> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.taliuphq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Catalogs

> Where menus, items, attributes and taxes are managed in the Taliup HQ merchant portal, and how they reach the POS.

**Catalogs** is where a merchant builds what they sell. Everything defined here flows to the POS, to online ordering, and to any device the catalog is assigned to.

Restaurants see this section as **Menus**, with **Items** and **Modifiers**. Retail and other industries see **Catalogs**, with **Products** and **Attributes**. The screens are the same.

## How to get here

Sign in to Taliup HQ as the merchant, or open the merchant from **Entities** and use **View As Merchant**. Then choose **Catalogs** (or **Menus**) in the sidebar.

## What lives here

| Section                        | What it holds                                                                                                 |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Catalogs** / **Menus**       | The menus themselves, their categories, featured items, taxes, availability hours, and which devices use them |
| **Products** / **Items**       | Every sellable product, with price, SKU, attributes, taxes and images                                         |
| **Product Tags**               | Labels such as Vegetarian or Seasonal, used to group items                                                    |
| **Attributes** / **Modifiers** | Option groups such as Size or Add-ons, with their values and price differences                                |
| **Taxes**                      | Tax definitions and rates, attachable to a catalog or to individual items                                     |
| **Services**                   | Bookable, timed offerings, where the Services feature is enabled                                              |

## How a catalog is put together

A catalog is a container. Categories sit inside it and hold items, and the same item can appear in more than one category.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create the catalog">
    From **Catalogs**, click **Create Catalog** and give it a name.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add categories">
    Open the catalog and create the sections customers will see. Drag them with **Sort Categories** to set the order.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add items">
    Add new items or attach existing ones to each category.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Attach taxes">
    Taxes added at the catalog level cascade to every item in it. Add a tax to a single item to override that.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign it to devices">
    Use **Assign to devices** to choose which terminals use this catalog. A terminal uses one catalog at a time.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Item order inside a category

Items now keep a saved display order inside each category, and online ordering shows them in that order rather than the order they happened to be added.

<Note>
  Catalogs built with [Catalog Builder](/taliup-hq/admin/catalog-builder) carry the order from the source menu, so a printed menu keeps its sequence. Catalogs built by hand or by spreadsheet keep the order items were added in, exactly as before.
</Note>

## Filling a catalog quickly

| Situation                             | Use                                                                       |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| The merchant has clean product data   | [Bulk Import](/taliup-hq/merchant/catalogs/bulk-import)                   |
| The merchant sent a menu photo or PDF | [Catalog Builder](/taliup-hq/admin/catalog-builder), from Taliup HQ admin |
| A handful of items                    | Add them by hand                                                          |

## Related

* [Bulk Import](/taliup-hq/merchant/catalogs/bulk-import)
* [Catalog Builder](/taliup-hq/admin/catalog-builder)
* [Menu / Catalog on the POS](/taliup-pos/catalog/index)
* [Products / Items on the POS](/taliup-pos/catalog/products)