Menu Engineering. Let Your POS Write the Menu

Most restaurants change menus by intuition, but your point-of-sale already knows exactly which dishes are earning their keep. Pull ninety days of sales and food-cost data, then rank every item by popularity and profit to reveal stars, plow horses, puzzles and dogs. Focusing on the winners puts cash in the till without raising prices.

• Highlight high-margin favourites with an eye-catching border or prime top-right placement.
• Rename, re-price or photograph under-selling but profitable items to spark curiosity.
• Trim portion size or switch ingredients on popular, low-profit plates instead of dropping them.
• Retire true dogs quickly and free space for seasonal tests.
• Drop the currency symbol to soften price focus and use whole numbers for an upscale feel.
• Add an intentionally pricey decoy entrée to make mid-range dishes feel like smart value.

Update the analysis quarterly, track contribution margin per cover, and hold a short kitchen-front-of-house huddle to share wins. Small menu tweaks guided by data can lift revenue 5-10 % in weeks, proving that your silent salesperson just needed clearer instructions.