Toaster — Toast Field Builder
Toaster is a free tool built by Menuboard Manager that converts a Toast POS export into a ready-to-import field list. Instead of manually looking up and entering each POS ID, you upload your Toast data, type the item or modifier names you want on your menu board, and Toaster resolves the correct POS IDs automatically.
Toaster is especially valuable for large menus with many modifiers. Because Toast modifier groups are often shared across multiple parent items — for example, a "Cup Size" group attached to both Lattes and Smoothies — the same modifier name can map to multiple POS IDs. Toaster's modifier parent filtering lets you pin each modifier to a specific parent item, so you always get the right ID.
What You'll Need
A Toast CSV or JSON export from your Toast back-office. Both formats are accepted:
CSV — exported from Toast Web → Menus → Bulk Management → Items Database.
JSON — a full menu export from the Toast API (used by developers or power users with API access).
Optionally, your existing Menuboard Manager fields CSV if you want to merge new fields with your current field list rather than replacing it.
Step 1: Upload Your Toast Export
Open Toaster.
In the Data Sources card, locate the Toast JSON or CSV panel on the left side.
Drag your Toast export file onto the drop zone, or click to browse and choose the file. Both
.csvand.jsonfiles are supported; you can upload multiple CSVs at once.Once uploaded, a pill tag appears showing the file name and row count. Toaster has parsed the file and is ready for lookups.
Note: If you upload a file you no longer need, click the × on its pill tag to remove it from the active source list.
Step 2: Build Your Field List
After uploading, the Menuboard Manager Fields Builder table appears. Each row you add becomes one field in your exported CSV.
The table has four input columns:
Column | Purpose |
Item or Modifier Name | The name of the item or modifier exactly as it appears in Toast. Toaster searches the uploaded data for an exact match. |
Modifier (e.g. Cup) | Optional. Enter the parent menu item name here to filter modifier results to that specific parent. See Modifier Parent Filtering below. |
Size (optional) | Enter a size label (e.g. |
Type | Sets the Menuboard Manager field type: Card, Text, or Number. |
Adding rows
Click + Add Row to add a new blank row, or simply start typing in the last empty row — new rows appear automatically as you fill in matches.
In the Item or Modifier Name column, type the name as it appears in Toast. An autocomplete dropdown suggests matching names from your uploaded data; press Tab or Enter to select one, or continue typing.
Toaster searches the uploaded data for an exact name match. The result appears in the POS ID column:
A green border and a filled POS ID means a single match was found and resolved.
An orange border and a dropdown means multiple matches were found — see the next section.
A red border means no match was found. Check the name spelling against your Toast export.
If multiple matches are found, a selector appears in the POS ID column listing each candidate with its POS ID and price. Choose the correct one from the dropdown, or select All to export one row per match.
Set the Type for each row. Use Card for items you plan to display as content cards, Number for price-only fields, and Text for name or description fields.
Modifier Parent Filtering
This is Toaster's most important feature for menus with shared modifier groups.
The problem: In Toast, a modifier group — for example, "Protein Add-On" — can be attached to multiple menu items (Açaí Bowl, Smoothie, Salad, etc.). Every item in that group shares the same modifier option names and, often, the same POS IDs. When you search for "Add Whey Protein" without filtering, Toaster may return the modifier's ID for every parent item it belongs to, leaving you uncertain which one to use.
The solution: Enter the parent menu item name in the Modifier column. Toaster filters the results to only modifiers whose parent item matches what you typed — giving you exactly one result.
Example:
You want to display the price of "Add Whey Protein" specifically when it is ordered as an add-on to the Smoothie, not the Açaí Bowl.
In the Item or Modifier Name column, type
Add Whey Protein.In the Modifier column, type
Smoothie.Toaster searches for modifiers named "Add Whey Protein" and filters to those whose parent item is "Smoothie." If the modifier is attached to multiple items but you've filtered to Smoothie, you get a single resolved POS ID with a green border.
The Modifier column also supports autocomplete — start typing a menu item name and Toaster suggests matching items from your uploaded data.
Note: Parent filtering works with both JSON uploads (which carry full parent item metadata) and CSV uploads (which use the modifier group's parent ID as a fallback). JSON exports from the Toast API produce the most precise filtering results.
Adding to an Existing Field List
Importing a CSV into Menuboard Manager replaces your current field list. If you already have fields set up and only want to add new ones, use Toaster's right-side panel to merge your existing fields with the new ones before importing.
In Menuboard Manager, open your presentation and go to the Fields tab.
Export your current field list as a CSV using the export button in the Fields toolbar.
In Toaster, locate the Menuboard Manager Fields CSV (optional) panel on the right side of the Data Sources card.
Drag your exported fields CSV onto the right-side drop zone, or click to choose the file.
A pill tag confirms the file name and row count. The CSV Preview card updates to show your existing fields as a Master CSV section at the top, followed by any new fields you build in the builder below.
Build your new fields on the left side as described in the previous steps.
When you export (see Step 3), Toaster writes both sections — your existing master rows and the new entries — into a single CSV.
Note: If a new field has the same name as an existing master field, Toaster automatically deduplicates it by appending a number (e.g. Latte (2)) to avoid collisions on import.
Step 3: Export and Download the CSV
Once at least one row has a resolved POS ID (green border), the Download CSV button becomes active in the CSV Preview card at the bottom of the page.
Review the CSV Preview table. It shows all columns that will be written to the file, with your master rows (if any) shown first and new entries below.
The Clear IDs on Export toggle controls whether the
Idcolumn is included. Leave it on (the default) unless you have a specific reason to preserve existing IDs — Menuboard Manager assigns new IDs on import when the column is empty.Click Download CSV. The file downloads as
{source-filename}-new.csv(e.g.my-toast-export-new.csv).
Step 4: Import the CSV into Menuboard Manager
Log in to Menuboard Manager and open the presentation you want to update.
Go to the Fields tab.
Click Import in the Fields toolbar and select the CSV file you downloaded from Toaster.
Menuboard Manager imports the field list. Each field appears with its Name, Type, and POS ID populated.
Warning: Importing replaces your current field list. If you did not use Toaster's right-side merge panel to include your existing fields, they will be lost. Always export your current fields first if you need to preserve them.
After importing, run a sync from the POS Integration app to pull current names, descriptions, and prices from Toast. See Manually Run POS Integration for instructions.
CSV Column Reference
The exported CSV uses the full Menuboard Manager fields format. Key columns:
Column | Notes |
| The field name as entered in Toaster. |
| Copied from |
| Set to |
| The Toast POS ID resolved by Toaster. Modifier IDs are prefixed with |
|
|
| Set to |
Related Articles
Toast POS Integration Guide — Full setup guide: enabling the integration, connecting your location, importing fields, and working with modifiers and multiple menus.
Manually Run POS Integration — Trigger a sync, set a schedule, and review sync results.
Working with Presentations — Configure the Fields tab, position fields on the canvas, and publish your content.
Price Sheets — How POS syncs populate price sheets and how to manage pricing manually.