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Using a Shopping List to Order Non-Food Items

Kevin U
  • Updated

About Shopping Lists

A shopping list is a means to add non-food items, such as cleaning supplies, to a shopping cart. The shopping cart in turn is used to create purchase orders (PO's). 

Because a shopping cart/PO is populated with food vendor products sourced from a menu, the shopping list is the means to collect the non-food vendor products used throughout your facility. 

When an item is on a shopping list, its currently-selected vendor product is also included on the list. 
shopping_list.png

Creating a New Shopping List Record

To create a new shopping list record:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears, displaying any existing lists. 
  2. Click the New List button. The Name Shopping List pop-up appears. 

    create_shopping_list.png
     
  3. Enter the name for the shopping list (e.g., Cleaning Supplies) and click Save. The newly-created shopping list displays on the Shopping List screen. 

Importing a Shopping List from Excel® File

You can populate a shopping list by importing an Excel® file of products. The products in the file must already exist on a vendor product list in your account for the system to successfully import from the file. In addition certain requirements of the Excel file must be met; see Excel File Requirements for Importing below. 

To import your shopping list file:

  1. Select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
  2. For the shopping list you want to import the file for, click its name. The shopping list screen appears. 
  3. Click the Import Shopping List button (first screenshot below). The Import Shopping List Items slide-out panel appears (second screenshot below).

    import_shopping_list.png

    import_shopping_list.png
     
  4. Click Browse to navigate to and select the file.  
  5. Click the Upload File button. The Map and Import section appears.

    map_import_shopping_list.png
     
  6. Proceed to "Mapping the Fields" section below.

Mapping the Fields

When you import the file, are may be required to map certain column names in the file to the appropriate MealSuite fields via the Map and Import section (screenshot below). For example, you will map “Vendor” from the file to the Vendor field in MealSuite.

map_import_shopping_list.png

The left side of the table in the Column Header for CSV column displays the column names in the .csv file. The right side of the table contains Map To drop-down fields from which you can select the appropriate MealSuite fields to map to.

At a minimum the following MealSuite fields need to be mapped from their corresponding column in the Excel file:

  • Product ID or Description
    and
  • Vendor

or

  • UPC or GTIN
    and
  • Vendor

Note that the MealSuite system will automatically attempt to select the appropriate Map To field. 

You have the option of not mapping a column name by selecting Do Not Map This Field.

Finishing Steps

When you finish selecting the Map To fields, complete the following steps:

  1. Click the Import button to apply your changes. The Import Confirmation slide-out panel appears to validate the records being mapped.

    import_confirmation.png
     
  2. Any invalid data that is detected from the validation process is listed, meaning the affected product rows from the file will not be imported. If so, you can cancel the import process by clicking the Cancel Product Import button and open the file to readjust the affected rows, or you can click the Reconfigure Product Import button to return to the Map and Import section to readjust the mapping.

    import_errors.png
     
  3. To begin the import process after the validation is completed, click the Confirm Product Import button.
  4. When the import process is complete, a success message appears. 

    success_import.png
     
  5. Click the Return to Product List link to close the slide-out panel and return to the product list, where the products from the file are now listed.

Excel File Requirements for Importing

The requirements of the Excel file being imported with vendor products are documented below. 

Note: The MealSuite system will not perform any formatting or apply any logic to the imported data. The data from the file will be imported and displayed “as is”.

File Must Be in .xlxs Format

The file must be in .xlxs format (per screenshot below).

order_guide_format.png

Required Columns

The file must contain columns with the following data:

  • Product ID or Description
    and
  • Vendor

or

  • UPC or GTIN
    and
  • Vendor

No Leading Spaces in Product ID Cells

Ensure there are no leading spaces in the product ID item number cells.

no_leading_spaces.png

Adding a Specific Vendor Product to a Shopping List

To add a specific vendor product to a shopping list, complete the following steps:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears. 
  2. Click the desired shopping list to open it.

    cleaning_supplies_list.png
     
  3. Click the Add New button (first screenshot below). The Product Search screen appears (second screenshot below). 

    add_new.png

    product_search_empty.png
     
  4. In the Search field at the top left of the screen, either enter the product you are searching for or the specific product (either by description, product ID, or brand), and click Go. The screen returns products that match your search criteria. 

    search_product_results.png
     
  5. For a product you want to add to your shopping list, enter the quantity to be ordered in the QTY field that is located the right side of the screen (the quantity can later be adjusted on the shopping list itself if need be).

    amount_needed2.png
     
  6. To add the product to your shopping list, click its Add To Shopping List button on the right side of the screen. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to add other products. 

    add_to_shopping_list.png

    Note that the badge at the top right of screen indicates how many products have been added to the shopping list. 
    badge.png
     
  7. To return to the shopping list, click Back to List on the left side of the screen. 

    back_to_list.png

Populating a Shopping List to a Shopping Cart

To populate a shopping list to a shopping cart, see Populating a Shopping Cart from a Shopping List. 

Searching for Items in a Shopping List

For a shopping list (Procurement > Shopping List > click on shopping list), you can search for a specific product via the Search field at the top right of the screen. You can search by the description or product ID. 

shopping_list_search.png

Filtering Items in a Shopping List

You can use various filters to help you narrow down the onscreen items you see in a shopping list. To use filters, complete the following step: 

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
     
  2. Click the desired shopping list to open it. 
     
  3. Click the Filters tool at the top right corner to expand the screen with the filter options.

    filters.png
     
  4. Select the filters as needed, described as follows:
    • Food And Non Food Categories - filter by food item and non-food item categories. 
    • Stock Item Category - filter by the stock item category of the item. 
    • Vendor - filters by specific vendor(s).
    • Storage Location - filter by the storage area of the item.  
  5. Click Apply to refresh the screen with results that match the filter criteria. 

Adjusting Order Quantity of Vendor Product in a Shopping List

You can adjust the order quantity of an existing vendor product in a shopping list. To do so, complete the following steps:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
  2. Click the desired shopping list to open it.
  3. If needed, use the search and filter tools to locate the item whose vendor product order quantity you have to adjust. 
  4. In the Order Qty field for the product, enter the new order quantity. 
  5. The new order quantity is automatically saved. 

Setting Columns on a Shopping List Screen

You can set the columns to display on a Shopping List screen, along with their sort order. To do so:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
  2. Click the desired shopping list to open it.
  3. Click the Set Columns button. The Set Columns pop-up appears.
  4. For the columns you want onscreen drag-and-drop them from the right side of the pop-up to the left side of the pop-up. For the columns you do not want onscreen, drag-and-drop them from the left side of the pop-up to the right side of the pop-up. 

    shopping_list_column.png
     
  5. You can determine the sort order of the columns displayed onscreen by clicking, holding, and dragging a column to it desired spot in the column list.

    set_columns2.png
     
  6. Click Apply to apply your changes and close the pop-up.

Exporting Shopping List to Excel® Spreadsheet

To export a shopping list to an Excel® spreadsheet, complete the following steps: 

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists and click on the desired shopping list to open it. 
  2. Click the Export button to generate the Excel file.
  3. A prompt appears when the file is ready to download. Click the Download button to download the file. 

Removing Items from a Shopping List

To remove an item or items from a shopping list, complete the following steps:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
  2. Click the desired shopping list to open it.
  3. If needed, use the search and filter tools to locate the item to be removed. Using a filter is an ideal method to show food items of a certain category that may need to be removed. For example, you can filter by the stock item category of Dry Goods to show all food items within that stock item category. 
  4. For an item to be removed, select its check box and then click the Remove button. Or to remove all items onscreen, click the top check box in the column header and then click the Remove button.  A confirmation message appears (second screenshot below). 

    remove_item__message.png
  5. Click Delete to remove the item(s).

Renaming a Shopping List

To rename a shopping list:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
  2. Click the name link of the shopping list you want to rename. The specific shopping list screen appears. 
  3. Beside the shopping list name at the top of the screen, click the edit button (first screenshot below(. the Name Shopping List pop-up appears (second screenshot below).  

    shopping_list_name_edit.png

    name_shopping_list.png
     
  4. Enter the new name of the shopping list and click the Save button to apply your changes. 

Deleting a Shopping List

To delete a shopping list:

  1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Procurement > Shopping Lists. The Shopping Lists screen appears.
  2. For the shopping list you want to delete, click its gear icon in the Actions column and select Delete (first screenshot below). A confirmation message appears (second screenshot below). 

    gear_icon.png

    delete_message.png
     
  3. Click Delete to delete the shopping list. 

FAQs

How can I generate a grocery list / purchasing list?

Click here for instructions on generating a quantified grocery list.

A quantified grocery list contains the food items and quantities you need to procure without the need to manage vendor products. Once a quantified grocery list is generated, you can then use it to go shopping for products or placing orders in vendor site(s).

Can I change the unit of measure for items in a shopping list? For example, grams to ounces?

No. The unit of measure is associated with the vendor product and cannot be changed.