How to Set Up F&B Manager

F&B Manager tracks what a kitchen or bar holds and uses: ingredients, packaging, consumables and things you prepare yourself. It shows what is running out, what was used and what was thrown away.

Step 1: mark your materials

1. Add each ingredient, packaging item or consumable as a product, such as "Flour (50kg bag)" or "Takeaway box", with what it costs you.
2. On the product form, open More Fields and tick Not for selling. It then never shows at the till.
3. Give it stock: record the purchase, or use Bulk Opening Stock for what you already hold.

Step 2: set types and reorder points

Open F&B Manager → Inventory. Every material is listed with what you hold. Straight in the table, set its Type (Raw material, Packaging, Consumable or Prepared in-house), its reorder point and its preferred supplier. Each item's status then shows: Out of stock, Below minimum, Reorder now or OK.

Step 3: check the settings

Open F&B Manager → Settings. The defaults suit most kitchens:

• Alerts & thresholds: how many days ahead to warn about expiry, and how much consumption or waste may drift before it is flagged.
• Reordering: supplier lead time, safety stock in days of cover, how often you order, and the period used to measure average daily use.
• Stock & costing policies: what happens when usage would take stock below zero. Allow it and record the shortfall is the default, because a kitchen that runs out mid-service still has to serve.