Release Notes - Versions 19.05 thru 19.11
Between May 1, 2019, and November 30, 2019, COGS-Well released 24 new software updates (versions). A summary of the new features or enhancements contained in these releases is summarized below. This summary groups the new release features by their primary functional area. Links to more detailed information about each new feature or enhancement are also provided.
Inventory:
New Transfer Features: For multi-restaurant (Site) operators, Transfers enable Inventory and Production Items to be transferred from one Site to another Site. Transfers will deplete Inventory Item quantities and costs from the Site transferring out and increase them accordingly for the Site receiving the Transfer. For more information on Transfers please click on this link: Link to Transfers.
Merge Inventory Items: The Merge Inventory Items function is an inventory administration feature. This function is primarily utilized when you are importing invoices from an invoice automation system like Plate IQ (versus EDI directly with a Vendor system). This function enables a duplicate item imported from the invoice automation system to be merged into the appropriate COGS-Well Inventory Item. For more information on Merge Inventory Items please click on this link: Merge Inventory Items Link.
New Ordering Features: The ordering features provide a comprehensive inventory ordering solution. Par levels can be utilized to create suggested reorder quantities. Order Templates can be utilized to facilitate order entry and address standard orders. Orders are entered for a specific Vendor and can also be emailed to your Vendors. Orders can be sent to multiple email addresses. For more information please click on this link: Ordering Link.
New Bin Numbers Feature: Bin Numbers can be assigned to an Inventory Item(example = wines) and Storage Locations for counting and/or ordering purposes. For more information on Bin Numbers please see these links: Inventory Items, Storage Location Setup, Storage Location Assignments.
New Copy a Previous Inventory Count: If you have a certain category of Items where the quantity on hand does not change enough to warrant counting these items every time you take inventory, then you can copy a prior count for that Inventory Category to your new Count. For more information on this feature please click on this link: Enter Inventory Counts.
New Zero Counts Button: A new button has been added to the Enter Counts screen. This button will populate a zero count into any item that does not have a count entry. This option can be used after a count has been entered to make sure all items that are out of stock receive a zero count. For more information on this feature please click on this link and see the buttons definitions for Count Entry: Enter Inventory Counts.
Recipes:
New Production Features: Production provides an option to flag a Recipe Item as being Produced (a "Production Item"). You can then enter how much of a Production Item is prepared via a new "Enter Production Counts" function. When production counts are entered and saved, usage for each ingredient in the Production Item is recorded based on its portion in the Production Item recipe and the quantity of the Production Item that is produced. Production Items are treated as an Inventory Item (you can count, transfer, or use them in another recipe). The actual usage of a Production Item is calculated like any other Inventory Item. If a Production Item is included in a recipe that is sold then theoretical usage is calculated for the Production Item. The Usage Variance (theoretical versus actual usage) can be reported for a Production Item. For more information on Production Items please click this link: What is a Production Item?
New Waste Features: Waste enables you to record, report and track the quantity of Inventory and/or Recipe items that you have "known" waste for. Examples of known waste are spoilage, accidents, over-production, etc. The Waste features must be enabled in Company Settings (Company>Company Settings). When Waste Counts are entered, theoretical usage and inventory on-hand are adjusted to include Waste Counts that have been entered and saved. The way to set up waste tracking for Inventory or Recipe Items is to create Waste Item Groups (Recipes & Sales>Setup>Waste Item Groups) and assign the Items you want to track waste for to a Waste Item Group. Waste Counts are entered via Recipes & Sales>Enter Waste Counts. There is a Waste Tracking Worksheet and a Waste Report in the Recipes & Sales Reports. For more on Waste please click this link: What is Waste?
New Yields Features: The use of Yields is optional and Yields must be enabled in Company Settings (Company>Settings>Company Settings) in order to show up. Yields adjust the theoretical usage and cost of an ingredient used in a Recipe to reflect the ingredient's usable amount (usable meaning not lost to preparation or cooking). For example, if you buy tomatoes by the pound and use them in recipes by the Weighted Ounce (WZ), and if you start with 10 pounds of tomatoes, and if trimming and slicing the tomatoes for this recipe results in 9 pounds of usable tomatoes, then the yield for tomatoes is 90% (9 lbs of usable ingredient divided by the 10 pounds you started with). For more info on Yields please click this link: What are Yields?
New Recipe Comments Feature: A comment can be added next to each ingredient in a Recipe Item. This field is open text. Comments might be used to help distinguish the ingredient in more detail. Or to further explain how to use it in the recipe. For more info on Recipe Items please click this link: Recipe Items.
New Grams as Recipe Units Option: The option to build recipes using grams for the ingredient portion was added. The use of grams must be enabled in Company Settings. For more information on Grams please see the discussion on grams in this link: Recipe Items.
New Recipe Versioning Feature: The Recipe Version option only displays if you have enabled Recipe Versioning in your Company Settings Setup. Using the Recipe Item example above, if your initial version of the Black and Blue Burger recipe has 1.5 ounces of bacon and you want to change it to 2 ounces of bacon, versioning allows you to modify your original recipe to use 2 ounces of bacon and then save it under a new Recipe Version name (example = "Version 2 - Added Bacon"). Once you save a new Recipe Version, all prior versions are accessible via the Recipe Version drop-down. Please also know that If you run theoretical cost or usage related reports over a date range that includes a prior version(s) of a recipe, the theoretical calculations will reflect the prior version ingredients and portions. For more info on Recipe Versioning please click this link: What is Recipe Versioning?
Reports
New CSV Export for Reports: A report download option for a CSV (excel) format was added to the Download Report options. Please click this link for more information on Report Options: Report Options.
New Actual Cost of Sales Report: The Actual Cost of Sales Report enables you to report your cost of sales as a component of the associated revenue generated (in dollars and as a percentage). An example is reporting meat, dairy, produce and total food cost in dollars and as a percentage of food sales. This report can run in summary or detail. For more info on the Actual Cost of Sales report please click this link: Actual Cost of Sales Report.
System
New Multiple Tabs: COGS-Well navigation was expanded to allow for multiple functions to be opened at the same time (see example below). This makes doing multiple tasks at the same time more feasible. A button to close all open Tabs was also added to make it easy to close these Tabs quickly (versus going into each Tab and closing and existing the function). The close all open Tabs button is outlined in the red box below:
New Clone Site Assignments Feature: The Clone Site Assignments is a function for system Administrators to utilize to save time when adding a new Site. If a new Site is similar to an existing Site then selected assignments for setup information such as Vendors and Items in the existing Site can be cloned (duplicated) for the new Site. For more information on this feature please click this link: Clone Site Assignments.
Forgot Password: On the Login page, a new button was added "Forgot Password". Selecting this button will bring up a popup window that prompts the user for their email address. If the email address matches the email address in COGS-Well then the User's password will be emailed to them. email address. them
Change Password: A feature was added to enable a User to change their password. This Change Password feature is accessed through the Tools Menu (Tools>Change Password).
Welcome Email Message: A Welcome email can be sent to a new User. When a new user has been set up and the Save button is selected, a pop-up is displayed asking if you like to send the new User a welcome email message. If yes is selected, an email will be sent to the User's email with the user's login name and Password (see example below)
New Item Groups: The ability to create groups for Inventory, Recipe & Sales, Production and Waste Items was added to provide a way to assign Items within each of these Item Types into common groupings for reporting, worksheets or count entry. An Item can belong to multiple groups. For more information on Item Groups please see Inventory>Setup>Inventory Item Groups, or Recipe & Sales>Setup>(applicable Group).
New Interfaces
AP Automation Interfaces: A new interface with the Plate IQ AP Automation system was developed.
POS Interfaces: New interfaces were developed for Toast, Aloha, Square, Revel, Lavu and POSITouch POS systems.
Accounting Interfaces: New interfaces were developed for QuickBooks and Sage Intacct accounting systems.
Vendor Interfaces: New Interfaces with Sysco, Fintech, and Ben E. Keith vendor systems were developed.
For more information on COGS-Well Interfaces, please click this link: COGS-Well Interfaces.