Record waste and losses

The Waste & adjustments page keeps a log of everything that leaves your stock without being sold — expired food, overproduction, breakage, staff meals… Each adjustment removes (or adds back) quantities and prices the loss at cost, so you know what waste actually costs you.

What you’ll need

• The restaurant add-on active on your company.
• Permission to view waste (stock.adjustment.read) to open the page; to create it (stock.adjustment.create) for the New adjustment button; to delete it (stock.adjustment.delete) for the delete icon.
• Your items already created in Items & Services, ideally with a Last buying price so the estimated cost shows up.

Steps

1. Open Waste & adjustments

   From the menu, open Waste & adjustments. The page lists every adjustment line (one line = one adjusted item) and shows the Total waste for the period at the top, in red, for the filtered selection.

   

2. Create a new adjustment

   Click New adjustment. In the dialog, pick the Date (required, today by default) and, if needed, a header Note that applies to the whole adjustment.

3. Add an item line

   For each item, select it under Item, choose the direction — Loss (default) or Addition — and enter the Quantity as a positive number (decimals are allowed). The line’s Estimated cost is computed automatically from the item’s Last buying price; for a dish with no buying price it comes from its recipe, otherwise it stays “—”. Add more lines with Add line.

4. Choose a reason

   Select the Reason that explains the removal: Expired, Spoiled, Overproduction, Preparation error, Breakage, Staff meal, Theft, Inventory correction or Other. The reason is required and is then used to filter and analyse your waste.

5. Check the total and save

   The Estimated total sums the line costs at the bottom of the dialog. Save: a Loss removes the quantity from stock, an Addition adds it back. The entry made here is tagged Web as its source.

6. Track and filter the journal

   Back in the journal, filter by search, by Reason (or All reasons) and by period (Start Date / End Date). Each line shows the Date, Number, Item and its quantity, Reason, Total cost, Source (Web or POS) and Created by. The Total waste for the period recalculates with your filters.

Tips & edge cases

• Quantity is always entered as a positive number: it’s the direction (Loss or Addition) that decides whether stock goes down or up.
• The Estimated cost at entry is indicative; the cost actually recorded is fixed at save time (the server is authoritative). For a dish, the cost comes from its recipe when there is no buying price.
• Deleting an adjustment restores the stock: InnoBooks asks to confirm with “Stock will be restored.” before deleting.
• The Source column tells waste entered here (Web) apart from waste created on the POS (POS).
• The dashboard shows a Waste & adjustments widget with three charts: Waste over time, Waste by reason and Top wasted items.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to enter a negative quantity for a loss?

No. Always enter a positive quantity and choose the Loss direction: InnoBooks applies the sign automatically and removes the quantity from stock. Choose Addition to add stock back.

How is the cost of a loss calculated?

Quantity × the item’s Last buying price. For a dish with no buying price, the cost comes from its recipe. The amount shown at entry is an estimate; the final cost is fixed on save.

Where do I see my waste charts?

On the dashboard: the Waste & adjustments widget shows waste over time, by reason and the top wasted items, with a period filter. The Waste & adjustments page itself is for entering and reviewing the detail.

Related articles

• Build a recipe and calculate your food cost
• Set up packaging costs by order type