Create an Item | FoodEase Help Center

This guide walks through the Create Item form in FoodEase Office. The form adapts based on the Item Group you choose — fields, pricing tables, and child-item sections change accordingly.

Before you start

Set up these first (links open in FoodEase Office):

Item Class
Unit of Measurement and UoM Relationship (for recipes and inventory)
Sales Tax
Revenue Centre and Preparation Area
Vendors and Locations (for stock-tracked items)

Permission required: Create Item or Edit Item (CAN_CREATE_ITEM / CAN_EDIT_ITEM).

How to open the create form

Log in to FoodEase Office.
Sidebar → Items → Items.
Click Create Item (top right).

You can also go directly to: /dashboard/items/create-items

Create Item form

Form header actions

Button	What it does
Save	Validates and creates the item (green)
Reset	Clears the form back to defaults (create only)
Cancel	Returns to the Items list without saving

Step 1 — Choose Item Group first

Item Group is the most important field. It cannot be changed after saving (locked on edit). Changing it while creating resets related sections (pricing, child items, prep areas).

Group	Use for
Single	Standalone menu product sold as-is (e.g. a burger, a drink)
Recipe	Dish made from ingredients/components with quantities
Package	Bundle of items and/or recipes sold together
Parent	Base item with selectable child options (variants/combos)
Component	Ingredient used inside recipes (not usually sold alone)
Sundry	Miscellaneous sellable items (e.g. napkins, service items)

Pick the group before filling other fields. Switching groups clears pricing tables and nested item lists.

Step 2 — Images

Cover Image

Upload the main product image shown on POS, web, and channels.
Required if you enable the WhatsApp sales source.

Slide Images

Add additional gallery images (carousel) for the item.
Supported for Single, Recipe, Package, and Parent groups.

Step 3 — Basic details

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	Full product name (min. 3 characters)
Item Type	Yes	AtSale (made when ordered) or BeforeSale (pre-made)
Item Group	Yes	See table above — locked after create
Short name	No	Abbreviation for receipts/POS (max 10 characters)
Preparation Time (mins)	No	Kitchen prep time estimate
Description	No	Customer-facing or internal description

Variable pricing (Single, Recipe, Component, Sundry)

Allow variable pricing? — When enabled, POS can sell at a price different from the price set here.

Inner price (Parent only)

Use inner price? — When enabled, the price of each child option is used instead of a single parent price.

Step 4 — Tax, units, and inventory

Field	Required	Notes
Sales Tax	Yes*	*Not required for Parent/Package. Use + to create tax inline.
Unit Of Measurement	Yes	How the item is sold (piece, plate, glass)
Inventory Unit Of Measurement	No	How stock is counted/purchased. Use + to add UoM or relationship.
Unit	Yes*	Numeric unit size (*auto for Parent/Package). Must be > 0 for most groups.
Is Transformable?	No	Recipe only (when no parent-in-recipe). Shows item in stock overview and enables stock conversions.

Step 5 — Pricing

Field	Description
Cost Price	Your cost per unit (used in margins and reports)
Selling Price	Default selling price
Allow price overrides per revenue centre	When enabled, you can set different cost/selling prices per location in the table below
Vendors	Required for Single, Component, and Sundry — select at least one supplier

Changing Selling Price can auto-update prices in the revenue centre table when overrides are enabled.

Step 6 — Classification and channels

Field	Required	Description
Item Class	Yes	Menu category (e.g. Mains, Drinks). Use + to create inline.
Topping Class	No	Optional class for toppings/modifiers
Topping required?	No	Only shown when a Topping Class is selected
Select Sales Source	Yes*	Toggle POS, Web, Mobile, WhatsApp, etc. (*hidden for Component/Sundry)

Step 7 — Revenue centres, prep areas, and store locations

This section appears once an Item Group is selected.

Auto Fill

If available, click Auto Fill to populate revenue centres, preparation areas, and store locations based on your defaults and the selling/cost price you entered.

Price table

For each revenue centre you include:

Column	Description
Revenue centre	Location where the item is sold
Selling price	Price at that centre (can differ per centre)
Cost price	Cost at that centre

You must select at least one revenue centre.

Preparation areas (Single, Sundry, Component, Recipe)

One prep area per selected revenue centre.
Routes kitchen tickets to the correct station.

Store locations (Single, Sundry, Component)

One store location per selected revenue centre.
Number of locations must match number of revenue centres.
Drives inventory tracking and stock deductions.

Step 8 — Group-specific child items

Package or Parent

Add line items via the package/parent table:

Field per row	Description
Item	Child product, recipe, or parent item
Preparation area	Kitchen station for that line
Quantity	How many included
Selling price	Price contribution for that line

You must add at least one child item, recipe, or parent entry.

Recipe

Two additional sections:

Recipe components table

Field	Description
Component item	Ingredient from your catalogue
UoM	Unit for the quantity
Quantity	Amount used in the recipe
Cost	Optional line cost

Parent in recipe (optional)

Field	Description
Parent item	A parent item this recipe can belong to
Quantity	Units per parent
Selling price	Price when sold as part of parent
Max qty / Limit / Base unit	Controls portioning rules

Recipes require at least one component, item, or related entry.

Step 9 — Save

Review validation messages (shown in red under fields and at section footers).
Click Save.
On success, you are redirected and the item appears on the Items list.

Common validation errors

Message	Fix
Select at least one rev center	Add a row in the price table
Number of preparation areas must match…	Assign one prep area per revenue centre
Number of stores must match…	Assign one store location per revenue centre
Choose at least one item	Add child items for Package/Parent/Recipe
Image is required when WhatsApp…	Upload cover image or disable WhatsApp source
Select tax / Select UoM	Complete required dropdowns for your item group

Quick reference — required fields by group

Field	Single	Recipe	Package	Parent	Component	Sundry
Sales tax	✓	✓	—	—	✓	✓
UoM	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Unit	✓	✓	auto	auto	✓	✓
Vendors	✓	—	—	—	✓	✓
Sales sources	✓	✓	✓	✓	—	—
Prep areas	✓	✓	—	—	✓	✓
Store locations	✓	—	—	—	✓	✓
Child items table	—	✓	✓	✓	—	—