On this page
Who this is for: chefs, store managers and storekeepers (planning and
stock), coordinators (staff, equipment, transport), managers and
accountants (profitability). Permissions: planning, resources and
documents need events.plan; raising the requisition also
procurement.create; issuing stock also inventory.issue; reports
events.reports (CSV also reports.export). Enquiries, quotes and money:
Catering: enquiries & quotes.
Production planning
Planning tab of a booked function → Plan production (the buffer is the extra food over the guest count, 5 % by default). The plan is worked out in the background; the page updates when it is ready:
guests → portions → recipes → ingredients → stock → shortage
- Portions by dish — guests × portions per guest + the buffer, rounded up, per dish, with the sheet it is made on (kitchen, bakery, bar or bought in), the cost a portion and allergens. No recipe means the dish has no recipe: it adds nothing to the ingredients — give it one in Recipes & costing.
- Ingredients — required (stock units), in store at the branch, at the warehouses, held for others (what earlier booked functions still need), short, issued, cost.
Re-plan after the menu or guest numbers change: the new version replaces the old and keeps the requisition already raised. Packed meals and drop-offs use the take-away lines of the recipes (boxes, cutlery).
Procurement
Requisition the shortages raises one purchase requisition for everything short, needed two days before the function (urgent within three days), submitted for approval. It then follows the usual flow: approval → RFQ / purchase order → goods receipt (Procurement & suppliers). Stock sitting in a warehouse is moved with a requisition / transfer to the kitchen store before issuing.
Issue to production
Issue to production takes the planned ingredients out of the store that serves each dish (kitchen, bakery, bar) at FIFO cost, up to what the store holds; anything not in the store is listed. Issue again when deliveries arrive. The issued value is the function’s actual food cost.
Staff
Staff & resources → Add staff: an employee or a casual worker by name, the role (coordinator, chef, cook, kitchen assistant, waiter, bartender, supervisor, driver, cleaner, security), from / to, and how they are paid: per hour (× hours), per day (per 12 hours) or a fixed amount; blank = the employee’s own pay (a monthly salary counts as ÷ 26 a day). An employee already rostered on another function at the same time is refused (tick Roster even if… to override). Set each person’s status (assigned, confirmed, attended, absent — absent costs nothing).
Equipment
Staff & resources → Add equipment: from our stock (the list shows how many of each item are free that day — other functions on the same date hold theirs) or hired in from a supplier with its hire cost. After the event Count: sent out, came back, damaged, lost — damaged and lost items are costed at their replacement cost.
Transport and other costs
Staff & resources → Add trip: vehicle (or hired), driver, purpose (food delivery, equipment & set-up, staff, collection), leaves / back, destination, distance (return km); the cost is the vehicle’s cost per trip + per km unless you enter it. A vehicle already out on another trip is refused. Change a trip’s status as it goes (planned → departed → arrived → returned). Add cost for anything else (venue, décor, fuel, staff allowances and meals, consumables such as gas and charcoal).
Production documents
BEO & documents → Generate documents (in the background):
| Sheet | Content |
|---|---|
| Kitchen / Bakery / Bar | the dishes made there with portions, allergens and dietary counts, every ingredient with the quantity (tick column) and the recipe method |
| Packing | meal boxes and labels for packed meals, otherwise pans (20 portions each) per dish, and the equipment to load |
| Equipment | every item, own or hired, with out / back / damaged columns |
| Transport | trips with vehicle, registration, driver, times and route |
| Service | the run of the day, the menu by course, dietary requirements, the team with times and roles, sign-off |
Open generated opens the stored copy (as it was when generated); View current renders the sheet now from the latest plan. Print from the browser (or save as PDF).
On the day and after
Overview → Start — on the day when the team leaves; Mark served with the guests actually served (and a note). Then the final invoice (sales manual).
Profitability
Profitability tab: revenue net of tax (invoiced, else the order, else the quote) against food (stock issued, else the plan’s cost), staff, equipment (usage + hire + damage), transport and other costs → profit, margin, per guest, and the quote’s estimate for comparison.
Events reports (managers, accountants, auditors): for functions held in a period (this month by default; up to two years), by branch and event type — functions, guests, revenue, costs, profit, margin; where the money went; by event type; each function (click to open its profitability); and the pipeline of enquiries received in the period (won, lost, still open, conversion, quotes out). Export CSV downloads the functions.