Menu policies

A product travels to X-MART with its External ID, and that’s the code with which its orders come back identified. A product that doesn’t have it still sells — and its orders arrive without that code, so nobody downstream can match the line to anything. It’s found weeks later, when someone reconciles and the numbers don’t add up. This screen exists so the account can say “no product of this type goes live without its code”, and Fire enforces it at the moments it can. Go to Restaurant OS → Settings → Menu policies.

Menu policies screen with the Required codes matrix: product types by External ID and Code

The minimum you need to know

1. It comes switched off. Until someone configures it, nothing changes: no product is required to have any code, and none is flagged.2. It’s a matrix, and it’s per vendor. The rows are the product types — Product, Combo, Modifier, Packaging — and the columns are the two codes, External ID and Code. Each cell is a switch: on, the code is required for that type; off, it isn’t.3. It blocks what’s new and flags what already exists. Creating a product or saving its record without a required code is refused. Products that already lack the code are not blocked: they keep selling and publishing, and they get a Missing code chip so you can fix them.

The screen

At the top, next to the title, the Vendor badge tells you which vendor you’re configuring — here, Sandbox Brasil. It’s the vendor chosen in the selector at the top of the backoffice, and the policy belongs to that vendor alone. The description reads “Which codes the products of this vendor must have before they are saved.” On the right, Help opens a side panel that explains the screen, and See products that do not comply opens the product list already filtered. That button only appears once the policy you saved requires some code. The Required codes card holds the matrix. Its note says: “The rule applies according to the product type. An option of a question created as Product follows the Product row.”

Column	What it is
External ID — Arrives in the orders	The code the product travels to X-MART with, and with which orders come back identified
Code — Printed on the ticket	The point-of-sale operational code (PLU). It’s what gets printed

You change switches and then confirm with Save changes. Discard drops what you changed. When it saves, Fire confirms with a generic message; if it can’t, it shows the server’s message as it comes, in English.

To see Menu policies your role needs access to it — if your role is set up with explicit submenus, an administrator has to grant it. Without it, the item doesn’t appear in the menu and opening the address sends you to access denied. To save, access isn’t enough: you also need permission over the whole vendor. Someone limited to one store can read the policy but can’t change it.

Changing the policy changes nothing in the products. It doesn’t fill codes in or take any product off sale. It only changes what Fire blocks from now on and which products show Missing code.

The simple path

Almost every account needs one column: External ID, for the types it sells.

Open Restaurant OS → Settings → Menu policies and check the Vendor badge.
In the External ID column, switch on Product. Do the same for Combo and Modifier if they also travel in orders.
Tap Save changes.
Tap See products that do not comply and work through the list.

If your only goal is that no product reaches X-MART without its identifier, this is all you need. Code is a different matter — see below.

The two codes are not the same

	External ID	Code
What it’s for	It’s the code the product travels to X-MART with, and with which orders come back identified	The point-of-sale operational code (PLU). It’s what the ticket prints
What happens if it’s missing	Orders arrive without that code	The ticket prints the External ID in its place, if the product has one
Where you type it	General tab of the product	General tab of the product. In the Add option dialog of a modifier group it’s called PLU

In the spreadsheet, the código column is the External ID, and the plu column is the Code. In the product record the names are External ID and Code. It’s a real source of confusion: see Import and export.

What the policy does, and what it doesn’t

Which field gets the asterisk

Without a policy, External ID and Code carry no asterisk. With one, a field gets the asterisk only if the vendor requires that code for that product type. In the capture of the product record, a Product shows both asterisks because, in that environment, the policy requires both codes for Product. With a Fulfillment type selected on the record, the codes are inherited and locked, so they show no asterisk.

What it blocks

Fire refuses in these cases, and only when the product’s type requires a code it doesn’t have:

When	What happens
Creating a product	The product isn’t created until it carries the codes its type requires.
Creating an option from Add option in a modifier group	The same: the option is a new product, born as Product, and follows the Product row.
Saving the General tab	The save is refused. The error shows on the empty field.
Saving the record with a type change pending	The requirement of the new type is checked at the next save, on any tab: even Pricing or Categories can be refused until the code is filled.

A code that only has spaces counts as empty. Otherwise the tabs — pricing, categories, images, modifier groups, suggestions and availability — save normally, whether or not the product has its code. Prices, categories and menus don’t wait for the code. Tapping the Modifier / Product / Combo pills on the record doesn’t trigger anything: it only changes the screen and marks the record Unsaved. The asterisks switch to those of the new type right away, but the check happens when you save. Packaging has no pills (its type can’t be changed), but its row applies when creating and when saving General. How you see it:

Saving General marks the empty field in red with Required by the vendor menu policy, and a message with the same reason appears too.

General tab with the Code field in red and the text Required by the vendor menu policy under it

Creating a product marks every missing field the same way.
Add option marks the fields inside the dialog — no message outside it — and keeps you on the General tab of the dialog.
Saving another tab with a type change pending shows the message “The vendor menu policy requires for .”, with the hint “Fill it in on the General tab.” and a Go to General button.

What it only flags

Products that already existed without the code are not blocked. They keep selling and publishing, and menu synchronization doesn’t look at the policy. They’re marked in two places:

In the product list, a Missing code chip next to the name. Hover it and the tooltip says what’s missing: Missing: Code, Missing: External ID or Missing: External ID and Code. The list also gets a filter, Any code status, with a single option, Missing code. It only appears when the policy requires something, and Clear filters shows up while any filter is active.
In the product record, a notice above the tabs, visible on every tab: “This product has no . The vendor policy requires it for ; orders that include it arrive without that code.” It reads the saved data: it stays while you type and goes away when you save. It doesn’t show when creating. With a type change pending, it already uses the new type.

Product list filtered by Missing code, with the chip next to each name

Product record with the notice that the product has no Code, above the tabs

Why it doesn’t block the old ones. Turning the policy on can’t take products off sale: a restaurant in the middle of service would lose dishes. The cost of leaving it like that is real, though — those products’ orders keep arriving without a code until someone fixes them. The chip and the notice are what keep that visible.

What it doesn’t cover

Modifier groups. A group is created without a code and that’s fine: it has no row in the matrix. The policy covers the options (which are products), not the group.
Assigning an existing product as an option. With Search and assign product nothing is validated, so a product that doesn’t comply gets assigned without a warning. The rule applies when a product is written, not when it’s assigned.
Restoring a backup. It doesn’t skip anything: see Import and export.

Recipes: how the real cases get solved

Orders are arriving at X-MART with lines without a code

Open Menu policies and switch on External ID for Product (and Combo or Modifier if they also appear in orders).
Tap Save changes.
Tap See products that do not comply.
Open each product and fill the External ID in General.
Save and sync the menus that hold them from Menu assignment.

Until you fix a product, its orders keep arriving without a code.

I can't create or save a product: 'Required by the vendor menu policy'

I can't save Pricing, Categories or another tab

Check whether you touched the Modifier / Product / Combo pills without saving. The record still carries that type change and the policy of the new type is checked on every save. Fill the code on General — the Go to General button takes you there — or undo the type change.

A product shows Missing code but it's selling fine

It’s expected. The policy doesn’t block products that already existed. The chip tells you its orders arrive without that code: fill it and the chip goes away.

I need the PLU on every ticket

Switch on Code for the types that print. Code is what the ticket prints, so require it only where a ticket needs it.

Find all the products I need to fix

On the product list, open the Any code status filter and pick Missing code. Or tap See products that do not comply from Menu policies: it opens the list already filtered.

Cases, end to end

With External ID switched on for Product and Code switched off:

What you do	Result
Create a Product without External ID	Refused: Required by the vendor menu policy
Create a Product with External ID and no Code	Created
Edit the price of an existing product that has no External ID	Saved: the Pricing tab isn’t validated. The product keeps showing Missing code
Save the General tab of that same product without touching External ID	Refused: the policy applies to this tab
Tap the Product pill on a Modifier without External ID, then save any tab	Refused at that save, because the new type requires it
Create a Combo without External ID	Created: External ID isn’t switched on for Combo

Errors that cost money

Assuming a product without its code has stopped selling. It keeps selling. The risk is the opposite: orders arrive without a code and nothing stops them. Check the list after turning the policy on.

Requiring Code when you meant External ID. Code is what the ticket prints. If the goal is that X-MART receives the line identified, the column is External ID.

Setting the policy on the wrong vendor. The matrix is per vendor: check the Vendor badge before tapping Save changes.

Importing a spreadsheet and assuming it fixes the codes. With the policy on, rows that create a product without the code, or empty it, are left out. See Import and export.

Glossary

Term	What it means
Menu policy	The matrix, per vendor, of which codes each product type requires
External ID	The code the product travels to X-MART with, and with which orders come back identified
Code	The point-of-sale operational code (PLU). It’s what the ticket prints
Missing code	Chip on a product that lacks a code its type requires
Any code status	Product list filter; its option Missing code shows only the products that lack a required code
Vendor	The brand or business inside the account

Frequently asked questions

Is the policy on by default?

No. It comes switched off: nothing is required and nothing is flagged until someone configures it. A vendor with every switch off is the same as one that was never configured.

Does it apply to products that already exist?

It doesn’t block them, but it flags them. They keep selling and publishing, with a Missing code chip in the list and a notice in the record. They’re refused only when someone saves their General tab or, with a type change pending, any tab.

Does it also apply to the modifier group's ID?

No. A group is created without a code and it isn’t in the matrix. The policy applies to the products behind its options.

Does it apply if I load products by spreadsheet?

Yes, for rows that create a product or empty a code it had: they’re left out with a finding. A backup restore doesn’t skip anything, it only warns. See Import and export.

Why don't I see Menu policies?

Why can I see it but not save?

Saving needs permission over the whole vendor, not just access to the screen. If you only manage some stores, ask someone with permission over the whole vendor.

Why don't I see the Any code status filter?

It only appears when the policy requires some code. With everything switched off there’s nothing to filter.

If you manage several accounts

The same configuration is also available from administration: Super Admin → System Administration → Accounts → the account’s detail → Menu policies tab. It’s the same matrix, but it shows all the countries and vendors of the account at once: a card per country, and in it each vendor with its own Required codes. A single Save changes saves them all, and Cancel drops what you changed. Unlike Restaurant OS, it doesn’t depend on the menu access of your role: it’s for platform superadministrators.

Menu policies tab in the account detail of Super Admin, with the Brasil card and the Sandbox Brasil vendor matrix

What it does not do

It doesn’t fill codes in or take products off sale: it blocks what’s new and flags what already exists.
It doesn’t validate the other tabs of the product while the type hasn’t changed: pricing, categories, images, modifier groups, suggestions and availability save normally.
It doesn’t require a code on the modifier group itself, and it doesn’t check a product you assign to a group as an option.
It doesn’t skip anything when restoring a backup: it only warns.

Kiosk

POS

KDS

BOH

Fire Agent

Backoffice

Payments

The minimum you need to know

The screen

The simple path

The two codes are not the same