Bakery step 3: recipes and real product costs

A recipe (bill of materials) says what goes into one batch of a product and how much it yields. SmartPOS Hub uses it to plan production, check you have enough flour, take the ingredients out of stock and work out what each loaf really costs.

Before you start

• Raw materials and finished products exist with units (step 2).
• Raw materials have a purchase price or stock, so costs are real.
• Your role has Add recipes and See production costs and margins.

1. Check the Manufacturing settings

1. Open Manufacturing › Settings.
2. Numbering & lots: check the production order prefix and tick Give each completed batch a lot number automatically.
3. Costing: pick the Material cost method for estimates (last purchase price is simplest), the Default margin for suggested prices and whether waste is included in the product cost.
4. Stages and Waste reasons: add steps like Mixing, Proofing, Baking, Packing and reasons like Burnt, Overproofed, Broken or misshapen. Save each tab.

/manufacturing/settings

2. Write a recipe

1. Open Manufacturing › Recipes and click Add recipe (or Import prebuilt).
2. Pick the finished product (or the size variation) and enter the batch output, for example 76 Pc(s).
3. Add each ingredient with its quantity in any unit of that product, and a Waste % if some is always lost (trimming, spillage).
4. Add packaging such as bags and boxes as ingredients too.
5. Under Extra costs, add labour, oven gas or electricity: fixed per batch, per unit, or % of material.
6. Add stages if you track them, and save.

/manufacturing/recipes/{id}

A recipe shows the batch cost, cost per unit, margin, ingredients and the latest batches made from it.

3. Check costs and margins

The recipe list shows each product’s version, batch output, number of ingredients, Unit cost with Margin, and selling price. Sort by margin to find products that cost too much to make.

/manufacturing/recipes

On a recipe, switch the cost basis (Last purchase price, Average cost of stock, Stock lots (FIFO / LIFO), Default purchase price) and click Recalculate to see how flour price changes affect your cost.

Tips and mistakes to avoid

• Weigh a real batch once and enter the real yield; guessed yields make every cost wrong.
• Include packaging; a cake box can be a large share of a cheap item’s cost.
• If you record labour as an extra cost and also pay salaries as expenses, tell your accountant so they aren’t counted twice.

Next step

Step 4: Daily production orders

Manufacturing module