Managing a Third-party POS Menu

Overview

Once an integrated third-party menu has been imported to the Otter Dashboard, you can:

Enable Auto Menu Sync & Publish
Manually sync updates from an integrated third-party POS to Otter
Add new locations to an imported menu

Automated Menu Sync & Publish

The Automatic Menu Sync and Automatic Menu Publish feature can enabled for stress free menu maintenance. This will ensure all menu changes made from your third-party POS will be updated within Otter.

Auto Menu Sync Settings:

From the menu Settings > Menu Sync, you can enable/disable and configure:

Automatic Menu Updates to sync from your POS
Automatic Menu Publish to publish any menu changes to all or certain delivery platforms

Menu information & Menu structure:

For automatic updates, you're able to select what information is automatically synced with Otter from your third-party POS. Keep in mind, if you make an update for a category listed above for Menu Information or Menu structure that is not selected— you will need to manually update that from the Otter Dashboard.

Auto Sync Updating Timeframe

When Auto Sync is turned on, chosen information will update or publish about every 6 hours for selected locations and channels.

Re-sync Existing Imported Menu

If changes are made to a menu on your third-party POS, if Auto Sync is turned on, those changes will be updated within 6 hours. However, if you need those changes immediately, do not have Auto Sync turned on for a category changed, or do not have Auto Sync turned on at all— you can manually push an update from the Otter Dashboard to sync those menu edits with Otter and delivery partner platforms.

Steps to re-sync an existing menu in the Otter Dashboard

Step #	Process	Image
1	Click on Apps > Menu from the Otter Dashboard.
2	Select the menu needing updated.
3	Click [Manage POS links].
4	Click [Check for POS updates].
5	Optional You can click [View POS menu] to view the last synced menu structure with Otter.
6	Otter will flag when menu changes are detected but not synced between the third-party POS and Otter. Click [Review updates] from the banner notification, or [View POS updates] to check the differences.
7	Discrepancies detected and update type will be listed. Click on [Details] for a listed item to view more information.
8	Select which changes you'd like to apply with the menu in Otter. Click [Apply updates to Otter] to sync.
9	Click [Publish] from Menu page to apply menu to delivery channels.

Update Types

When reviewing the menu updates detected that are not synced between your POS and Otter menus— an update type will be listed for you to quickly identify what kind of change was made.

Update Types:

Update Type	Description	Example
New Entity	New menu, category, item, modifier group, or modifier option created in the POS.	The item “Cheeseburger” was added in the POS but it is not yet synced in Otter. When the update is applied, the item “Cheeseburger“ will be created in the Otter menu.
Deleted Entity	A menu, category, item, modifier group, or modifier option is deleted in the POS.	The item “Cheeseburger” was removed from the POS but is not yet synced in Otter. When the update is applied, the item “Cheeseburger“ will be deleted from the Otter menu.
Price	An item price in Otter is different than item price in the POS.	The item “Cheeseburger” price is $6.50 in the POS. However, in the Otter menu the item “Cheeseburger“ has a price value of 6$. When the update is applied, the Otter menu price of item “Cheeseburger“ will be adjusted to $6.50.
Name	An entity name in Otter is different than item price in the POS.	In the POS, a Category is named “Dessert & More.” In Otter, that Category is named “Dessert.” When the update is applied, the Otter category name will be “Dessert & More”.
Description	A Description in Otter is different than item price in the POS.	The item “Cheeseburger” has the Description, “Burger bun with beef meat and melted cheddar,” in the POS. In Otter, the same item has an empty description. When the update is applied, the Otter “Cheeseburger” item will get the description updated to be, “Burger bun with beef meat and melted cheddar”.
Availability	An item availability in Otter is different than item price in the POS.	In the POS, the item “Cheeseburger” that is not available for the location A but it is available for location B and C. In Otter that item is available for all locations, A,B and C. When the update is applied, the Otter item “Cheeseburger“ will be 86ed from the location A.
Hours	The menu hours in Otter is different than item price in the POS.	The POS hours are set to have the store Open Mon-Fri from 9am to 6pm. In Otter the hours are set Tues-Sat from 9am to 6pm. When the update is applied, the Otter menu hours will be updated to be Mon-Fri from 9am to 6pm.
Assignment	An entity in Otter is assigned to a location different from the one it is assigned in the POS.	In the POS, the “Dessert & More” Category is assigned to location A and B. In Otter this category is assigned only to Location A. When the update is applied, the Category “Dessert & More” in Otter will be add to Location B menu as well.
Arrangement	An entity is sorted/listed differently in Otter from the POS.	In the POS, “Dessert & More” Category is listed after* the “Drinks” category. In Otter, this category is appears listed before the “Drinks” category.* When the update is applied, Category “Dessert & More” in Otter will come after the “Drinks” category.
Organization	An entity in Otter has a different parent/child than the POS.	In the POS, modifier group “Sides” contains as items: Salad, Chips, Fries, Fried Veggies. In Otter the modifier group “Sides” contains as items: Salad, Chips, Fries. When the update is applied, modifier group “Sides” in Otter will contain the items: Salad, Chips, Fries, Fried Veggies.
Modifier Group Rules	The modifier group settings in Otter (example: modifier group is optional vs mandatory) are different from the POS.	In the POS, modifier group “Sides” is set to be mandatory. In Otter, it is marked as optional. When the update is applied, modifier group “Sides” in Otter will become mandatory.

Unlinked Item Error Message

Otter will flag when there is a menu issues detected that can cause order injection failures with your POS.

If you see a red banner stating an issue with unlinked items— this means that one or more Otter menu items lost the connection with the related POS item ID.

Follow the steps below to fix this unlinked item issue:

Steps to fix Unlinked Item Error Message:

Step 1:

Filter menu for Unlinked items.
Step 2:

Expand the dropdown box for unlinked item and select the correct item ID.

Once you have selected the correct item ID, you can continue with syncing and publishing your menu.

Adding New Locations to Imported Menu

Once a menu has been imported from a third-party POS, a new location's POS can be added to a menu assignment from the Otter Dashboard.

Steps to add a new location to an imported menu from Otter Dashboard

Step #	Process	Image
1	From the selected Menu Overview page, click on the menu settings (gear icon).
2	Under Locations, click Edit.
3	Select location(s) and click [Update].
4	From Menu Overview page, click [Manage POS links].
5	Click [Check for POS updates]. Wait for process to run, indicated by the spinning icon.
6	Click [Review updates].
7	Select the updates to apply.
8	Click [Apply updates to Otter].