EZchef Software: Inventory Management, Menu Costing and Analysis for Restaurants
EZchef New Features
1. Find & Display
Now it's easy to see every menu item and sub recipe where a
specific restaurant inventory item has been used. Often referred to as "product
utilization", you can easily display a list of each menu category; and
associated menu items and/or sub recipes, where that inventory item has been
linked. Click on the "Find and Replace" button then select the inventory item
from the "Find and Display" section.
2. Find & Replace
Do you want to replace an existing restaurant inventory item in
all the menu items and sub recipes that currently use that linked item? Whether
it's a permanent or temporary replacement, it's now simple to substitute
inventory items without manually replacing each item in every template where
it's presently linked. Click on the Find & Replace button and first select
the item from the drop down window. Next select the replacement item from the
window below. EZchef will do the rest, and display the number of times the
replacement has been made.
With the new "Duplicate
Recipe" button you can save time, and easily create a copy of
any existing menu item or sub-recipe. After creating the copy simply rename the
new recipe, and modify it as you like.
4. Inventory Item Price History
Now you can easily track historic price changes for all your food
and beverage items. Whether you want to track a single item or all items, the
process is EZ. Select the "Price History" button in the header of each
Inventory sheet, and then choose whether you want the history of a single item
or all items in that product category.
Select a Single Item or Display All Items…
Single Item Price History…
or Display the Price History of All Items…
5. Inventory Item Price Alert
Set the Price Change Alert (% Increase or Decrease) to display a
message whenever you manually update your inventory prices. The default setting
is 10% but you can set to any number you like.
Once the Default is set, the message below will be displayed
anytime the new price increases or decreases by the set amount.
6. Link to Online Tool for
Weight-to-Volume inventory item conversions
While EZchef's Conversion
Tool is adequate for most of your recipe and inventory unit conversions, we now
provide an easy online link to a conversion tool for products that you purchase
by weight but typically call for in a volume measure. Since the density of each
product varies, this type of conversion relies on a data base of common food
products. For example, you may buy granulated sugar by the pound (weight), but
call for it in you recipes by the tablespoon or cup (volume). Use this link to
easily make this type of conversion..
7. Option to Print Inventory Count
Sheets by Single or Multiple Categories or Locations
Now you can control the printing of your inventory count sheets to
include only those categories or locations you want to include. Print one list
for the chef to include only the food inventory and then another for the bar
manager to include beer, wine and liquor. Or you can print one sheet for a
staff member to count items in the walk-in cooler, and another for someone to
count the freezer. From the "Print Inventory Worksheets" section select either
the Categories or Locations you
want to print.
8. Backup Your EZchef File
I see many users simply SAVE their file after a working
session with the program. This is not a recommended practice as it fails to
create a backup of the data in the event that the file becomes corrupted or
more typically, the user wants or needs to go back to a previous version.
The SAVE
AS is a better alternative, especially when you append the
file name with the current date (e.g. EZchef Nov 5 2016.xlsm. Then, if there is
a problem with current file, the user can always go back to the last file that
was used.
Even better is a backup feature, that when clicked, creates a copy
of the file without you having to leave the current program file. From the
EZchef Main Menu you can now simply click on the BACKUP feature,
and EZchef will create a Date and Time "stamped" copy of your file. It will
save the backup file to the same directory that your program file is located.
9. Include Prepared Food Items in
your Physical Inventory Counts
This is a feature that was created in response to customer
requests. Many restaurants want to be able to include prepared food items in
their regular inventory counts. These items often represent a significant cost,
and not including them in the inventory counts may result in your Cost of Sales
calculations not being accurately reflected.
In EZchef, Prepared Foods are represented by your Sub Recipes.
These are items that are not sold directly, but are components of Menu Items,
or of other Sub Recipes.
To use the new feature simply click on the Update button
prior to printing your inventory count sheets.
Now select those items you want included in the inventory count
sheets.
EZchef
will add each Sub Recipe name, and current "Batch" Cost, to the newly created
Prepared Foods inventory section of the program. It will also "append" the name
by adding "-INV" to
each name. You will still need to assign an Inventory Count Unit (and
Conversion) to each item based on the way you want to count it. You can also
assign Locations for shelf to sheet counting.
10. Multi-Unit Tool to Transfer Menu
Items from one file to another
The multi-unit tool allows you to export selected menu items and
sub recipes (with all associated inventory items) from one EZchef file, and
import into another EZchef file. Needless to say this saves considerable time
and effort, and for a multi-unit operation it allows menu items to be created
only once, and then easily moved to another location's file.
Select "Export Menu Items & Sub Recipes" and then select any
Menu Items and Sub Recipes you want to export. When the export file is created
and saved, use the Import button from the new EZchef file to import the item(s)
and all associated inventory.
Click on the Excel Reports icon to view new exportable reports.
We just added two more menu categories (from 8 to 10) and seven
new inventory locations!
13. Insert Photos of Menu Items and
Include when Printing
Now it's simple to include photos of your plated menu items along
with the detailed recipes and notes. Simply click on the 'Insert Picture"
button and select the picture using either a *.gif, *.jpg or *.png file format.
