Change your menu once. Watch it update everywhere.

Step 1.1

Sign in and find your dashboard

Sign in at app3.justamenu.com. The Main Dashboard shows one card for each restaurant you run, with counts of your outlets and how many are active. Use the search box, Filters or the list view when you have a lot of them.

Step 1.2

Add your restaurant

Click Add Restaurant. Upload your logo (you can Crop or Rotate it), then fill in the name, an outlet number, the address and your time zone. Click Next.

Step 1.3

Turn it on

A new restaurant starts out Deactivated, so you can set everything up first. When it’s ready to use in your store, click Activate Outlet on its card. Activating lets the location be used and starts billing.

Step 1.4

Choose how it stays on

Permanent Activation keeps it on until you turn it off. Seasonal Activation switches it on and off every year on a schedule, which suits a summer stand. Temporary Activation covers one date range for a pop-up, an event or a trial. Click Activate.

Step 1.5

Logo, address and logo versions

Later on, click the three dots on the card, then Settings, to change anything. Upload your logo once and the app makes circle, square, horizontal, badge and nameplate versions for your designs.

Step 1.6

Opening hours

In the same window, open Outlet Schedule. For each day choose Custom Hours, Open 24 Hours or Closed. Split shifts? Click Add another time range.

Step 1.7

Find your way around

Click Manage Outlet to open a restaurant. The sidebar takes you to Menu Workspace, Digital Signage, QR Menu, Print Menu and Social Media. Back to Dashboard returns you to all your restaurants.

Step 2.1

Start from an empty workspace

A new restaurant opens on an empty Menu Workspace. Click Upload Menu to import a photo or PDF, or Add Category Manually to type it in. Pages sit across the top: Food, Beverages and + Add Page.

Step 2.2

Upload a photo or PDF

Pick the file. While it reads your menu you’ll see Processing Import, and the tab says Importing…. It takes a minute or two, and you can keep working on other pages in the meantime.

Step 2.3

Check it, then accept

When the tab says Needs Approval, open it. The preview shows every category, item and price it found. Click Accept Import, or Retry Import or Reject if the photo was hard to read. You can edit anything afterward.

Tip Hand-written changes count. On our sample menu, a crossed-out 12.79 with 13.29 written next to it came in as $13.29.

Step 3.1

Your menu, organized

Categories hold items, and each item shows its price, an Available or Sold Out switch, a pencil to edit and a bin to delete. Drag the dots on the left to reorder.

Step 3.2

Add a photo and a description

Click the pencil on an item. Write a short description, then add a photo with Upload or Stock Gallery. Below that are optional allergy and nutrition lines.

Step 3.3

Find a photo in seconds

Stock Gallery already searches for your dish by name. Tap a photo to use it. The Pexels and Pixabay tabs have more.

Step 3.4

One price, or several sizes

Choose Single price item or Multi-price item for sizes like Small and Large, and add more with + Add another price. Add icons attaches dietary and allergen icons. Click Save Changes.

Step 3.5

Sold out for the day

Tap Sold Out on any item. It’s crossed out here and shows “Sold Out” on your TV board straight away. Tap Available when it’s back. + Add Item adds a dish to a category.

Step 3.6

Category settings

The gear on a category opens its settings. Add a Subheader such as “Served on fresh corn tortillas”, hide the category from your QR menu, turn on a Price grid (sizes across the top, like a pizzeria wall) and set default price labels.

Step 3.7

Add your drinks

Open Beverages, then Bottled Beverages or Fountain Beverages. Set a Default Bottle Price, search the catalog and click + Add to Menu. Drinks come with their photos, and each price can be changed.

Step 3.8

See what your changes updated

Click Show on Automatic design updates. Every menu board slide, print menu and social post that uses an item you changed is re-made for you, and this list shows what was re-published and when.

Step 4.1

Start in Digital Signage

A layout mirrors your real TVs: two screens side by side make a 2-screen layout. Scenes are what plays on them. Add more than one (your menu, a special, an announcement) and the TVs take turns showing each, like a playlist. Click Create First Layout.

Step 4.2

Set up your layout

Pick how many displays, Landscape or Portrait. Name it after where the TVs hang, like “Counter TVs”, and click Continue.

Step 4.3

Pick a template that fits your menu

Click Create Your First Scene. Express Design matches templates to your menu (here: 6 categories, 35 items) and marks the best fits Good Match or Excellent Match. Scene Magic and Auto-generate menu scene sit first in the list.

Step 4.4

Preview it

Click a template to see it across all your screens, then Start my menu board.

Step 4.5

Add your categories

The setup wizard opens in Express Setup Mode. Tap a category to place it on the board, or Add all. Switch on Show item descriptions if you have room.

Step 4.6

Your menu lands on the board

Every category is placed with its live prices. Notice Veggie Tacos: we marked it sold out in Menu Workspace, and the board already says so.

Step 4.7

Put things in order

Drag a category up or down, or use the arrows above a column to swap columns. Reset to auto layout puts everything back. Click Next.

Step 4.8

Resize categories

Drag the green grips to give busy categories more room, or click Auto-balance heights for an even look. Click Next.

Step 4.9

Fill your featured special

Templates with a feature spot ask what to show. Tap each slot (Drink, Main) and pick from your own menu.

Step 4.10

The special builds itself

Pick a drink and a dish and the board adds up the combo price ($2.99 + $12.49 = $15.48) and creates the picture for it. Keep working while it finishes.

Step 4.11

You did it

The wizard shows exactly how it will look on your screens. Choose Publish to my screens, or Keep editing to fine-tune first (your work is saved).

Step 4.12

Publish

Click Publish at the top right. A new scene starts out inactive, so the app asks: choose Mark Active & Publish to put it on your screens.

Step 5.1

The Essentials view

The left panel shows your Menu Colors, the Categories and Specials on this board (each with Edit), and quick add-ons: Photo or logo, Scrolling ticker, Text and Designer block.

Step 5.2

Click a menu block to change it

Click a category on the board. Show a different category, make the text bigger or smaller, and switch prices, descriptions, subheaders, dietary icons or a wide layout on and off.

Step 5.3

Change any text

Click text on the board, such as the “Restaurant name” header, and type in Your text. Pick the font, size, color, style and alignment. Press Enter to save.

Step 5.4

Advanced tools and the File menu

Advanced adds text, menu categories, items and combos, photos and video, uploads, shapes, QR codes and layout pieces. File has Save Draft, Download Scene Image and Clone Scene.

Step 5.5

Fix a price without leaving

Edit Menu opens your menu inside the editor. Change a price or mark something sold out, then click Back to Canvas.

Tip When it looks right, click Publish. Your screens update straight away.

Step 6.1

Choose the screens

Click + Scene, then Scene Magic. Pick the screens to design; each gets its own slide. The page shows how many Scene Magic slides you have left this month.

Step 6.2

Show off a dish

For each screen choose Show off a dish, Meal + drink combo or Make an announcement. Pick the dish from your menu; the headline and price fill in. Then pick a look, such as Golden hour, or Surprise me.

Step 6.3

Make an announcement

Type the message and a smaller line, for example “Happy Hour: $2 Tacos” and “Weekdays 3-6 PM”, and pick a look. Copy from previous screen reuses your choices. Click Create 2 slides.

Step 6.4

It designs while you work

The new scene appears in your playlist with Generating… on each screen. It takes about a minute, and you can carry on with anything else.

Step 6.5

Your finished special

Both slides are ready, in their own scene, after your menu board. Your TVs now take turns: the menu board plays for its time (15 seconds here), then the special (30 seconds), then the menu again, on a loop. Change a scene’s time with the seconds menu next to it (5 to 60 seconds), and drag its handle to change the order. To show the special only while the deal is on, schedule it (next chapter).

Step 6.6

Or from inside the editor

Scene Magic is also in the editor’s toolbar. There it puts the new slide on the screen you choose in the scene you’re editing, so save or publish to keep it, or leave without saving to undo.

Step 7.1

Choose the days

Click Schedule on a scene. Switch each day on or off, then choose All Day or Custom.

Step 7.2

Set the hours

With Custom, set a start and end time. Our happy hour plays Monday to Friday, 3:00 to 6:00 PM. Click Save Schedule; the scene’s tags now read “Mon-Fri: 3:00pm-6:00pm”.

Step 7.3

Check it in Preview

Click Preview. Pick a day and drag the time: at 4:30 PM on a Tuesday both scenes play, the menu board and then the special. Skip jumps ahead and Full screen shows it TV-size.

Step 8.1

Plug it in

Connect the JAM Player to the TV with the HDMI cable, then plug the player into power. Turn the TV on and press Input or Source on the remote until you see the JAM Player’s setup screen.

Step 8.2

Get the app and sign in

On your phone, go to setup.justamenu.com and download JAM Setup from the App Store or Google Play. Sign in with the same email and password you use for Just a Menu, and tap Sign In. On Android, tap Grant Permission so the app can use Bluetooth.

Step 8.3

Start setup and pick your restaurant

Tap Set Up or Reconnect Device, then tap the restaurant this TV is in. Run a lot of locations? Use the search box or the brand filter.

Step 8.4

Find your player

Stand within 2 feet of the JAM Player (first-time setup uses Bluetooth, which only works up close) and tap I’m within 2 feet. The app scans for players nearby. Tap yours: it’s named JAM-PLAYER and a short code.

Tip Nothing found? Check the TV shows the setup screen and tap Scan Again. If the app says “One quick fix needed”, your phone remembers an old pairing: forget the JAM Player in your phone’s Bluetooth settings, then tap Retry.

Step 8.5

Connect it to your Wi-Fi

Pick your restaurant’s Wi-Fi network, type its password and tap Connect. If the network has no password, switch on This network has no password.

Tip Use your business network, not a guest network that needs a sign-in page. If your Wi-Fi name or password ever changes, you’ll need to reconnect each player: see step 11.

Step 8.6

Name it and say which way the TV hangs

Give the player a name you’ll recognize, like “Bar TV” or “Front Window”. Under Display Orientation choose Landscape, Portrait (Bottom on Left) or Portrait (Bottom on Right) to match how the TV is mounted. Tap Continue.

Step 8.7

Let it register

The app registers the player with your account. When you see Device registered successfully!, tap Continue.

Tip If it can’t reach our servers, check the Wi-Fi and tap Try Again.

Step 8.8

Link it to a screen

On the player’s page, tap Link to Screen.

Step 8.9

Choose the layout

Tap the layout this TV belongs to. You only see layouts that face the same way as the TV. Don’t see any? Create a layout in Digital Signage first.

Step 8.10

Choose the screen, and you’re done

Tap the screen this TV shows (Screen 1, Screen 2…), then tap the Link to… button. Your menu appears on the TV. Setting up a second TV? Tap Set Up Another Device; otherwise tap Done.

Tip Two TVs side by side? Each one has its own player: link one to Screen 1 and the other to Screen 2.

Step 8.11

Changed your Wi-Fi? Reconnect your player

A JAM Player only knows the Wi-Fi it was set up on. If you change your network name or password, or get a new internet provider or router, your TVs stop getting your menu changes. Stand within 2 feet of each player, open JAM Setup, tap Set Up or Reconnect Device, pick your restaurant and your player, then choose the new network and type its password (steps 3 to 5). It remembers its name and screen, so that’s all.

Tip Changing your Wi-Fi soon? Plan a few minutes per TV to reconnect each JAM Player right after the switch.

Step 8.12

LG Professional monitors only: use the code on the screen

Skip this unless your screens are LG Professional monitors running the JAM Player app, with no JAM Player box. Those monitors show an activation code. In Digital Signage, click Claim Device, type the code, name the TV, choose landscape or portrait and click Claim Device.

Tip Codes last 24 hours, and the monitor shows a fresh one by itself.

Step 9.1

Your QR code is ready

Every restaurant gets its code straight away. It already scans; all that’s left is choosing how the menu looks.

Step 9.2

Pick a design

Scroll to Pre-made designs and click Make it live. The magnifier on a card shows the full design first.

Step 9.3

Confirm the change

Changing a live menu asks first, because guests who scan will see the new design straight away.

Step 9.4

Download, print and share

The live design is marked Live. Download QR code gives you a file to print, Preview my menu opens it as guests see it, and Copy grabs the link for your website or social pages.

Step 9.5

What guests see

Your logo and categories, in your design, ready to tap.

Step 9.6

Items, photos and prices

Tapping a category opens its items with photos, descriptions and prices, all straight from Menu Workspace.

Step 9.7

Your designs

Your designs keeps every look you’ve made. Set as Active switches what guests see, Edit Design changes it, and Embed Menu puts the same menu on your website.

Step 9.8

Change the look

In Basic, pick a font style and colors; the phone on the right shows every change. Click Save My Menu, or Full Preview to try it full size.

Step 9.9

Fine control

Advanced covers layout, Multi-Page Navigation, an Allergy & Nutrition Popup, category headers and items. Reorder Blocks changes what comes first.

Step 10.1

Make a print menu

Go to Print Menu and click Create New. Express Design fills a template with your menu, Custom Design lets you build it, or choose Start from Scratch. When it’s ready, the download button on its card gives you a PDF for any print shop.

Step 10.2

Make a social post

Go to Social Media and click Create New Design. Each format is sized for its platform: Instagram posts and stories, Facebook posts and covers.

Step 10.3

Pick a template, then download

Click Use This Template, put in your dish, photo and words, then download and post.

Tip Set up your menu first. Your items are then waiting for you in every template.

Step 11.1

Invite someone

Click Share Access on a restaurant card. Share with a teammate is for someone who already has an account. Share with outlet operator sends an invitation to the owner or operator. Manage who has access shows everyone, with invitation history, and lets you take access away.

Step 12.1

Instructions

Click Instructions. Full Application Overview tours the whole app, JAM Flow Guide shows the journey on one page, and Overview of this page explains the screen you’re on. The list changes with the page. Submit a Support Ticket reaches a person.

Step 12.2

A guided tour in the editor

The first time you open JAM Canvas, Start the Tutorial walks you through adding menu items, photos and text. Replay it any time from Instructions.