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Tracking Ingredient Waste

  • Updated

Available in:  Agile | Aware | Analyzer | Multi-Outlet 

 

You can record waste events in real time or in batches, but either way, tracking waste gives you visibility into where ingredients are lost. Spoiled food, complimentary meals, dropped items, refires, and discarded bread at the end of service all count. Each entry helps you spot patterns, reduce waste, and improve efficiency.

Waste tracking supports multiple areas of kitchen operations:

  • Lower costs: When you see which ingredients go unused, you can adjust purchasing and avoid overspending.
  • Safer food: Waste logs help confirm that food is stored and rotated properly, reducing the risk of foodborne illness.
  • Smarter inventory: Knowing what spoils quickly helps you fine-tune inventory levels and reduce overstock.
  • Better menus: Waste data can reveal which dishes underperform or include ingredients that don’t get used.
  • More sustainable practices: Reducing waste cuts your environmental impact and supports long-term kitchen health.
  • Stronger teams: Waste records create opportunities to coach staff, reinforce best practices, and build accountability.

Without waste tracking, known losses (like spoilage or dropped items) get grouped into your variance report. That makes it harder to spot unknown issues, such as theft, over-portioning, incorrect prep, or improper storage.

 

How To Track Waste

1. Open the Waste Tool

  • Go to the hamburger menu in the top-left corner.
  • Expand Manage Inventory, then select Waste.
    HamburgerMenuWaste.png

2. Set Up Waste Types

  • Click Types to define the kinds of waste you want to track (e.g., spoilage, dropped items, refires).
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  • Click + New to add each type, then save.
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3. Enter Waste Events

  • Use the + New button to log waste as it happens.
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  • Include details like the item, quantity, and waste type.
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4. Review Waste Records

  • Go to Tools > Waste Tracking Journal to see all entries in one place.
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The Big Picture

Waste entries adjust your Ideal Food Cost. That means they directly affect your variance calculation:

Actual Food Cost - (Ideal Food Cost - Waste) = Variance

Encourage your team to log waste in real time. If that’s not possible, enter it in batches—ideally at the same time you record counts and prep builds.

Need a paper backup? Use the attached spreadsheet to track waste manually before entering it into reciProfity.

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