How to enter an item that's not on the menu (custom item)

What a custom item is

Entering an item that's not on the menu means using a custom item: a line the waiter types on the spot, with whatever name and price they want, straight onto the table's tab. It doesn't come from the menu and doesn't become a menu item afterwards — it only counts on that tab.

Other than that, it's an item like any other. It adds to the tab's total, goes to the kitchen when you send, appears on the display with the name you typed, moves from Preparing to READY, and the guest sees it on the table page they opened from the table QR code. The only difference: the prep station isn't chosen on the spot. A custom item always lands in the restaurant's first active kitchen, in alphabetical order by name.

Why custom items keep the floor moving

• The floor doesn't stop to add items. You can sell the dessert of the day without opening the Dashboard or touching the menu. The waiter types it and keeps taking the rest of the table's order.
• The price is locked on the line. The amount you typed is what that item costs: it's multiplied by the quantity and goes into the tab's total, without depending on anything in the menu or changing later.
• The kitchen gets it the same way. The custom item appears on the display with the rest of the order and prints on the kitchen ticket, if that station has printing turned on. Nobody has to pass the word along separately.
• The guest sees what they ordered. On the table page, the custom item appears under the name you typed, side by side with the menu items.

How to enter an item not on the menu in 6 steps

Six steps, from tapping the button to the READY item in the guest's hands.

1. Open the table's tab

   In the waiter app, tap the table you're serving or start a new order. It works in both cases: on a Draft you're still building and on a tab already sent to the kitchen. Only a closed bill or a cancelled order won't take new items — then you'll see the notice This order is closed, so you can't add items.

2. Tap Add custom item

   The Add custom item button is at the end of the menu list, after the last category. Searched by name and found nothing? The search shows No items found. and the button is still down there. The tap opens the review sheet — Check order on a Draft, New items on a tab already sent — with the cursor already blinking in the name field.

3. Type the name and the price

   There are two fields. The first takes the name the kitchen and the guest will read, like Watermelon juice, no sugar; keep it short, because that's the text shown on the display. The second is the price: the number keypad opens and the comma works, so 42,00 becomes R$ 42,00. Tap Add to order: the notice Added to order pops up and the fields clear, ready for the next one.

4. Check the line before sending

   The line goes in with 1×, the price, the name of the station that will prepare it and the custom item tag. There you adjust the quantity with the plus and minus buttons, write a note in the field below, or tap Remove if you typed it wrong. All of this only works while the item hasn't been sent.

   Tip: The note shows on the kitchen display and on the printed ticket, with an alert in front of it. It's the best place to write who prepares it and how, since a custom item doesn't let you pick the station on the spot.

5. Tap Send to kitchen

   That's what makes it official: the Draft becomes a sent order, and a tab that was already open gets the item as an addition. Before that, the kitchen doesn't work on it. After that, the line is locked — changing the quantity returns This item was already sent to the kitchen.

6. Follow it until READY

   On the display, the custom item appears with the typed name, with no category in front, and the station marks it done like any other. When it's READY you're notified right away. In the end, the amount is in the tab's total; you settle payment directly with the guest, by PIX or however the restaurant prefers, because qmen.us doesn't process money.

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Custom item

An item the waiter types in on the spot, picking its prep station by hand.

Tab

The open bill of a table, where items add up until it's closed.

Draft

An order's first status, while the waiter is still putting the list together and nothing has gone to the kitchen yet.

Kitchen

The display where orders show up and move from Preparing to READY.

Prep station

The station that makes one kind of thing: grill, cold station, bar, pastry.

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