it differs by revenue center
• Menu and category placement
• Modifier sets attached, and whether any are required
• Revenue center assignment, dine-in, bar, online ordering, catering
• Tax classification
• Availability, whether it needs to be 86-able quickly
• Description and photo, required in practice for anything sold through online ordering

How do modifier sets work in SpotOn?

A modifier set is a reusable group of options, size, temperature, toppings, sides, with a minimum and maximum number of selections and an optional price adjustment per option. Build a set once and attach it to every item that needs it. The failure pattern is building a near-identical "toppings" set under five different pizzas instead of one set attached to all five, which turns every future menu change into five changes instead of one.

How should menus and revenue centers be structured?

Keep one item catalog and build separate menus on top of it for each revenue center that needs a different view: a full dine-in menu, a smaller online ordering menu, a bar-only list. This is more setup up front than one giant menu everyone shares, but it is what lets you trim the online menu to items that travel well, mark up online pricing, and swap a happy hour bar menu in and out, without touching the core item list every time.

Do sizes belong as items or modifiers?

As a general rule, sizes work better as a modifier or price tier on a single item, since it keeps sales reporting clean and makes an item easier to 86 in one place. The exception is when a size has genuinely different prep or inventory needs, a full order versus a half order of wings, for example, where separate items can make more sense for the kitchen. Decide based on how the kitchen and your reports need to see it, not on which is quicker to enter.

What is the build order that actually works?

1. Modifier sets first, built once and shared across every item that needs them.
2. Items next, attached to those modifier sets.
3. Menus, grouping items the way each revenue center should see them.
4. Revenue center assignment, so each menu shows up where it should and nowhere else.
5. Pricing and descriptions per channel, especially online ordering markup and item descriptions.
6. A full test order through every revenue center, including an actual online order, before launch.

What are the most common mistakes with a SpotOn menu build?

• Modifier sets rebuilt per item instead of shared, multiplying future edits.
• Sizes treated as separate items, fragmenting sales reporting and 86 controls.
• Missing descriptions and photos for online ordering, which quietly hurts online conversion since the guest cannot ask a server anything.
• Online pricing left identical to dine-in, with no markup for fees or packaging, which erodes margin without anyone noticing right away.
• Items assigned to the wrong revenue center, or no revenue center at all, so they simply do not show up anywhere.
• Never placing a real online test order before launch, which is the only way to see the menu the way a guest actually sees it.

FAQ: SpotOn menu import template