Recipe costing

Recipe costing works out a menu item's cost from its ingredients, quantities and purchase prices, so you know the cost per portion and its food-cost percentage.

When recipes are linked to inventory, every sale deducts the ingredients automatically and exposes the gap between theoretical and actual usage (waste). Available on the Integrated and Professional plans.

Steps of recipe costing

List each ingredient with its quantity, multiply by the purchase unit price, allow for trimming and cooking loss (yield), then add up. Portion cost = total cost ÷ number of portions. Suggested selling price = portion cost ÷ target cost percentage.

Why cost changes

It moves with supplier prices and actual kitchen portions. A live recipe tied to inventory beats a fixed sheet because it updates when the purchase price changes and deducts ingredients with every sale.

• Weigh portions instead of estimating
• Account for loss on vegetables and meat
• Update prices with each purchase invoice
• Review the lowest-margin items monthly

A numeric example

A hummus plate: 0.25 kg chickpeas × 1.60 = 0.40, 0.05 kg tahini × 4.00 = 0.20, oil, lemon and spices = 0.10. Portion cost = 0.70 JOD. With a 30% cost target the suggested price is ≈ 2.33 JOD. (Illustrative figures.)