Restaurant inventory and recipe costing: how to find where your stock goes

Why stock leaks are hard to see

Stock leaks never show up on a sales report. They show up in your profit. Over-portioning, waste that is never recorded, staff meals, spoilage and theft all look the same if the only number you track is what you bought.

Step 1: Write a recipe for every dish

A recipe lists what goes into one portion: 250 g chicken, 30 ml oil, 2 tomatoes, spices. Once every dish has a recipe, the system knows how much of each ingredient should have been used for what you sold.

Step 2: Let every sale deduct stock

In a restaurant POS with recipes, selling one karahi deducts its ingredients automatically. Your stock on the screen is now what should be in the kitchen.

Step 3: Record waste and expiry

Burnt naan, a dropped plate, milk that went off. Record waste as it happens, with a reason. Track expiry dates on perishables so you use the oldest first.

Step 4: Count and compare

Count your key ingredients weekly, or daily for expensive ones like meat. The system shows the difference between what should be there and what is there, with its value in rupees. A difference you can see is a difference you can fix.

Step 5: See real profit per dish

With recipes and current purchase prices, you see the real cost and profit of every dish. Some best sellers turn out to make very little. Some quiet items make the most. Price and promote accordingly.

Suppliers and purchases

Record purchases against suppliers and check deliveries against what you ordered. You will see when prices rise and which supplier you owe.

RestaurantOS includes recipes, stock, waste, expiry, stock counts and suppliers in the same system as billing and the kitchen. It is one of the first things we set up with you, because it is where most of the money is. See also the 9 billing features that stop money leaking.