How to update your digital menu board in under 60 seconds
One of the most common tasks for hospitality businesses using digital signage is keeping the menu up to date. SignM8 makes this fast — once you know where to look, changes are live in under a minute.
TL;DR
Log in → Menu Boards → select your board → make changes → Publish. That's it. No design tools, no USB sticks, no waiting for someone in IT.
Before you start
You'll need:
- A SignM8 account (any role with menu board access)
- At least one menu board already created
- A screen with the menu board assigned to a layout zone
If you haven't created your first menu board yet, do that first from Menu Boards → New menu board in your dashboard.
Step 1: Open your menu board
From the left sidebar, click Menu Boards. You'll see a list of all boards for your account.
Click on the board you want to edit. You'll land on the menu board editor.
Step 2: Make your changes
The menu board editor has two sections:
Categories
Your menu is organised into categories (e.g. "Mains", "Drinks", "Desserts"). You can:
- Add a new category with the + Add category button
- Rename any category by clicking its name
- Reorder categories by dragging
- Delete a category (this also deletes all items in it)
Items
Each category contains menu items. For each item you can update:
- Name — the dish or drink name
- Description — optional short description
- Price — the price displayed on screen
- Availability — toggle items on or off without deleting them
Tip: Use the availability toggle for daily specials or seasonal items. Toggle them on when available, off when they're not — no need to delete and re-add.
Step 3: Publish
When you're happy with your changes, click the Publish button in the top right corner.
Publishing:
- Creates a new version of the board (the last 10 versions are kept)
- Pushes the update to all screens showing that board
- The screens update within seconds — no restart required
Checking your work
After publishing, glance at any screen displaying the menu board. The changes should appear within 10–30 seconds depending on your network.
If you don't see the update:
- Check the screen is online in Screens → Health
- Confirm the layout zone is assigned to the correct menu board
- Try manually triggering a refresh from Screens → [Screen name] → Commands → Refresh
Frequently asked questions
Can I schedule menu board changes for a specific time? Not directly within the menu board editor — but you can assign different layouts to different time slots in the Schedules section. Create a "Lunch menu" layout and a "Dinner menu" layout, each with a different menu board, and schedule them appropriately.
Is there a version history? Yes. SignM8 keeps the last 10 published versions of each menu board. You can view (but not currently restore) previous versions.
Can multiple staff edit the menu board at the same time? Only one person should edit at a time to avoid conflicts. We recommend assigning a single "menu updater" role at each location.
Next steps
- Set up scheduled content — show different menus at different times of day
- Emergency broadcast — push a "kitchen closed" notice to all screens instantly
- Explore all features