Menu costing, or recipe costing, is the process of calculating the total cost of all ingredients in a recipe to find out how much it costs to make each dish. This is essential for a profitable food business because it helps set prices that cover costs and bring in revenue. Our Menu Costing feature ensures profitability by allowing you to set profit margins, keep your pricing consistent for customer satisfaction, and manage food costs effectively. By tracking ingredient prices and portion sizes, you can reduce waste, avoid overuse of expensive ingredients, and adjust recipes as prices change.
There are four key components of menu costing in FoodByUs:
- Ingredients: Calculate the cost of each ingredient in the recipe. This requires knowing the price per unit (such as per kilogram or per liter) and then determining the cost based on the specific amount used in the recipe.
- Prep Recipes: Defining the recipe yield and portion size is essential, as it directly impacts the cost per serving. By establishing a clear portion size for the prepared dish, you can accurately determine the cost of each serving and ensure consistency in both pricing and portioning.
- Dish Recipes: Fully built-out items that you sell. Your final dish can include both ingredients and prep recipes.
- Food Costs & Profit Margins: After calculating the total recipe cost, you can determine the optimal selling price for the dish.
In this help topic, we will explain how to create an Ingredient, Prep Recipe and Dish Recipe. You’ll find each recipe type organised into tabs within the ‘Menu Costing’ section on your dashboard.
How to create an Ingredient
These are the items used in a prep or dish recipe, but they’re often purchased in quantities or formats different from what’s needed for a recipe. For instance, a carton of eggs might cost $99, but a recipe may only require a single egg. The Ingredients section in Menu Costing lets you create base ingredients and specify the quantity or weight of each product as it’s used in recipes.
Please note: Convert the unit of measurement to match how you use the product in your recipe, as it may differ from how you purchase it. FoodByUs prepopulates these fields with available measurements, but double-check for accuracy. For example, if a carton of eggs costs $99, specify how many eggs it contains (e.g., 30, 180, or 360). Then, select a default unit like ‘Unit’ or create a custom label such as ‘Eggs.’ This ensures that FoodByUs accurately calculates the cost per egg for your recipes.
How to Create a Prep Recipe
A prep recipe, or “preparation recipe,” is a recipe used to prepare ingredients or components that will later be incorporated into other dishes. These recipes cover the foundational steps in food preparation, such as chopping vegetables, marinating meats, making stocks, or creating sauces, which can then be used in multiple dishes or final recipes during service.
How to Create a Dish Recipe
This feature lets you create a complete recipe for a finished dish by combining ingredients and prep recipes. You can specify quantities, portion sizes, and preparation methods for each component. This helps you accurately track the cost per serving, making menu pricing easier. You can also categorise the dish, organise ingredients in order, and upload images to ensure consistent preparation and presentation.
Deleting
- To delete a recipe, start by locating the specific recipe type. For deleting a prep recipe, go to the prep recipe table, open the Actions dropdown, and select Delete. If this prep recipe is used in any dish recipe, a warning will appear. Once deleted, all related dish recipes will recalculate with updated food costs.
- To delete a dish recipe, find it in the dish recipe table, open the Actions dropdown, and click Delete.
- For deleting a custom unit of measurement, note that these are created for clear labelling on printed recipes but are optional. Deleting a custom unit will remove it from all ingredients using it, and any ingredient assigned to this unit will automatically revert to a standard “unit.”
- To delete a recipe category, keep in mind that categories are shared between prep and dish recipes and help organise your menu. Select the category you want to remove, and it will be deleted across both prep and dish recipes.
