Remember, you'll want to build this product just as you would in the kitchen. This ensures that all ingredients are accounted for.
To Create a New Product Recipe:
- Click "Products" (main menu toolbar).
- Choose "New"
NOTE: By default, the window is in "NEW" mode until you select an existing product from the list on the left.
| Field | Details |
| Description |
The name of the Menu Product (Menu Recipe) you are creating. This name should be different than any other names of items, preps, or products. If a product has the same name as an item, add a symbol or word to one of them so you can distinguish between the two. Ex. Sour Cream is an inventory item, but is also a side (add-on) on the menu. A way around this is to give it the name "Side Sour Cream" or "Sour Cream - Retail". |
| Sales Groups | Select the sales group that this product belongs to. |
| Barcode (Optional) | If you use barcodes for your products, enter in the barcode number. This would be used if making barcoded sales labels. |
| POS ID# (Optional) |
Almost all cash registers and POS systems use POS ID Numbers (PLU) numbers or menu ID numbers to identify menu products. In some till tapes or cash register reports, only the PLU number is listed. Enter the number that corresponds to the POS or cash register. IF you do not know the number, print out the sales file generated by the POS or polling software. NOTE: If you are importing from a POS system, the POS ID numbers will be added automatically. |
| POS Description (Optional) |
This field is a reference field to identify if the POS system has changed its menu. Enter the POS description exactly as it is in the POS system. If you are importing from a POS system, the POS description will be added automatically. The description you use in Optimum Control can be different, but the name from the POS system must be the same. |
| Actual Product Cost |
The cost of the menu product. NOTE: This will read 0.00 unless the ingredients are added to the product. |
| Selling Price |
Enter the selling price. If you have not yet set a selling price, create the product, enter a selling price in the "Selling Price" field OR type in the desired cost cost percentage or gross margin and it will be calculated for you. You may track products that have no selling price such as water or No Tomato; if so, enter $0.00 as the selling price. |
| Gross Margin | = Selling Price - Total Cost |
| Cost Percentage |
If you have chosen to set your food cost at a desired cost percentage and the program will calculate a selling price based on that percentage. Ex. The total cost of an order of fries is 28.72 cents, if you set the cost percentage at 30%, it will calculate the selling price at $0.95. To achieve the 30% food cost, you must sell the product for $0.95 or higher. |
| Gross Profit % (GP%) | Displays the gross profit of the product based on the cost percentage. You can enter a desired gross profit and the selling price will be calculated. |
| Tax Group | Add a tax group if a sales tax is applied to this product. This will apply the tax amount to the adjusted case cost. |
Ex. A manager changed "Apple Pie" to "Meatloaf Dinner" on the POS. When importing the sales mix, Optimum Control will compare the POS description to the sales file and ensure the description is the same. If it is not, you will receive the message "Unlinked product and/or mismatched POS descriptions have been detected."