Using Square Menus with Layout Mobile

Using Square Menus with Layout Mobile

Square Menus let you choose exactly which items appear in your Layout Mobile app. Instead of relying only on categories, you can create a dedicated menu in Square for the items you want customers to see in your app.

We recommend using Square Menus whenever possible. It keeps your current POS workflow intact, makes menu management more organized, and gives you more control over what appears in Layout Mobile.

Why use Square Menus

With Square Menus, all of your menu management stays inside Square. That means your team can continue using the system they already know, while Layout Mobile pulls in the correct items for your mobile app.

This is usually the best setup because:

• your POS workflow stays the same

• your team does not need to rebuild the menu inside Layout

• you can create a menu specifically for mobile ordering

• it is easier to control what customers see in the app

By default, Layout uses Categories as the menu source. Square Menus is an alternate option you can enable in the Layout Dashboard if you want a more structured setup.

How Square Menus work with Layout

Square is your source of truth. You create and manage the menu in Square, then Layout Mobile reads that menu and displays it in your app.

The basic process looks like this:

• create a menu in Square

• add the categories and items you want in the app

• go to the Layout Dashboard

• open App / Menu

• switch the menu source to Square Menus

• sync with Square

Once that is done, Layout will use your selected Square menu to power the mobile app experience.

Step 1: Create a menu in Square

Start by logging into your Square Dashboard.

Go to your menu management area in Square and create a new menu. This should be a menu specifically for the items you want to show in Layout Mobile.

A few examples of menu names:

• Layout Mobile Menu

• Mobile Ordering Menu

• App Menu

This menu name is mainly for your internal setup, so make it something easy to recognize.

Helpful Square article:

https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/6689-create-and-manage-menus

Developer documentation:

https://developer.squareup.com/docs/catalog-api/manage-menus

Step 2: Add categories to your menu

Once your menu is created, add the sections you want customers to browse in the app.

These might be things like:

• Coffee

• Tea

• Breakfast

• Pastries

• Sandwiches

• Specials

These categories help organize the menu inside Layout Mobile and make the app easier for customers to navigate.

Try to keep category names simple and clear so people can find what they want quickly.

Step 3: Add items to the menu

After your categories are in place, add the items you want customers to see in the app.

This is where you decide exactly what should appear in Layout Mobile. You do not need to show everything in your Square catalog. You can create a more focused menu just for mobile ordering.

For example, you might want to include:

• your top-selling drinks

• food items available all day

• seasonal specials

• limited mobile-only offerings

If an item is not included in the Square menu you plan to use, it will not appear in Layout Mobile.

Step 4: Open the Layout Dashboard

Once your Square menu is ready, go to the Layout Dashboard.

From there, navigate to:

App / Menu

This is where you control how your app menu is built and synced.

Step 5: Change the menu source

On the App / Menu page, click Options in the top right.

This opens the Menu Options page.

By default, Categories will be selected as the menu source. To use your new Square menu, change the selection to:

Square Menus

This tells Layout to use the Square menu structure instead of the default category-based setup.

We recommend this option because it requires the fewest changes to your current system. Your team keeps working in Square, and Layout simply reflects that structure in the app.

Step 6: Sync with Square

After selecting Square Menus, save your changes and sync your menu.

This pulls in the latest menu data from Square and updates what appears in Layout Mobile.

If you make changes later in Square, such as adding items, removing items, or reorganizing categories, you will need to sync again so those updates appear in the app.

What happens when you switch to Square Menus

If your business was previously using the default Categories setup, switching to Square Menus changes the source Layout uses for your app menu.

That means Layout will stop using the old category-based structure and instead rebuild the menu based on the Square menu you created.

This is why Square Menus can be a cleaner setup long term. It keeps the menu more intentional and gives you a dedicated structure for what should appear in the app.

Best practices

To get the best results, we recommend a few simple things.

Create a menu specifically for Layout Mobile

This gives you better control and keeps the app menu separate from other uses of your catalog.

Keep categories clean and simple

Short, clear category names make the app easier to browse.

Only include items you want in the app

Do not feel like every item in your catalog has to appear in mobile ordering.

Sync after updates

Whenever you change the menu in Square, make sure to sync in the Layout Dashboard so your app stays up to date.

Preview your app menu

After syncing, review the menu in Layout to make sure everything appears the way you expect.

Why this setup is recommended

Square Menus is the most organized way to manage your app menu because it keeps the work in the system your business already uses every day.

Instead of managing menu visibility through multiple workarounds, you can create one clean menu in Square and let Layout Mobile use that directly.

For most businesses, this means:

• less manual work

• a more predictable menu setup

• fewer mistakes

• better control over the customer experience

If you want Layout Mobile to reflect exactly what you choose without changing your staff workflow, Square Menus is usually the best option.