Guides

Hospitality cost control, explained properly

Everything we know about stock, margins and getting the numbers right — written by people who have run the sections, not a marketing team. Free to read, nothing to sign up for.

8 min read

Free restaurant inventory software: what's actually free

Most 'free' inventory tools paywall recipe costing and waste tracking. Here's how to check what a free tier really includes — including ours, in full.

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7 min read

Restaurant stock control software: what to look for in 2026

How stock control software actually works in a restaurant, what it should cost, and the questions to ask before you sign anything.

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6 min read

How to calculate food cost percentage (with worked examples)

The food cost percentage formula, a worked example per dish and per period, and the three mistakes that make the number lie to you.

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5 min read

The bar stocktake checklist: a repeatable weekly routine

A practical weekly bar stocktake routine — order of counting, how to handle open bottles, and how to read the variance report afterwards.

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5 min read

Stop typing supplier invoices: how invoice scanning works

Manual invoice entry is where stock systems die. Here's how photo-based invoice scanning works, what it catches, and where it still needs a human.

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7 min read

How to price a dish: menu engineering without the jargon

A method for pricing dishes that protects cash margin, not just percentages — plus the four-box menu matrix and what to do with each quadrant.

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6 min read

How to cost a cocktail (including the bits everyone forgets)

Cocktail costing from bottle to glass — pour costs, dilution, garnish, ice and the shrinkage that quietly eats bar margin.

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6 min read

How to reduce food waste in a restaurant (and measure it honestly)

Where restaurant food waste actually comes from, how to log it without slowing service, and the changes that move the number fastest.

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6 min read

Restaurant inventory: when a spreadsheet stops being enough

An honest comparison of running stock on a spreadsheet versus a system — what spreadsheets do well, and the four points at which they break.

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Rather have the software do it?

The standard software is free — stock, recipe costing and invoice scanning. No card, no contract, and the site stays yours.