How to move your menu from Excel or WhatsApp into Nexara

What do I need to gather before sending my menu?

Start with the material you already use. An Excel workbook may contain old prices, duplicate products or category names that no longer match the printed menu. WhatsApp photos and messages can fill gaps, but check them before they become the working menu.

• The latest Excel sheet, if one exists
• WhatsApp photos or messages showing items and prices
• The current printed menu or QR menu
• Product photos in their original files
• The Arabic and English name for each item
• The branch where each item is available

Nexara's menu catalogue supports products, categories, modifiers and modifier groups. It also supports menu lists, channel visibility and per-branch availability. Gather these details before setup so the founder can prepare the catalogue around what each branch actually sells.

How do I clean an Excel menu?

Give every sellable item one row or one clearly identifiable entry. Remove blank rows, old seasonal products and duplicate spellings. Keep the price in one format, and decide whether it belongs to the item itself or to a selected size.

Do not place several unrelated choices in one product name. Keep “Chicken Burger” as the product and “Add extra cheese” as a modifier. Nexara supports modifiers and modifier groups, so the selected choice can appear on the order without your team rewriting it in a note.

Check prices against the menu you actually sell. If the same item has different branch prices, mark that clearly for the assisted setup. Nexara supports per-branch availability, and the founder can confirm the correct arrangement for branch-specific pricing or channel differences.

How should I organise categories and modifiers?

Use categories that make sense to a customer ordering from a phone. “Meals”, “Sandwiches” and “Drinks” are easier to scan than internal kitchen abbreviations. Keep the category order consistent with the way you want the online menu to open.

1. Group products into clear categories.
2. Separate sizes, add-ons and choices from the base product.
3. Name each modifier in Arabic and English where both languages are used.
4. Add the price for each paid modifier.
5. Mark required choices separately from optional extras.
6. Identify products that are unavailable at a specific branch.

The visual Menu Builder and Menu Lists are the relevant Nexara areas for arranging the catalogue. Availability controls whether an item can be offered by a branch. Menu channels control which menu a customer sees. If your sheet does not show this clearly, send it as it is and explain the intended result on WhatsApp.

How do I handle Arabic, English and images?

Keep Arabic and English names in separate fields instead of combining them into one long product name. Check hamzas, ta marbuta, ingredient spelling and the wording used by staff. The storefront and kitchen ticket should identify the same item.

Nexara's dashboard and storefront support Arabic and English. Its printing supports Arabic thermal tickets, with English on the same ticket. The kitchen can therefore receive the Arabic item name while the front of house reviews the English field.

• Use a clear product photo for the item, not a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation.
• Match each image to one product name before sending the files.
• Keep the price out of the image because the live price belongs in the menu data.
• Tell the founder which products should have no image if the menu is text-only.

The menu can feed Nexara's branded website and installable browser app. Table QR ordering is available from the Growth plan when dine-in is enabled on the branch. Check product photos and menu wording on a phone, not only in the Excel sheet.

What happens during Nexara's assisted setup?

Send the cleaned Excel file, menu images or WhatsApp material to the founder on WhatsApp. Include branch names, language preference, opening categories and products to keep out of the menu. The founder will confirm the assisted setup path and the intended catalogue result.

The setup outcome is one catalogue for the ordering channels you use. A price change in the catalogue updates the menu everywhere that uses it. Nexara supports Talabat and Careem order intake and catalogue push.

Your existing standard thermal printer keeps working over USB or network. The ticket prints in the kitchen, including Arabic text and selected modifiers.

How do I check the migrated menu before launch?

Place a test order through the intended channel, read the customer-facing menu and compare the printed ticket with the original sheet. Nexara sits beside the till as the order and operations layer, so check both the order board and the ticket before opening the menu.

If the printer is unavailable, the order remains on the board and the ticket waits in a queue. You can re-route categories from the dashboard or use a configured backup printer. The order board itself needs a connection, so keep a practical hotspot backup beside the branch printer computer.

For more context, read how to build your menu once and go live in one day. The Nexara features page lists the menu, printing and ordering areas that may apply to your branch.