Menu costing lets you build menu items from the products you buy. Choose each ingredient and the portion that goes on the plate, and Pepper works out the plate cost, profit per plate, and food cost %. Use it to price a new dish, check margins after a price increase, or see what a product swap does to your profit.
Who gets the most out of it
Restaurants without a costing tool. Build plate costs from the products you already order instead of a spreadsheet you update by hand.
Kitchens planning a menu change. Set the sale price from the plate cost before a dish goes on the menu.
Operators watching margin. Catalog ingredients use current pricing, so plate costs move when product prices do.
Availability
Pepper turns on menu costing, for all of a distributor's customers or for specific accounts. You can't turn it on yourself.
Computer or tablet: select Menu in the side navigation.
Phone: tap your initials, then Menu costing.
If you don't see it, ask your Pepper rep to enable this for your account.
How menu costing works
Ingredients are catalog items or custom items. Catalog items come from your distributor's catalog and always use the current catalog price. Custom items are ones you add by hand, such as products from another supplier, and keep the price you entered until you edit them.
Plate cost is the sum of every portion. Pepper converts each ingredient's pack into the portion you set. A 10 lb case of ground beef at $45.00 makes a 4 oz portion cost $1.13.
Sale price, profit per plate, and food cost are linked. Enter any one and Pepper fills in the other two. Food cost is plate cost as a percentage of sale price.
Your sale price holds when costs move. When a catalog price changes, profit per plate and food cost % change and your sale price stays the same.
Creating a menu item
Open menu costing, select Add menu item, enter a name, and select Create.
Adding ingredients
In the menu item, select Add ingredient.
Search for the product. Use the Catalog and Custom items filters to narrow results.
Select a result to add it.
To add something that isn't in the catalog, type its name and select Add "[name]" manually. Enter its price and unit (case, each, pound, or piece). For a case, also enter the pack size and base unit, such as 10 pound. Custom items you've entered before appear under Past manual entries.
Tip: You can add catalog products to your order guide straight from the search results.
Setting portions and pricing
For each ingredient, enter the Portion and choose a unit. Units depend on how the product is packed: lb, oz, or g for weight, cup through tsp and mL for volume, or each for count. Portion cost and Total plate cost update as you go.
Then enter one of Sale price, Profit per plate, or Food cost %. Setting a target food cost, such as 28%, shows the sale price you need.
Managing ingredients and menu items
Edit or remove an ingredient: on a computer, use the pencil or trash icon. On a phone or tablet, swipe the ingredient. Catalog item names and prices can't be edited.
Rename, duplicate, or delete a menu item: select ... next to its name. Duplicate copies every ingredient and portion, which is useful for variations like a double cheeseburger.
Warning: Deleting a menu item removes it and all its ingredients permanently.
Things to know
Only portionable catalog products appear in search: those sold by the case, each, pound, or piece. Add others, such as products sold by the carton, as custom items.
Menus stay with one account. Menu items can't be copied to another location or customer.
No printing, export, categories, or menu import in this release.
Frequently asked questions
I don't see Menu costing. It isn't on for your account. On a phone, check under your initials. Otherwise, ask your sales rep.
I can't find a product in ingredient search. It's packed in a unit Pepper can't portion. Add it as a custom item.
My plate cost changed on its own. A catalog ingredient changed price. Catalog ingredients always use the current price.
One ingredient's price didn't update. It's a custom item. Edit it to change the price.
The portion cost shows a dash. Enter a portion quantity and unit.
I don't see the Sale price field. Add an ingredient first.
For distributors
Contact your Pepper account team to turn on menu costing for all customers or specific accounts. It reads your live catalog prices, so price updates flow into customers' plate costs. For customers to find and portion a product, it needs a pack unit of case, each, pound, or piece, and cases need a unit count and base unit.