Happy Hour / Markdown
Markdown Rules is a general-purpose automatic-discount engine — a percentage or flat amount taken off specific items, a whole category, or your entire menu, during set days and time windows, with a Priority number to control which rule wins when more than one could apply to the same item at once.
Overview
Each rule has a Name, Start Time and optional End Time, applicable Days, a discount (Percentage or Flat amount), a Target (All items, specific Products, or a Category), optional Notes, and a Priority number used to order rules when several might match the same item.
This is the same underlying engine used in the bakery variant for near-expiry markdowns, generalised here for any time/day-scoped discount — it is a broader, more flexible sibling to Happy Hours rather than a duplicate of it.
The page shows which rules are Active Now, computed live from the current day and time against each rule's configured window — a quick way to confirm what discount a guest would actually receive right now.
A rule's Active toggle switches it on/off independent of its day/time window, so you can prepare a rule in advance and enable it exactly when you want it live.
Rules are listed sorted by Priority (lower number first), which matters when a Category rule and a Product-specific rule could both apply to the same item — check Priority to know which one actually wins.
Before You Start
- You must have the Markdown Rules feature enabled on your plan.
- Decide the Target scope (All items / specific Products / a Category) before creating a rule — it cannot be broadened or narrowed without editing the rule directly.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 Create a time-window discount rule
- Click "New Rule" and enter a Name (e.g. "Weekday Lunch Special").
- Set Start Time and End Time, and tick the applicable Days.
- Choose Percentage or Flat discount and enter the amount.
- Set Target to All Items, specific Products, or a Category, then save with Active turned on.
2 Resolve overlapping rules with Priority
- If two rules could both match the same item (e.g. a Category rule and a Product rule), open each and check its Priority number.
- Lower Priority numbers take effect first — adjust the numbers so the more specific or more important rule has the lower value.
3 Pause a rule without losing its setup
- Find the rule in the list and toggle Active off.
- It stops applying immediately even during what would otherwise be its matching day/time window, while keeping all its settings saved for later.
Every Field & Button, Explained
| Field / Button | What it does |
|---|---|
Start Time / End Time / Days | Defines the exact window a rule is eligible to apply; leaving End Time blank means the rule runs until end of day. |
Discount Type & Value | Percentage or Flat amount taken off the price of every item the rule targets. |
Target (All / Products / Category) | Scopes the rule to your whole menu, a hand-picked list of products, or one category. |
Priority | A number used to order which rule wins when more than one rule could match the same item at the same time — lower runs first. |
Active toggle | Switches a rule on/off independent of its day/time window and Priority. |
Tips & Best Practices
- Use Priority deliberately whenever you have both a broad Category rule and a narrower Product-specific rule that could overlap — don't leave it to the default ordering by accident.
- Check "Active Now" on the list before a shift starts if you're relying on a rule to kick in automatically — it reflects the exact current day/time against each rule's window.
- Prefer this page over Happy Hours when you need Product-level or Category-level targeting rather than a blanket time-based discount.