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Food Cost Management FAQ

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How do I add products to my Product List?

For US Foods products, go to the Product list > Add > select US Foods Catalog and search for a product to add to your product list. The integration with US Foods imports a near-complete product card. Products imported from US Foods have fields, such as pack size, that cannot be adjusted in Avero. 

For other vendors:

  • If adding 50 products or fewer, we recommend adding them manually by going to
    • Product List > Add Product > Add Manually
  • If adding 50+ products, we recommend using the upload product feature by going to the
    • Product List Add Product > Upload.
    • Make sure to download the instructions and the guide before you start filling out the template!

Can I bulk update the status or storage areas for my products?

To make a bulk update to your products, go to the Product List and multi-select the products you would like to update. From here, select the ‘Edit Products’ drop-down and select the bulk change you would like to make.

 

How do I delete a product from my product list?

For data integrity and security purposes, a product can only be deleted if it is not in an inventory, purchase order, or recipe. If the product is not in any of these, you can delete it by going to the Product List > Select the Product(s) You Would Like to Delete > Select Edit Products > Delete Products > Confirm the deletion

If the product has already been included in an inventory, is in a purchase order, or is included in a recipe, it will not be deleted. Instead, it will be set to inactive status. Note: You can use the report generator to filter your product list for only active products.

 

What is product yield versus recipe yield?

Product yield is the percentage of usable product you typically get from that product:

  • A product yield of 100% implies that you get full usage out of the product every time you use it.
  • Some products like whole, untrimmed brisket are trimmed every time they are used. Since usually you get a 50% yield of edible meat from whole, untrimmed brisket, you would enter 50% for yield.

Recipe yield is the total yield of the recipe:

  • The recipe's yield quantity and unit will create a conversion for that recipe to what you input. We recommend adding your yield unit in volume/weight if you plan to use the recipe as an ingredient in another recipe and want to use a specific unit type.
  • The portion within a recipe is the quantity and unit you would put on a plate.

What is Dynamic Par (Days)?

The dynamic par is the number of extra days of product you would like to have on hand in addition to the quantities Avero is already recommending you need to get you through to your next delivery:

  • Avero will always suggest purchase quantities intended to last until your next delivery day, based on the delivery schedule you configured in ‘Vendor Setup.’ For example, if today is Sunday and I’m placing an order to be delivered tomorrow (Monday). If my next delivery day is Thursday and put a dynamic par of 2 on my chicken breast product, Avero will recommend you buy the quantity of chicken breast you need to get through Thursday close + 2 extra days of product. 

 

What is Estimated On-Hand and how is it calculated?

The estimated on-hand value is Avero’s best guess of what you have in inventory at any given point in time. It is calculated as your most recent inventory quantity plus any received orders since, less depletion.

 

What is suggested purchase and how is it calculated?

Suggested purchase is Avero’s recommendation of how much product you need to make it through to your next delivery date. It is calculated as forecasted needed product minus the estimated on-hand for that product. Our suggested purchase value takes into account forecasted sales and any recent inventories or purchases of a product.

 

Why is my Product Missing a Suggested Purchase Quantity?

If you are not seeing a suggested purchase quantity for a product:

  • Ensure that the vendor has delivery days configured. If not, go to  Vendor Setup > Vendor Info > Select the Vendor > Add a Delivery Schedule
  • Make sure that this product has been counted in at least two inventories

 

How is Actual COGS calculated?

Actual COGS is calculated as starting count + purchases within date range – ending count

  • If you add the counts metric to the report, you can see ‘Actual Usage’ as a quantity, which can make the report easier for a user to understand

 

Why are my actual COGS negative? How can I fix this?

If your starting count + purchases is less than the ending count, then your actual cogs will be negative. Oftentimes, this is a result of purchases not being entered in, or a mistake in entering inventory:

  • If purchases are missing, enter the Purchase Order, set the PO to received status, and adjust the received date to before inventory.
  • If the starting or ending inventory date are incorrect, go to the completed inventory and select reactivate inventory. Adjust the value in the inventory and then complete the inventory. Make sure that the inventory count date is correct!

 

How is Theoretical COGS calculated? How about Theoretical Usage?

Theoretical COGS comes from recipes that are linked to POS codes. It is calculated as the total product recipe ingredient quantity * item sales quantity for all recipes that are linked to a POS Code:

  • Theoretical COGS comes from item sales of all recipes linked to POS items that were sold during the date range displayed in the COGS report. If a recipe is not liked to a POS Code, theoretical COGS will not be calculated for that recipe.
  • Theoretical COGS represents the total cost of recipe ingredients used in that period, theoretical usage is the same value expressed as a quantity rather than a dollar amount
  • If you believe there is an error in your Theoretical COGS, make sure that your product is included in recipes for menu items that are mapped to POS Codes. Check the ingredient quantities in these recipes if you see values you believe are incorrect.

 

What is % Var? What is Amt Var?

% Var (% variance) is calculated as Actual COGS / Theoretical COGS expressed as a percentage. Amt Var (amount variance) is Actual COGS – Theoretical COGS

  • Greater variances between Actual COGS and Theoretical COGS indicate potential operational problems. If you have set up all of your recipes, counted inventory, and entered purchase orders correctly in the system, these variances indicate that you should check the portioning and inventory levels of this product. 

 

Can multiple users work on an inventory at the same time?

Yes, multiple people can work within a mobile inventory at the same time. We recommend that they work on different storage areas and know which user is going to submit the inventory when they are finished counting.

 

Is there a way to print a recipe without displaying the cost?

The only print format available for recipes includes the costing information.

 

Can I update the prices on US Foods products?

Due to our integration, US Foods products automatically update with price and other information that is not adjustable in Avero. If you have stopped ordering this product from US Foods and now order from another vendor, create a new product card associated with that vendor. If the information you are seeing on the US Foods product card is wrong, report it to US Foods for adjustment. 

 

Can I find a recipe by POS Code?

If you've already assigned a POS number to a recipe, earch for that POS number in the recipe box search field, and it will return the recipe that has that POS code linked to it. You can have multiple POS codes linked to one recipe, but POS codes can only be linked to one recipe.

Additionally, if the name of the POS code is updated, Avero will consider that a new POS code, so it's possible you will need to go and re-add that POS code to the recipe if you make a change (you can see this if you run an item sales report for a period of time and you see the POS code twice, it's because the name of that POS code has changed). 

recipe_box_pos_code_search.gif

 

How do I know if my US Foods account is linked to Avero? 

You can view if your US Foods connection is still live by visiting the Vendor page. Go to Settings >  Vendor Setup
​
Then select Vendor Info
​
Then select US Foods. If you see LINKED then your connection is still live. If not, review the customer information with your rep and reach out to us if it is correct and not linked. 
us_foods_vendor_linked.png

 

When I select invoiced I can't put in the date and the invoice number. 

When you set the PO to received, update the received date while you're in the PO (otherwise it will save and can't be edited later), and when you set the PO from received to invoiced, put in the invoice date and invoice number while you're in that page otherwise it will save blank and can't be edited. 

When I select delivered I can’t change the date. 

When you set the PO to received, update the received date while you're in the PO (otherwise it will save and can't be edited later), and when you set the PO from received to invoiced, put in the invoice date and invoice number while you're in that page otherwise it will save blank and can't be edited. 

How do I delete old Vendors?

Currently, vendors cannot be deleted but they can be edited. If you have a duplicate or old vendor, you can edit the name and settings to reflect a new vendor, or change the name to an indicator not to use the vendor such as OLD_Vendor Name or ZZZ. 

 

How do I account for modifiers in my recipes?

As long as your POS applies a unique POS code and price to your modifiers (even if it’s $0), you can build a recipe for it and link it to the the POS code to track that depletion.

If you do not know if your POS attaches a POS unique POS code and price to your modifiers, you can double check within our Item Sales report.

When running the report, complete the following steps:

  1. Go to Sales
  2. Click on Item Sales
  3. Run a report for a date range you know these modifiers were used.

If the modifiers are displayed on your Item Sales report, you are good to go!  Use that POS number to create the recipe for this modifier. 

If the modifiers do not appear on this report, your POS is not set up to send us those modifiers. 

 

How do I find a POS Code if I do not know it?

Finding the POS code

Some POS systems have multiple identifying numbers for your menu items. To locate the POS item and corresponding number you are looking for, run an Item Sales report by completing the following steps:

  1. Navigate to Sales
  2. Click on Item Sales
  3. Set a large enough date range to include the item you are looking for
  4. Hit the Go button to run the report.
  5. Find the POS item and it's corresponding POS code and use that number in your recipe.

 

The cost of my recipe is incorrect, why?

Each ingredient within your recipe will display the subtotal cost. At the bottom, there is a total cost that includes all ingredients.

If the cost reflected in your recipe seems wrong, it is likely related to the set up of one or more products.  Complete the following steps to ensure proper set up of your products:

  1. While in the recipe edit screen, you can click on the individual ingredients to view the product info.
  2. Verify that the conversions are correct and the price unit is correct as well. If you use volume units in the product set up, use volume units in the recipe.
  3. Verify that the pricing is correct for your Non – US Foods items. If not, correct the product price.
  4. Click Save. The cost will update in your recipe moving forward.  

 

Why is my recipe not showing a price?

Make sure your recipe is tied to a POS code. If your recipe is not tied to a POS code, complete the following steps:

  1. Click the blue“+”next to POS code in the recipe edit window.
  2. Enter in the POS code, or search term and hit enter or click the magnifying glass to generate the search.
  3. Once it returns the POS codes, click on the grey POS code you want to tie to this recipe.
  4. The price will update as soon as you save this POS code.

Why is my recipe not showing the same price as my POS?

The Recipe price is showing the average sale price from the past 11 days. If an items price changed over this time or was sold at discounted price during this time frame, the price will be lower than the current sale price in your POS.

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