Recipe Items

Overview:

The Recipe Items feature is where you create and maintain your recipes. You can enter the ingredients you use in a recipe item and their portion size. You will have the option to flag a Recipe Item to be counted in inventory, to be sold, and/or to be produced.

There are multiple tabs on the Recipe Item display. The explanations for each tab are somewhat lengthy so individual articles exist for each tab in the Recipe Item Setup feature. This article covers the initial Recipe Item tab.

Things to know!

The Recipe Items feature will only be accessible and visible to users who are given access to it by your system administrator.
Recipes can be added for Recipe Items that you sell (referenced as "Sales Items"), and Recipe Items that you use in other Recipe Items (referenced as "Prep Items").
Sales Items are imported from your Point of Sale system and are automatically added to your database (item name, category, and retail price).
The sales mix for Sales Items will also be imported daily from your Point of Sale (POS) system.
A Recipe Item can be flagged to be counted in inventory.
A Recipe Item can be flagged to be "Produced".
You can also enter Waste for a Recipe Item.
There is a listing for all Recipe Items in Recipes & Sales>Listings>Recipe Items Listing.
Prep Instructions can optionally be entered for a Recipe Item.
This help article covers the fields on the Recipe Item tab. To minimize the length of each article.
Separate articles have been written for the other setup tabs for Recipe Items for Ingredients, Preparation Instructions, Recipe Groups, Items, and Assigned Sites.

Add or Edit Recipe Items:

To add, review, edit, or delete Recipe Items, use the Sidebar to navigate to Manage Recipes & Sales Items and then select this feature. Upon selection, a "Find Grid" similar to the one below will display a listing of all of your Recipe Items.

Find Grid Definitions:

+ Add, Export, and Search Options:

The blue "+ Add" button is used to add a new transaction.
The "XLSX" button will export the information on the grid to a spreadsheet.
The search option can find any part of a word or date on the grid. When you start typing your search criteria, the search will be initiated.

Edit/Clone: Click the Edit or Clone button to the right on the row of the Item that you wish to edit or clone. Selecting Clone will duplicate the item and then allow you to make edits to the cloned item.

Special Find Grid Search, Filter, and Sort Tools:

Magnifying Glass Icon: The magnifying glass at the top of each column in the above grid has a search function that enables you to search within that field. If you hover your mouse over the magnifying class you will see options to use to refine your search.
Magnifying Glass and Calendar Icon: If a column has a magnifying glass and a calendar at the top of the column, the calendar can be used to select a date, and if you hover over the magnifying glass after you select a date, you will have options to refine the filter (such as equal to or greater than the selected date).
(All) Incon: Columns that display "All" have a drop-down arrow on the right that is used to select and filter for a specific status. For example, the Active column can be filtered for "Yes" items only.

The Find Grid includes more tools to help you find, filter, or sort the information on the grid according to your requirements. Some of these tools are intuitive, but other helpful tools can easily be overlooked. Please click this link for more information on Find Grid - FAQs.

Recipe Items - Initial Recipe Item Tab:

Prep Item Recipes:

"Prep" Recipe Items are Recipe Items that are not sold. They are created to be used as an ingredient in other recipe items and/or so they can be counted in inventory. In the example below, we have selected to edit a Prep Item recipe that we have already set up for Breakfast Gravy:

Recipe Name: Enter a Recipe Item Name (required field). Please note that for a Sales Item, the recipe name will default to the name used by your POS system.

Recipe & Sales Category: Use the search to select a Category for this Recipe Item. Recipe Categories are set up in Recipes & Sales>Settings> Recipe & Sales Categories. Please note that for a Sales Item, the recipe category will default to the name used by your POS system.

Batch Size: Enter the size or amount of yield from this recipe. For example, if the Item is a sauce then the batch size might be "5 Gallon Tub". Please note that for a Sales Item, the batch size will default to "One Serving".

Prep Instructions: The Prep Instructions option will not display unless it has been enabled in Company Settings. Prep Instructions are optional. Prep Instructions enable you to add a picture of your recipe, a description, the preparation steps, the prep time, and the required equipment to prepare this recipe item. Please see this article for more information on Prep Instructions - FAQs.

Parent Sales Item: If you importing modifiers from your POS and if you have built recipes for the modifiers, then the modifier recipe item can be linked to a "Parent Sales Item". To provide an example, let's say that one of your menu offerings is named a Traditional Breakfast and it is set up as a sales item in your POS.

You offer a choice of Bacon, Sausage, or Ham with the Traditional Breakfast, and these options are set up as Modifiers on your POS. You are importing the sales for both the Traditional Breakfast and the Modifiers so they are all Recipe Items in COGS-Well.

Importing Modifiers from your POS, using them in COGS-Well, and linking them to a Parent Sales Item is a complex concept and we request that if you would like to learn more or set up Modifiers, then please contact us at support@COGS-Well.com.

Recipe is Counted:

If you want to count the ending inventory for this item (this is normally done for Prep Recipes where not all of the batch is utilized right away), then click the box to create a checkmark and this Recipe Item will show up on inventory count worksheets and inventory count entry screens. If flagged, then additional fields will appear for the inventory category and production as shown below:

Count Units & Count Units per Batch: A recipe item that is counted will utilize the batch size as the pack size on the Inventory Count Worksheet and the Inventory Count Entry features. You can also, optionally, define a Count Unit name and the number of Count Units per batch if you would like to count partial batches.

Inventory Category: If a recipe item is flagged to be counted then an inventory category will be requested. This is the inventory category that the value of the recipe item being counted will apply. You can use the drop-down to view and select a category. For more information on inventory categories please click this link: Inventory Categories.

Report Unit: The default Report Unit for this item on an Extension Report will be the Pack Size (which for a Recipe Item is the Batch Size). You can use the drop-down to select the Count Unit instead.

Production Entered:

When a recipe item is flagged for production, it is also referred to as a "Production Item" and you can enter production counts (how much of a production item is made/prepared).

When production is recorded, the usage of the ingredients in the production item recipe is recorded (based on portions in the recipe and quantity produced) and the production item is treated like an inventory item in COGS-Well. Inventory usage (both actual and theoretical) will be reported for production items.

A production item can also be transferred, counted in inventory, and used in another Recipe Item. In this example, if you wanted to track production for Breakfast Gravy, then you would click the box to flag it. Please click this link to Production Features - FAQs for more information.

Shelf Life (days): There is an option to use Suggested Quantity Types with the Production features to suggest the quantities to produce (prepare) for Production Items. The Shelf Life for a production item is how long you will keep it (in the number of days) before you no longer consider it useable.

When a calculated on-hand amount for a production item is calculated, the Shelf Life will then factor into the suggested production quantity calculation for each item. The use of Shelf Life is optional and it only makes sense to enter it for a suggested quantity to produce if you are counting and entering production quantities for this produced item.

Prepared in Commissary: This field will only display if the Production Entered box is checked and if you have enabled the Commissary features in your company settings. If this field is flagged, COGS-Well will deplete the ingredients in the Commissary when Production is entered and not when this recipe item is transferred. For more information please click this link for Commissary Features - FAQs.

Recipe Information:

Used in Recipes: If this is a recipe item that you use in other recipes, then check this box. In this example, breakfast gravy is used in the Biscuits and Gravy sales item. Additional fields for recipe information will appear if this box is checked. Please see the example for Breakfast Gravy below:

Primary Measure Class: There are three industry-standard Measure Class options - Weight, Volume, or Count. The Primary Measure Class should reflect the Batch Size you entered so that it can calculate the cost for a Recipe Unit. Please click this link to Measure Class - FAQs for more information.

In the above example, the Batch Size is in Quarts and Quarts are in Volume Measure Class. Therefore, the Primary Measure Class for Breakfast Gravy should be Volume (use the drop-down to select Volume). If this recipe item was for a Batch Size of 36 Donuts, we would select Count as the Primary Measure Class. For a 5-pound Batch of Hamburger, we would select Weight.

Recipe Unit (for the Primary Measure Class): The Recipe Unit for the Primary Measure Class will default once the Measure Class is selected. Volume defaults to Fz (Fluid Ounce), Weight defaults to Wz (Weighted Ounce), and Count defaults to Each.

There is typically no reason to change the default recipe unit for the primary measure class because COGS-Well's Recipe Unit Library will enable you to select any other recipe unit within the same measure class when you use this item as an ingredient in another recipe item. For example, the volume measure class in the library has preconfigured recipe units for fluid ounces, milliliters, cups, liters, teaspoons, gallons, etc.

Recipe Unit Factor: A Recipe Unit Factor is required for each Measure Class that you define a Recipe Unit for, to calculate the cost for the Recipe Unit. Enter the number of recipe units that are in the Batch Size you entered. In this example, the Batch Size is 5 quarts. A quart is 32 fluid ounces (Fz). 5 quarts X times 32 Fz = 160 Fz(s) per batch.

Default Recipe Unit: The Default Recipe Unit defines the recipe unit that you will most commonly use for entering the quantity of this recipe Item when you utilize it in a Recipe Item. The default will initially show as the primary recipe unit and you can change it by selecting from the drop-down for the recipe unit library.

Please know that the default is only for convenience. When you use this recipe item as an ingredient in a recipe, you can select a recipe unit other than the default from the Recipe Unit Library.

Added Measure Classes: It makes sense to configure recipe units for added measure classes when you use an item as an ingredient in recipes across more than one measure class. For example, the recipe unit for a 5-gallon batch of diced red onions is configured for the weight measure class, but you also use them by volume (such as a cup) in recipes.

Adding a recipe unit configuration for a new measure class accomplishes two things. First, it allows you to select recipe units from the Recipe Unit Library for the added measure class when building recipes. Second, it will enable COGS-Well to calculate theoretical usage and cost for an ingredient regardless of the recipe unit you select to use in a recipe.

It is normally not common to need to create recipe unit configurations for added measure classes for Prep Items and it can be a bit complicated as you will be asked to enter a conversion factor for the added recipe unit. This article on configuring recipe units for added measure classes for inventory items will apply to recipe units for Prep Recipe Items as well.

Sales Item Recipes:

Recipe Item is Sold (Sales Items): Sales Items are normally imported from your POS and automatically added to your database. The Recipe Name, Recipe Category, Batch Size (One Serving), and Current Retail Price will already exist for a Sales Item imported from your POS. All you need to do to add is enter your targets (optional) and add the ingredients for the Sales Item.

The above example is for a California Burger and the Targets, Models, and Ingredients have already been set up. The batch size defaulted to one serving and it is not a recipe that is counted or used in other recipes. Because this recipe is sold, the fields for the current Retail Price, Model Price and Theoretical Cost, Targets, and Gross Profit are displayed:

Last Sold Date: This field was recently added as a field directly above the Retail theo cost %. This field has also been added as an optional column on the Recipe Item Find Grid and the Mass Edit Recipe Items display. This field can help identify items that may be ready to be made inactive:

Current Retail Price: The retail price is the most recent price for this Sales Item that was imported from your Point of Sale system. In the above example, the Retail Price is $12.50.

Retail Theoretical Cost %: This is the Theoretical Cost divided by the Current Retail Price. In the above example, it is $3.954 divided by $12.50 = 30.41%. This can be considered the Sales Item's theoretical food cost percent.

Model Price: The Model Price for a Sales Item is initially blank. You can enter a model price in this field that you are considering charging for this item (we have entered $13.00 in this example). You can see the impact of different model prices dynamically on this display. There is also an option on most of the Menu Analytics reports to use the Model Price.

Model Theoretical Cost %: The Model Theoretical Cost percent is the Theoretical Cost divided by the Model Price. In the above example, it is $3.954 divided by $13.00 = 30.41%.

Theoretical Cost: This is the cost to make this recipe item based on the ingredient costs and portions. The theoretical cost is perpetually updated based on the most recent invoice cost for each ingredient.

Gross Profit: This is how much money you make when you sell this item. It is the current retail price minus the theoretical cost. In the above example, it is $12.50 minus $3.954 = $8,546.

Target Cost %: Use this field to enter the theoretical cost percentage you are targeting for this Item. For modeling purposes, you can change the target cost % to see what the Target Price should be to achieve the Target Cost %. In the above example, we are targeting a 30% theoretical cost.

Target Price: This is a calculated field that displays the Retail Price you should charge to achieve your target cost %. In the above example, to achieve a Target Cost % of 30%, the Target Price = $13.18.

Settings:

Active: This setting defaults to Active. If you want to make a Recipe Item inactive, then click the box to remove the checkmark. An example of when you might do this is for a seasonal offering like Strawberry Shortcake which is available every year but only for one month. You can make an inactive item active again.

Save, Delete, and Exit:

At the bottom of the screen are the Save, Delete, and Exit buttons.

Save - Saves the entry or entries without exiting.

Delete - Deletes the Item. You will be asked, "Are you sure"?

Exit - Exits without saving any new entries or edits. If you have made changes, you will be asked, "Are you sure"?