How it works

From spreadsheet to live menu
in about five minutes.

No design degree. No tech background. No reprinting when prices change.
Here's the whole process, including the spreadsheet part.

Start free → See live demos
1 — Sign in 2 — Build your menu 3 — Sync it live 4 — Share it everywhere Quick start
01

Sign in with Google. Done.

Click "Sign in with Google." Pick your Google account. You're in. No password, no email verification loop, no form asking for your business license number.

Your Google account is your login. Takes about four seconds, and you'll never need to remember another password.

One account, up to 10 menus. Running two trucks? A food stall and a restaurant? Each gets its own link and QR code. Manage everything from one login.
Create your account →
02

Yep, a spreadsheet. Hear us out.

We know. "A spreadsheet" doesn't sound like a modern product. But it turns out the best tool for organizing a list of items with names, prices, and categories is… a list. Google Sheets, Excel, LibreOffice — whatever you already have open on your laptop works.

El Fuego Taco Truck Menu.csv
SKU Item_Name Category Description Price Dietary_Flags Visible
2 taco-01 Carne Asada Taco Tacos Slow-braised beef, onion, cilantro, salsa verde 4.50 GF
3 taco-02 Al Pastor Taco Tacos Marinated pork, pineapple, onion, cilantro 4.50
4 taco-03 Veggie Taco Tacos Roasted peppers, black bean, avocado, lime crema 4.00 GF, V, VG
5 bev-01 Horchata Drinks House-made rice drink, lightly sweet 3.00 GF, V, VG
6 spec-01 Thursday Special Specials Ask us — changes weekly 8.00 N
Required columns  ·  N in Visible = hidden from customers

What goes in each column

SKU Required

Your internal code for each item. Can be anything — taco-01, 001, bacon-egg-cheese. Just needs to be unique per item. This is how StarviewMenu tracks items across syncs so it can update prices instead of creating duplicates.

💡 Keep it short. You'll never have to tell a customer your SKU.
Item_Name Required

What customers see. "Carne Asada Taco" is better than "CAT". This shows as the item heading on your menu.

Category Required

Groups items into sections on your menu. "Tacos", "Drinks", "Sides", "Desserts" — whatever makes sense for you. Items in the same category are shown together, in the order they appear in your sheet.

Description Optional

One or two sentences about the item. Customers tap the item to see the full description. Great for specials, allergy info, or just making the food sound good.

Price Optional

Numbers only: 4.50, not $4.50. StarviewMenu adds the dollar sign. Leave blank if pricing is seasonal or you'd rather not show it.

Dietary_Flags Optional

Comma-separated tags shown as small badges on each item:

GF Gluten-free   V Vegetarian   VG Vegan   DF Dairy-free   N Contains nuts
Sub_Category Optional

A second level of grouping within a category. Useful for menus with "Breakfast Tacos" and "Lunch Tacos" under the same "Tacos" section.

Visible Optional

Set to N to hide an item from customers without deleting it. Leave blank (or set Y) to show it. Useful for seasonal items you plan to bring back.

Variation Optional

For items that come in multiple sizes or styles. Use separate rows with the same Item_Name and a different Variation value — see the tip below.

Multiple sizes or prices? Use separate rows with the same item name and a Variation column:
SKUItem_NameCategoryVariationPrice
drink-sm Horchata Drinks Small2.50
drink-lg Horchata Drinks Large4.00
Both rows appear on the menu as separate line items under "Horchata."
⬇ Download template CSV Full column reference →
03

One click and it's live.

Once your sheet is ready, there are two ways to get it into StarviewMenu:

🔗
Google Sheets URL

Publish your sheet to the web (File → Share → Publish to web → CSV), paste the link into your dashboard. Click Sync. Every future update is one click away — the link never changes.

📄
Upload a CSV

Working in Excel, Numbers, or a plain text editor? Export as CSV and drag it into your dashboard. Same result, different starting point.

Either way, StarviewMenu validates your data before uploading — if something looks off, it'll tell you exactly which row and column to fix. No guessing.

Need to make a quick change? Edit item names, prices, descriptions, or dietary flags directly from your Items page — no spreadsheet, no sync. For bigger updates (adding new items, restructuring categories), edit your sheet and click Sync Now. Either way, the QR code and link stay the same forever.
04

Share it everywhere you're found.

The moment your menu syncs, you get a permanent link and a QR code. Both live forever — they don't change when you update your menu or move locations.

Open / Closed badge. Set your hours in Settings and a live badge appears on your menu. Customers know if you're serving before they drive over. You can also toggle it manually — useful for those "sold out of everything by 1pm" Saturdays.

Questions people actually ask

Something else? Email us — we reply fast.

Yes — free for owners, no credit card required, no trial countdown. We're currently in our pilot phase (Phase 1), during which there are no ads anywhere on the platform. In Phase 2 we plan to introduce ads on public customer menus as the way we keep the owner tier free long-term. We'll give plenty of notice before that changes, and owners who want an ad-free experience will always have that option through a Pro subscription.
No. Any spreadsheet app that can export a CSV works — Excel, Numbers, LibreOffice, even Google Sheets if you download it as CSV instead of publishing. The Google Sheets URL option is just the most convenient for ongoing updates because you can sync with one click instead of re-uploading every time.
SKU stands for "stock keeping unit" and it sounds intimidating but it's just a unique code you make up for each item. It can be anything: taco-01, 001, the-good-burger. Its only job is to help StarviewMenu recognize the same item across syncs so it can update prices instead of creating duplicates. Pick something short and sensible and forget about it.
Yes — this is the whole point. The QR code links to a permanent URL. Change the price, add a seasonal item, mark something as sold out — the QR code stays the same. Print it once, update forever.
No. Your menu opens directly in any browser on any phone. Nothing to install, no account to create. A customer clicks the link or scans the QR code and they see your menu. That's it.
Your menu link and QR code stay the same no matter where you park. Update your address in Settings whenever you want. Some truck owners post their address in the menu banner ("Today we're at SE 50th & Division") so regulars always know where to find them.
Yes. You can upload a photo per menu item from your dashboard, or paste the URL of an existing photo. Item photos show as a thumbnail in the menu list and full-size when a customer taps the item.
Yes. Each menu is its own listing with its own link and QR code. Manage up to 10 from a single login. Great for owner-operators running more than one concept, or a restaurant with a separate catering menu.
Quick start job aid
Just tell me what to do — Google Sheets or CSV, step by step
Menu template
Pre-built CSV with the right columns and example rows
📄
Full format guide
Every column, every validation rule, every edge case
Under the hood
Edge infrastructure, structured data, security, and data ownership
Live demos
With photos vs. text-only — see both side by side
Email support
Stuck? We reply within one business day

Ready to get your menu out there?

Free forever for owners. Live in five minutes.

Create your free menu See live demos