What this page is for
When you sell a product, the system can automatically deduct the right amount of each ingredient from stock — but it only does this when two things are set up. This page explains the rules so you can spot the problem when stock isn't moving the way you expect.
When stock moves automatically
Stock is deducted automatically for an ingredient only if both of the following are true:
-
The ingredient has stock tracking turned on.
- Go to Management > Stock Control > Ingredients, open the ingredient, and turn on Track stock.
- Without this, the system has nowhere to keep a running count — it doesn't know whether you have 1 bag of flour or 50.
-
A Menu Recipe (or Batch Recipe) is attached to the product, attribute, or option the customer ordered.
- Go to Management > Stock Control > Menu Recipes, create the recipe, and list how much of each ingredient one sale uses.
- You can attach a recipe to the whole product, to a specific attribute (e.g. the "Large" size), or to an option value (e.g. "Extra cheese").
If either piece is missing, the sale completes normally but stock will not move for that ingredient. The order itself is not blocked — the customer is served and the till goes through — but the inventory count stays where it was.
Tip: Set up the recipe for one product first and place a test order. Check Management > Stock Control > Stock Adjustment before and after — the volume should drop by the recipe quantity. If it doesn't, recheck the two rules above before adding more recipes.
What about refunds?
Refunds do not automatically put stock back. This is intentional: most refunded items have already been prepared (cooked, plated, cup poured), so the ingredients can't go back on the shelf.
If you do need to restore stock for a refunded order — say a customer cancelled before anything was prepared — record a manual adjustment via Management > Stock Control > Stock Adjustment: type the amount you want to add back and pick Excess Stock or Returns as the reason.
Where to see what was deducted
On the Stock Adjustment page, click the row for any ingredient to open the history panel. It lists every change to that ingredient's volume in date order:
- Order — automatic deductions from a sale.
- Stock Take — counts you entered manually.
- Wastage, Shrinkage, Transfer in, Transfer out, Excess Stock, Returns, Purchases — manual adjustments with a reason.
If you've placed a test order but the Order row doesn't show up here, that's your signal that the deduction never happened — most often because Track stock is off on the ingredient, or no recipe is attached to the product.
Quick troubleshooting
| Symptom | Most likely cause |
|---|---|
| Sale happens, stock unchanged, no row in history | No Menu Recipe on the product — add one in Management > Stock Control > Menu Recipes. |
| Sale happens, no history row, recipe exists | Track stock is off on the ingredient — turn it on in Management > Stock Control > Ingredients. |
| Sale happens, recipe exists, Track stock on, still no row | Contact support — there may be a stock-balance failure that needs investigating. |