Combined Items - FAQs

Overview:

If you plan to build recipes, and if you have multiple inventory items in your database that are used interchangeably as an ingredient in recipes (we refer to these as "Common Inventory Items"), then you can create a combined item to use as the ingredient for recipe items.

The reason to create a Combined Item is to ensure accurate recipe costs and theoretical inventory usage regardless of which common inventory item is currently being purchased and used in recipes.

For example, you have three inventory items in your database for flour. Two come from Costco (one in a 25 Lb Pack, and the other in a 50 Lb Pack). The third flour item comes from Sysco in a 25 Lb Pack. You also use whichever flour you have in stock for recipes.

In the above example, if you want to ensure the most accurate recipe costs and theoretical inventory usage for flour, then a flour combined item should be set up and then be used as the ingredient for recipes that use flour.

When the flour combined item is set up, the three common flour inventory items should be assigned to the new combined item for Flour. Then, the flour combined item should be used as the ingredient in recipes that use flour.

Using the flour combined item in recipes, versus one of the common inventory items that you may or may not be purchasing, will ensure that your recipe cost and theoretical inventory usage will be accurate regardless of which flour common inventory item you are currently purchasing or using.

Things to Consider:

• Combined Items are not required.
• Combined Items are only needed for Common Ingredients.
• Combined Items take added time to set up and maintain. If your priority is very accurate recipe costs and theoretical inventory usage, and if you have a resource to set up and maintain them, then we recommend you utilize Combined Items.
• Using Combined Items will ensure your recipe costs and theoretical inventory usage remain accurate regardless of which inventory item ingredient you purchase or use.
• Combined Items include the option to be counted in inventory (versus the inventory items assigned to them).
• If a combined item is counted, then the common inventory items that are assigned to the combined item, will not show up on the inventory count worksheet, the count entry display, your inventory extension, and your inventory usage report. 
• Unless you plan to transfer or produce a combined item, we recommend that you do not select to count combined items.
• Combined Items can be transferred or produced.
• If a common inventory item is used in a recipe item, and then later assigned to a combined item, the combined item will automatically replace the common inventory item in the recipe item(s). 
• If you are in a hurry to build recipe items and don't have time to create combined items, the above bullet creates the potential to build recipes now using one of the common ingredients and then create the combined items later.

Tips for Creating Combined Items:

It is easiest to create combined items if you first discover which inventory items should be combined (the common inventory items). This link to an article on Tips for Setting Up Combined Items will guide you through several ways to identify your inventory items that may need to be assigned to a combined item. 

Setting Up Combined Items:

If you are ready to start setting up combined items, this link to the Combined Item setup article will describe how to do it. We also have a training video on Setting Up Combined Items.

Summary:

As outlined above, setting up and maintaining Combined Items will require time. You also may find the process of Configuring Assigned Items a little complex. This is why we made Combined Items optional and only require them for ingredients that have common inventory items. Our competitors require their equivalent of a combined item to be configured for every inventory item.

If you would like personal assistance or coaching for Combined Items, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@cogs-well.com.