Restaurant Menu Costing & Recipe Costing Software
Calculate accurate menu-item and recipe costs, keep ingredient pricing current, and understand food cost and gross margin with EZchef.
Menu costing is one of EZchef’s core functions. Inventory items and their current recipe-unit costs can be linked directly to Menu Items and Sub-Recipes, so changes in ingredient prices can automatically flow through to the recipes that use them.
Try EZchef Free for 15 Days | Purchase EZchef
Build Fully Costed Restaurant Menu Items
EZchef provides Menu Item templates that allow you to build and maintain detailed cost information for the dishes and beverages you sell.
The program provides 100 Menu Item templates in each of 10 user-defined menu categories. Categories can be organized to match your restaurant’s menu, such as:
- Appetizers
- Salads
- Entrees
- Sandwiches
- Desserts
- Beverages
- Or other categories appropriate to your menu
To create a new Menu Item, select the appropriate menu category and open a new costing template.
Use Sub-Recipes to Simplify Menu Costing
Many restaurant menu items use prepared components such as sauces, dressings, stocks, marinades, doughs, fillings, or other recipes that appear in more than one finished dish.
EZchef includes an additional 400 Sub-Recipe templates. A Sub-Recipe can be costed once and then used as an ingredient in multiple Menu Items, reducing the need to recreate the same recipe repeatedly.
When the costs of linked ingredients change, the cost of the Sub-Recipe can change with them, and that updated cost can then be reflected in the Menu Items that use the Sub-Recipe.
Find and Edit Existing Menu Items and Recipes
EZchef includes a Recipe Search Form to help you locate existing Menu Items and Sub-Recipes for viewing or editing.
Connect Menu Costs to Current Inventory Prices
Menu costing becomes more useful when ingredient costs reflect what the restaurant is actually paying.
EZchef allows Food and Beverage Inventory items and their current Recipe Unit costs to be linked directly to Menu Item and Sub-Recipe templates.
When the purchase price of a linked Inventory Item is updated in the Inventory section, the updated ingredient cost is reflected in the Menu Items and Sub-Recipes that use it.
This creates a direct connection between restaurant inventory costs and menu costing.
Explore Restaurant Inventory Management
Select Ingredients from Your Restaurant Inventory
Ingredients can be added to a Menu Item by selecting the appropriate Inventory Category from the template.
After selecting the category, choose the appropriate Inventory Item. EZchef then uses the Recipe Unit and current Recipe Unit Cost already associated with that Inventory Item.
Enter the number of units required for the recipe and EZchef calculates the ingredient cost.
Use Linked or Manually Entered Ingredients
Not every ingredient has to be linked to the Inventory section.
EZchef also allows ingredients and unit costs to be entered manually. This can be useful for ingredients that have little impact on the overall cost of a menu item or for items that you do not need to maintain as regular Inventory Items.
The important difference is:
- Linked ingredients use current costs from the EZchef Inventory section and update when those inventory costs change.
- Manually entered ingredients remain at the cost entered in the template until you manually change them.
Calculate Portion Cost, Food Cost and Gross Margin
Once the ingredients and selling price are entered, EZchef calculates important menu-cost information for the item.
This includes:
- Ingredient and portion cost
- Cost of Goods Sold percentage
- Selling price
- Gross margin
This gives restaurant operators a clearer picture of the relationship between what a menu item costs to produce and what it contributes when sold.
Document Recipes and Preparation Instructions
Each Menu Item and Sub-Recipe template includes space to document how the item is prepared.
This allows cost information and recipe preparation information to remain together instead of being maintained in separate files.
A photograph of the finished plated Menu Item can also be added in JPG, GIF, or PNG format.
Completed Menu Items and Sub-Recipes can be printed with their documentation on a formatted single-page report.
Keep Menu Costs Current as Ingredient Prices Change
A menu cost is only useful if the ingredient prices behind it are reasonably current.
Because EZchef can link menu ingredients to Inventory Items, updated inventory pricing can automatically flow into the related Menu Items and Sub-Recipes.
This makes it easier to see when increases or decreases in ingredient costs begin affecting the cost and gross margin of a menu item.
From Menu Costing to Menu Profitability Analysis
Menu costing tells you what each menu item costs to produce. EZchef’s Menu Engineering tools take the analysis further by combining those costs with actual item sales information.
Using sales-mix data from your POS or cash-register report, EZchef can compare menu items based on measures such as food-cost percentage, gross margin, popularity, and total gross-profit contribution.
Explore Menu Engineering & Sales Analysis
Restaurant Menu Costing Connected to Inventory
EZchef brings three related restaurant cost-control functions together:
Restaurant Inventory Management
Maintain your food and beverage inventory items and current ingredient costs.
Menu & Recipe Costing
Use those inventory costs to calculate the current cost of Menu Items and Sub-Recipes.
Menu Engineering
Combine menu-item costs with sales-mix information to analyze how individual items contribute to overall menu profitability.
Together, these functions allow ingredient-cost changes to move from Inventory to Menu Costing and ultimately into Menu Engineering analysis.
Try EZchef Menu Costing Free for 15 Days
The easiest way to see how EZchef handles Menu Items, Sub-Recipes, ingredient costs, and Menu Engineering is to try the software.
The free 15-day demo includes sample Inventory, Menu Items, Sub-Recipes, and Menu Engineering data so you can explore the system before purchasing.
Restaurant Menu Costing Questions
What is restaurant menu costing?
Menu costing calculates the ingredient and portion cost of a menu item using the quantities and costs of the ingredients used to prepare it.
Can EZchef cost both menu items and sub-recipes?
Yes. EZchef provides templates for both Menu Items and Sub-Recipes. Sub-Recipes can then be used as ingredients within finished Menu Items.
How many menu costing templates are included?
EZchef provides 100 Menu Item templates in each of 10 user-defined menu categories, plus an additional 400 Sub-Recipe templates.
Do ingredient price changes update menu costs?
Yes. When an ingredient is linked to an EZchef Inventory Item, changes to its inventory cost can automatically update the Menu Items and Sub-Recipes that use it.
Can I enter an ingredient without adding it to inventory?
Yes. Ingredients and unit costs can also be entered manually. Manually entered costs remain unchanged until you edit them yourself.
Does EZchef calculate food-cost percentage?
Yes. EZchef calculates Cost of Goods Sold percentage based on the menu item’s cost and selling price.
Does EZchef calculate gross margin?
Yes. EZchef calculates gross margin using the menu item’s selling price and calculated cost.
Can I include preparation instructions with a recipe?
Yes. Menu Item and Sub-Recipe templates include space for documenting preparation information.
Can I add a photograph of a finished menu item?
Yes. A photograph of the plated Menu Item can be added in JPG, GIF, or PNG format.
How is menu costing different from menu engineering?
Menu costing calculates what an individual menu item costs to produce. Menu Engineering combines menu-item costs with sales-mix information to evaluate factors such as popularity, food-cost percentage, gross margin, and profitability.