When the item is not on the menu
Every restaurant sells things that are not on the menu. The catch of the day priced at the counter, a cake decorated for a birthday, a dish the chef made for a regular, a corkage or cake cutting fee, an extra plate. Without a proper way to ring these up, cashiers grab the closest menu item and change its price, which leaves the wrong name on the tax invoice, wrong numbers in the product reports, and stock deducted for food that was never used. A custom item is the clean answer.
What a custom item is in Wink You
A custom item is one order line for something that is not on the menu: a special request, a one off dish, a market price item or an extra charge. It prints by the name you type on the bill, the tax invoice and the kitchen ticket, and the kitchen ticket and cup label mark it CUSTOM so the kitchen knows it is not a menu item. It is POS only: the QR Digital Menu and the online store never offer it.
Common uses, and good names
- Market price: Hammour grilled 1.2 kg, Lobster 600 g, Lamb ouzi whole tray.
- Special request: Birthday cake with name, Dates platter for 10, Dish not on the menu cooked by the chef.
- Extra charge: Cake cutting fee, Extra plate, Delivery to the car park.
- Other: anything that genuinely does not fit the three reasons above, still with a name that describes it.
The name matters more than it looks. It is what the guest reads on the receipt, what the tax invoice shows as the description of the supply, and what the kitchen reads on the ticket. Write it the way you would say it to the guest. Hidden characters such as a new line or invisible spaces are removed automatically.
Turn it on for a branch
- In Business Admin, open Branches and click Configure on the branch.
- Under POS Settings, switch on Allow Custom Items.
- Optional: fill Custom item limit, the highest total for one custom item. Above it, a manager PIN is needed. Leave it empty for no limit.
- Click Save.
Ring one up on the POS
- In the product grid, tap the Custom item tile (Not on the menu) after the last product.
- Fill Name with what the customer is buying, as it should read on the bill. A vague word like Item or Food is refused, because the tax invoice needs a real description. An Arabic name is optional and prints in Arabic.
- Enter the Price and the Quantity (1 to 99).
- Pick a Reason: Special request, Market price, Extra charge or Other.
- If you use kitchen stations, pick the station that makes it. The default station is already chosen.
- Add an optional note, then tap Add to order and send or pay as usual.
Who can add one, and the limits
This is where custom items stop being a loophole. Staff whose role has Add custom items that are not on the menu add them alone; by default that is the Business Admin and the Branch Manager, not cashiers or waiters. Everyone else sees a small lock on the tile and the hint that a manager approves when the order is sent, and the manager PIN pad opens at that moment. Above the Custom item limit, a manager other than the person who rang the item must approve, even for a branch manager. The business owner is never limited.
After an order is sent, only the quantity and the note of a custom item can change. To change the name, price, reason or station, void it and add it again. Raising the quantity needs the same permission as adding one. Refunds work by line like any other item, and nothing ever goes back to stock.
VAT, stock, offline and loyalty
- VAT follows the branch setting. With prices that include VAT, the dialog shows Includes VAT; with VAT added on top, it shows Plus VAT and the total.
- Custom items take no stock and have no cost. Reports group them under Custom items with No cost.
- Offline, a custom item rides the normal offline queue and is sent once when the till is back. Staff without the permission cannot add one offline, and a line above the limit waits until the till is online.
- Points are earned on the whole order, custom items included, but a custom item never earns a product or category stamp.
See who added what
The Custom items report, under Reports in Business Admin, shows what the POS rang that is not on the menu. Cards show Custom lines, Value, Share of net sales, Manager approved, Voided and Refunded. A table lists each staff member with their lines, value, approvals, voids and refunds, and a list shows the top 20 custom item names. If one cashier’s share of custom items is far above the rest, you see it in seconds.
Frequently asked questions
How do I add an item that is not on the menu?
Switch on Allow Custom Items for the branch, then tap the Custom item tile on the POS, type the name and price, pick a reason and tap Add to order.
How do I charge market price for fish or seafood?
Use a custom item with the reason Market price and a clear name, such as Hammour grilled 1.2 kg.
Can a cashier add a custom item without a manager?
Not by default. Cashiers and waiters need a manager to approve with a PIN when the order is sent, unless you give their role the permission.
Do custom items show on the QR menu?
No. They are for the POS only.
Custom items are part of the till on winkyou.com/products/point-of-sale. For related steps on the POS, see winkyou.com/support/pos/how-to-apply-a-discount-on-the-pos and the full POS guide list at winkyou.com/support/pos.
