Digital menu board software that changes prices on every board at once
Digital menu board software stores a menu as items and prices, draws it on the screens above the counter, and pushes a change to every board that should carry it. Displayer runs in the browser of the TVs you already own, switches breakfast, lunch and dinner menus by daypart, limits each venue manager to their own boards, and shows with screenshots that a price change played. It costs 19 USD per board monthly or 9 USD on the yearly rate, so a venue with three boards pays 324 USD a year.
Build a digital menu board right here, without an account
The screen builder below opens on a three column menu board. Change the dishes, the layout and the orientation, and the rendered board updates as you type, with the schedule strip showing breakfast, lunch and dinner on a weekly grid.
- Venue: restaurant, retail store, clinic, gym, office, school, plant floor, church, senior living or real estate office
- Orientation: landscape 16:9 or portrait 9:16
- Layout: full bleed, main plus sidebar, or a menu board in three columns
- Content: your business name and three short lines, prefilled for the venue you picked
The schedule strip underneath shows the same playlist placed on a weekly grid, which is exactly what the schedule view does inside the product.
What the software includes
- Three column and split menu templates, built once and reused by every venue
- Categories, items, descriptions and prices as content, not as flat pictures
- Dayparts, so the board changes menu at the hours you set
- Groups by brand, region or venue, so one edit reaches the whole estate
- Roles and approval, so a venue cannot publish to the network
- Proof of play with periodic screenshots, so a price change is evidenced
- Offline playback on the device, so a dropped line does not blank the board
Breakfast, lunch and dinner on their own schedule
A daypart is a block of the trading day with its own menu. Set breakfast to end at 10:30, lunch to run until 4, and dinner after that, on a weekly grid that can differ on weekends. The board switches on the boundary by itself, and because the schedule lives on the device, it switches whether or not the internet is up.
A limited time offer sits on top as a dated campaign. It appears on the first day, runs for its weeks, and steps aside on the last day, which ends the familiar problem of a seasonal special still on the board three weeks after the kitchen stopped making it.
Calorie and allergen labeling on a digital board
The FDA menu labeling rule covers restaurants and similar food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name. They must show calories next to each standard item on menus and menu boards, with a statement that 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice, and a note that more nutrition information is available on request. A digital board is a menu board for this purpose.
Calories and allergen marks are fields on the item, and the statements are a zone in the template, so the same item can show its calorie count in a covered chain and hide it in a small independent group. Check the wording and type size with whoever handles compliance for you. The software gives you the fields and the record of what was displayed.
Hardware you can actually buy
Any screen with a browser works, and so does any Android stick, Chrome device or Windows mini PC behind a panel. Commercial panels are worth the money above a counter, because they run long hours and take portrait mounting, but the software does not care which you choose. More on the digital signage player.
Three boards side by side are three screens, each paired with its own six digit code and each showing one section of the menu. Drive-thru boards need outdoor rated, high brightness displays from a hardware supplier. The software side is the same.
Pricing per board
Each active board counts as one screen, and accounts start at three screens.
| Group size | Boards | Essential yearly | Professional yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| One venue | 3 | 324 USD | 504 USD |
| 10 venues at 4 boards | 40 | 4,320 USD | 6,720 USD |
| 50 venues at 4 boards | 200 | 21,600 USD | 33,600 USD |
Essential covers one venue with templates, a weekly schedule, offline playback and unlimited editors. Professional adds dayparts, dated campaigns, groups, roles, approvals and screenshot proof of play, which is what a group of venues needs. Monthly billing is 19 USD on Essential and 29 USD on Professional. See the pricing page for the full table.
How much does digital menu board software cost?
Digital menu board software costs roughly 8 to 50 USD per screen per month, depending on the vendor and tier. Displayer is 19 USD monthly or 9 USD on the yearly rate per board, so a venue with three boards pays 324 USD a year on Essential or 504 USD on Professional with dayparts.
What is the best digital menu board software?
For one venue with a fixed menu, the cheapest tool with a menu template is enough. For a group, the best digital menu board software changes a price on every board at once, switches menus by daypart, limits each venue to its own boards and shows that the change played.
Can I update prices across every location at once?
Yes. Edit the item, publish to the group, and every board carrying that tag takes the change at its next check in. On Professional the play record and screenshots show which boards applied it and when, so a price change is evidenced venue by venue.
Can I use a regular TV as a digital menu board?
Yes. Any TV with a browser pairs with Displayer through a six digit code, and an older TV takes a 30 to 100 USD Android stick or Chrome device. A commercial display is still worth buying above a hot counter, because it is built for long hours and portrait mounting.
Can the menu change automatically at breakfast, lunch and dinner?
Yes. Dayparts on the Professional plan switch the board at the hours you set, on a weekly grid, so breakfast gives way to lunch without anyone touching it. The schedule is stored on the device, so the switch happens even when the internet is down.
Can a venue manager change their own board?
Yes. Give them an editor role scoped to their location. They can mark an item sold out or change a local special on their own boards and nothing else, and you can require approval before the edit goes live. Team members are free on every plan.
Do digital menu boards have to show calories?
In the US, restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations must show calories on menus and menu boards under the FDA menu labeling rule, and digital boards are included. Calories and allergen marks are fields in the template, shown or hidden per board.
What happens to the menu board when the internet goes down?
The board keeps playing. Menus and the schedule are downloaded to the device ahead of time, so a dropped line does not blank the screen, and daypart switches still happen on time. Play records upload when the connection returns.