Inventory basics - ingredients, stock and purchases

The Inventory page (under Back office in the menu) tracks what is in your store room, what it cost, and where it went. Owners and managers use it. Sales take stock off automatically as soon as a ticket reaches the kitchen, so you only record what comes in, what gets thrown away, and what you actually count on the shelf.

Inventory and recipe costing are included in the Growth plan and above, and in the free trial. It's the Inventory module: when it's off or not in your plan, the page isn't in the menu and nothing is deducted from stock (what's already recorded is kept).

What the Inventory page shows

The Inventory page has three tabs: Stock, Recipes and Movements. If you have more than one outlet, the page says Stock at and the outlet name. Your ingredient list and recipes are shared across the whole brand, but stock quantities and reorder levels are kept separately for each outlet. Switch outlet with the outlet picker at the top of the dashboard to see another outlet's shelf.

The Stock tab starts with four cards:

• Stock value: what everything on hand is worth at its current cost.
• Low on stock: ingredients at or below their reorder level.
• Out of stock: ingredients with nothing left on hand.
• Used this week: the cost of ingredients sold in the last 7 days, net of voided items.

Below that is the ingredient table with Ingredient, Category, On hand, Reorder at, Status (Out, Low or OK), Cost / unit and Value. The most urgent items (out, then low) are listed first. Use Search ingredients or suppliers, the category filter, or the Low stock only switch to narrow the list.

How to add an ingredient

1. Go to Inventory → Stock and tap Add ingredient (or Add your first ingredient on an empty list).
2. Fill in:
   • Name, for example Paneer. Two active ingredients can't have the same name.
   • Unit: kg, g, l, ml, pcs, dozen or pack. Recipes use this same unit, so pick the unit you think in when cooking.
   • Category (optional), for example Dairy.
   • Cost per unit: the price per unit before tax.
   • Reorder at: the quantity at which this ingredient is flagged as low. Leave it empty if you don't want a low-stock alert.
   • Supplier (optional).
   • Opening stock (optional): what is on the shelf at this outlet right now.
3. Tap Add ingredient.

To change an ingredient later, tap its name or use the ⋯ menu → Edit. If you change the cost by hand, every dish that uses it is re-costed.

To stop using an ingredient, choose ⋯ → Archive. It stays in existing recipes and history. Archived ingredients are listed under Show archived ingredients, where you can Restore them.

Recording a purchase (stock received)

Record a purchase every time a delivery arrives, so stock and costs stay right.

1. On Inventory → Stock, tap Record purchase (or use ⋯ → Record purchase on one ingredient).
2. Choose the Ingredient if it isn't already picked.
3. Enter Quantity received and Total paid (the whole amount for that quantity).
4. Check the Supplier, and add a Note (optional) such as the invoice number or batch.
5. Tap Add to stock.

The dialog previews the unit price and the new stock level. AirQR moves the ingredient's cost to a weighted average of what was already on hand and what just arrived (for example, Average cost ₹300 → ₹310 per kg). Every dish whose recipe uses that ingredient is re-costed straight away. See Recipes and food cost.

Stock counts and fixing differences

A stock count sets the system to what is really on the shelf.

1. Use ⋯ → Stock count on an ingredient.
2. Enter the Counted quantity and, if you like, a note such as "Weekly count".
3. The dialog tells you Matches what we expected, or shows how much you Found or are Missing compared with the system, with its value.
4. Tap Save count.

AirQR records the difference as a Stock count movement, so you can see later how much went missing. A weekly count of your expensive items (meat, paneer, spirits) is a good habit. Anything thrown away should be recorded as wastage instead, so the reason is kept (see Recording wastage).

Low stock and reorder levels

An ingredient is Low when its quantity at this outlet is at or below its Reorder at level, and Out when nothing is left. A small bar under On hand fills green, amber or red.

When anything is running low, the Overview page shows a Running low alert listing the most urgent ingredients with their quantities. Owners and managers see it at the start of the day, next to other things that need attention. Set Reorder at to roughly what you use between two deliveries, and adjust it once you have a few weeks of sales.

Automatic stock deduction from sales

You don't enter sales by hand. When a ticket reaches the kitchen, AirQR looks up each dish's recipe and takes the ingredients off stock at that outlet:

• POS and QR orders are deducted when the ticket is sent to the kitchen.
• Orders that need approval (when Staff must approve QR orders is on, or when the guest must pay first) are deducted only when staff tap Accept.
• Sizes and add-ons use their own recipe lines as well, for example extra cheese only when that add-on was chosen.
• Items added to a ticket later are deducted when they are added.

Stock goes back on the shelf automatically when:

• an item is voided (all of it, or part of a quantity),
• a pending ticket is rejected, or
• a whole order is cancelled.

The exception is a ready takeaway or online order marked Not collected (no-show). The food was made, so stock is not put back, and those ingredients are booked as wastage. Dishes without a recipe don't deduct anything.

Troubleshooting inventory

• Stock didn't go down after a sale. Check that the dish has a recipe on the Recipes tab. Orders waiting for approval or payment deduct only when accepted. Stock is deducted at the outlet that took the order.
• Stock shows a negative number. More was sold or wasted than the system thought you had. Do a Stock count to set the real quantity, and record purchases as they arrive.
• "You already have an ingredient called …" Two active ingredients can't share a name. Edit the existing one, or restore the archived one.
• Can't see the Inventory page. It's for owners, managers and inventory clerks, and needs the Inventory module on and in your plan (Growth and above, or an add-on). See I can't see a page or a menu item.
• Where did the stock go? Open the Movements tab. It lists the latest 200 movements at this outlet (purchases, sales, voided sales, wastage, counts and adjustments) with who made them and a link to the order. Filter by type or search by ingredient or note.