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How to Set Up a Price by Weight Container

Step-by-step guide to configuring price by weight items in Creator for Business Dining setups using a Brecnell scale and containers.

Last updated on April 24, 2026

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This guide walks you through setting up Price by Weight items in Creator — used primarily at Business Dining cafés with a Brecnell scale connected to the kiosk via USB. You will need to create both a Container item and an Item in Creator. Before starting, review What are Containers? and How to Set Up a Container to understand how container and item relationships work.

❓ What is Price by Weight?

Most Business Dining Cafés offer select items charged specifically by weight. These sites use a Brecnell Scale connected to the kiosk via USB.

Here's how it works:

  1. The customer places their to-go box on the scale.
  1. The kiosk detects the weight.
  1. It subtracts the tare weight of the empty container.
  1. The remaining weight determines the final charge, displayed on the SideUX.

Example: A café charges 40¢/oz. A filled box weighs 400g, the empty box weighs 22g. The kiosk charges for 378g of food only.

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Key concept — Tare Weight: The weight of the empty container in grams. This is subtracted from the total so customers are only charged for the food inside.

✅ Before You Begin

Gather the following before starting:

  1. A Container item for the packaging being used (e.g. "Market Bar Small Container")
  1. An Item for the specific menu item (e.g. "Market Bar – Breakfast Small")
  1. The exact price per pound the café charges
  1. The tare weight in grams of the empty packaging
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Tare weight must be in grams. Weigh the empty container on an accurate scale before starting.

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Price by weight requires both a container and an item to be set up separately and linked. Do not skip the container step.

🥡 Step 1: Set Up the Container

Step 1. Create the Container Item in Creator

Configure the container item with these settings:

1. Price — Set to $0.00. The price is set on the item, not the container.

2. Availability — Set to All-Day since multiple items may share this container across dayparts.

3. Global Matches — Not required for price by weight. If added, the kiosk will prompt "Please move weighted item to the scale" when the item is placed on the tray instead.

4. Item Relations — Attach all items that use this container (e.g. both breakfast and lunch variants).

5. Price Item by Weight — Must be OFF on the container. It is only enabled on the item.

6. Tare Weight — Enter the empty container's weight in grams. Without this, the kiosk will charge the customer for the packaging too.

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Tare Weight is required. Missing this value will result in customers being charged for the container weight.

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Price Item by Weight must be OFF on the container. Only enable it on the item in Step 2.

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🍽️ Step 2: Set Up the Item

Step 1. Configure the Item in Creator

Now configure the actual menu item that will be sold by weight:

1. Price — Enter the price per pound.

2. Availability — Set the correct daypart. Items sharing a container should each have their own daypart (e.g. Breakfast, Lunch) so the kiosk auto-selects the right one.

3. Global Matches — Leave blank. Global matches belong on the container only.

4. Item Relations — Verify the correct container is attached (e.g. "Market Bar Small Container").

5. Price Item by Weight — Must be ON for the item.

6. Tare Weight — Leave empty. Tare weight is set on the container only.

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Price Item by Weight must be ON for the item and OFF for the container. Reversing these will break pricing.

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The price field expects price per pound, not per ounce.

Convert: multiply the per-ounce rate by 16.

Example: 40¢/oz = $6.40/lb

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

Kiosk Not Detecting Scale Weight

Issue: The kiosk is not picking up weight from the scale.

Fix:

  1. Confirm the Brecnell scale is connected via USB to the kiosk.
  1. Power cycle the kiosk and retry.
  1. If the issue persists, contact Mashgin Support.

Item Rings Up the Wrong Price

Issue: The charged price is incorrect relative to the item's weight.

Fix:

  1. Verify the item price in Creator is entered per pound, not per ounce.
  1. Confirm the container's tare weight is correct and entered in grams.
  1. Confirm Price Item by Weight is ON for the item and OFF for the container.

Kiosk Prompts "Please Move Weighted Item to Scale"

Issue: Customer placed item on the tray and is being prompted to move it.

Fix:

  1. This is expected when a Global Match is set on the container — the kiosk is correctly directing the customer to the scale.
  1. If unexpected, check whether a Global Match was accidentally added to the container.

"Please See Cashier" Prompt at Checkout

Issue: The kiosk shows "Please See Cashier" when a price-by-weight item is placed.

Fix:

  1. Log into Creator and confirm the item linked to the container is set to active.
  1. Dotcodes or items linked to inactive menu entries will trigger this prompt.
  1. For a full guide on this error, see Why is my container prompting "Please see a cashier"?.

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Need help? Contact support at 📧 help@mashgin.com or call (855) 475-0889

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