Resources

Understanding Master Categories

Items are organised into five master categories: Menu Items for food, Equipment for plates, cutlery, and serving equipment, Beverages for drinks and beverage packages, Miscellaneous for other items, and Venue Items (available if the venue module is enabled).

Each master category contains custom categories and items. For example, within Menu Items, you might create categories like Baking, Sandwiches, Savoury, Entrees, Mains, and Desserts.

Managing Categories

Categories organise items and control how they appear in quotes, online forms, and menus. Note that when using Menu Headers (which only apply to the Menu Items master category), items are grouped by the menu header rather than by category. For more details, see our article Categories vs Menu Headers. To manage categories, navigate to the relevant master category (such as Menu Items), then click "Manage Categories". You can create, edit, and drag-and-drop categories to reorder them.

The order of your categories determines how they appear in quotes. For example, you might place breakfast items at the top, entrees, mains, and sides in the middle, and desserts at the bottom.

Category Display Names

Each category has a Name and an optional Display Name. The name appears internally and on quotes. The display name appears on online order forms and menus.

For example, a category named "Buffet Mains" internally can have a display name of "Mains" for online pages.

Working with Items

Items are the individual products or services within each category. To create or edit an item, click on a category, then click "New Item" or select an existing item. A slide-over panel displays the item details.

Items can be reordered by dragging and dropping. The order determines how items appear in quotes.

When you have many items across multiple categories, use the search button to quickly find items across all categories without clicking through multiple categories.

Configuring Item Details

When creating or editing an item, you have access to configuration options that control how the item behaves throughout Puree and where it appears in quotes, online menus, and operational documents.

Active Status and Basic Information

The active/inactive toggle controls whether an item appears when creating quotes. Inactive items remain saved and can be reactivated.

Each item requires a name and must be assigned to a category. Menu items can optionally be assigned to sections and departments. Learn more in our Sections & Departments help page.

Delivery Temperature and Suitability

Items can be marked with delivery temperatures: heated, chilled, or either. This information appears on chef dockets. For more details, see our Hot/Cold Delivery help page.

Items can be marked as unsuitable for delivery. These items will not appear in delivery orders but can be used for staffed events or customer collection orders.

Pricing and Minimum Quantities

Each item has a price field. The minimum quantity setting controls how many units must be ordered. On online order forms, this minimum is enforced and customers cannot order less than the specified amount. In quotes, the system shows a warning if the minimum is not met, but does not prevent you from proceeding.

Display Options and Menu Names

Items can have a menu display name that differs from their internal name. Leave this blank to use the standard name.

You can control where items appear: in quotes, on online menus, and in operational documents (chef dockets, driver dockets, event briefs).

Dietary Codes and Photos

Tick the relevant dietary codes for each item (vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.). These codes are displayed throughout the system. For more information, see our article Dietary Codes Feature.

You can add photos to items by clicking the upload area or dragging and dropping an image. Tick the box if you want the photo to appear in quotes. For more information, see our article Photos Feature.

Sections and Departments for Workflow Management

Sections and departments are the same thing and only apply to menu items. They provide organisational structure for kitchen operations and workflow management. For more information, see our article Sections, Departments & Kitchen Reports.

Examples include: pastry (sweets, baking, desserts), hot kitchen (items requiring cooking), and cold prep (salads, cold items). Logistics and kitchen reports can be filtered by section.

Sections and departments can be managed from the main menu with drag-and-drop reordering.

Bulk Operations and Efficiency Tools

To make changes to multiple items at once, use the "Bulk Edit Items" button at the bottom of the items list. This allows you to update multiple items simultaneously rather than editing them individually.

You can download a CSV file of your items for record-keeping or analysis.

Understanding the Differences Between Master Categories

Sections and departments only apply to menu items. Equipment, beverage, and miscellaneous items cannot be assigned to sections or departments.

Venue items are only available if the venue module is enabled. The process for managing items is similar across all master categories.