Purchasing / Ordering – How does it Work?

A very time consuming task for restaurant management staff is generally the task of handling frequent reordering of ingredients. Managers are usually spending a large portion of their time monitoring inventory levels (pans, cans, boxes, cases, etc.) to see what they need for the next day instead of managing sales.

A “just-in-time” method of ordering needed stock is key to ensure proper inventory levels to meet demand. Likewise, a manager can’t order too much, or they could face a high level of waste / spoilage. Also, the quicker the turn-around time of orders, the less guess work your management staff has to do to forecast sales demand.

Recipe Manager comes bundled with a detailed ordering system. If a manager wants the kitchen to handle the creation of orders (based on low inventory) that need to be filled, they can generate what is called “purchase requisitions” (or PR). A PR is simply a “request” for a vendor order of stock. A requisition must be approved by a manager before it becomes an actual purchase order placed with a vendor. This takes the constant monitoring of stock levels out of the manager’s hands. The kitchen will handle this task and place “requisitions” telling managers, “we need this”. A manager simply examines what the kitchen needs and approves it or not. If a vendor interface exists (sold separately for specific vendors), the manager can even place the order by the click of a button through a website, email, etc.

Once orders come in, the manager can examine the items received and mark them received in Recipe Manager’s Purchase Order system. This will replinish stock immedaitely. Items can be marked “back-ordered” if they were not received. 

When an item is received and stock is replinished, the data is written into the “Purchases” tab of the item record itself. This data can also be sent to an accounting system (Accounts Payable department) for vendor invoices to be paid.

When stock is prepped in the kitchen (through the Menu Writer tool), inventory is adjusted to show stock that was USED. Any inventory item (ingredient) used that falls below PAR (the set “low stock” level) will initiate a notification for a PO (Purchase Order) to be generated automatically… so the cycle continues. 

From the main inventory listing…

An item can be opened to show the order history under the ”Purchases” tab…

These are only received goods. Pending “OPEN” orders or back-orders are shown through the PO system.

You can even use Microsoft Outlook to schedule your orders and be notified when the order should arrive. Do this right from your email like a scheduled meeting! The Purchase Order module will also auto-email or fax vendor orders for you!

With Recipe Manager, you will have the power you need to track purchases and orders easily to meet demand and minimize daily waste!