Restaurant inventory: recipes, counts and food cost
Connect ingredients, recipes, supplier receipts and physical counts in an Israeli restaurant. A worked expected-versus-counted stock example, with the Foody calculator and demonstrations.
A guide by the Foody POS team, based on our published kitchen procedures. The example uses synthetic data, not customer results or promised savings.
Reviewed on
Restaurant inventory starts with purchase units and recipe quantities, then needs checking against a physical count. Displaying kitchen orders, counting available dishes and accounting for ingredients serve different needs. To track inventory and food cost, connect ingredients, recipes, sales and movements before comparing what actually remains.
1. Define units before calculating cost
Record a package’s actual contents and purchase price. Two cases of 12 tins containing 400 g each equal 9.6 kg. A recipe in grams must match the stock unit. In Foody, review units, packaging and conversions; a package name alone does not define its contents.
Units, packaging and stock movements2. Connect recipes to sales
Quantities per portion or size determine theoretical consumption. In Foody, check sales-to-recipe mappings before interpreting the calculation. An unmatched sale or missing recipe does not mean zero consumption. A counter of available dishes does not replace ingredient tracking.
Kitchen data and sales matching3. Separate ingredients from preparations
A sauce made ahead has its own preparation stock. In Foody, confirming a batch deducts raw ingredients and credits the quantity of preparation produced. Dishes then consume that preparation. When reviewing consumption, check that the same raw ingredients are not counted again for every dish after their use in production.
Preparations, batches and yield4. Receive what was actually delivered
If you ordered 6 kg and received 5.5 kg, check and record the received quantity. In Foody, reconcile the receipt against the purchase order. For an imported document, review ingredient matches, units, quantities and prices before confirmation. An analysed document is not a confirmed receipt; do not credit the same delivery twice.
Suppliers, purchases and receipts5. Compare expected stock with a physical count
Expected stock depends on recorded movements; a physical count measures what remains. In Foody, select the correct day and check sales, mappings, quantities and units. An uncounted ingredient stays uncounted, not zero. A variance may come from unrecorded waste, different portions, a missing receipt or a counting error; the variance itself does not establish the cause.
Counts, variances and day closing6. Separate food cost from net profit
A dish’s food-cost percentage is ingredient cost divided by selling price, on the same tax basis, multiplied by 100. In Foody, theoretical cost depends on recipes and stock prices. Check actual consumption separately using sales, movements and counts. Ingredient margin is not net profit: wages, rent, energy, packaging and payment processing remain separate.
Recipe ingredient cost7. Choose software for the stock you need to track
For ingredient inventory, check a mapped recipe, a sale, a supplier receipt and a physical count together. Foody Kitchen includes recipes, stock, suppliers and preparations, with Foody Companion. Standalone Kitchen costs ILS 890 per location/month, excluding VAT, or ILS 1490 with POS and online orders in Foody Restaurant & Kitchen. An external POS requires validation and a quote; hardware, setup, training and processing are separate.
Compare plan scope and pricingWorked example: where did one kilogram go?
One ingredient, one period and one stock location, measured in kilograms. There are no additional transfers or adjustments in this example, and recorded waste is separate from recipe consumption.
| Entry | Quantity in kg |
|---|---|
| Opening stock | 20 |
| Confirmed receipts | +10 |
| Recipe-based consumption | −6 |
| Separately recorded waste | −1 |
| Expected closing stock | 23 |
| Physical closing count | 22 |
Expected stock = opening stock + receipts − recipe consumption − separately recorded waste.
20 + 10 − 6 − 1 = 23 kg
22 − 23 = −1 kg
The variance is minus 1 kg: the count found 1 kg less than expected. Check units, receipts, recipes, waste and timing before deciding why.
A simplified reconciliation, not a formula covering every stock movement in the software. Include production, transfers and other adjustments where applicable. No financial saving is inferred from this example.
What to request in a demonstration
- A supplier package converted into a recipe unit.
- A mapped dish and a sale whose consumption is recorded once.
- A preparation batch showing raw ingredients deducted and output credited.
- A partial delivery with distinct ordered and received quantities.
- A count showing a variance and an uncounted ingredient kept separate from zero.
- Who confirms production, closing and supplier orders. In Foody, forecasts are estimates and sending a supplier order requires an explicit action.
Check with your own example
Start by calculating cost per portion without creating an account. Then review Foody screens with demonstration data, or examine the Kitchen module’s scope and offer. Connecting an external POS requires technical validation and a separate quote.