Units of Measure

Units of measure define how you measure ingredients—by weight, volume, or count. PrepStation includes standard units and lets you create custom ones.

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Overview

Units are organized into four categories:

Category	Base Unit	Examples
Weight	gram (g)	kg, lb, oz, mg
Volume	milliliter (ml)	cup, tbsp, tsp, liter, gallon
Length	millimeter (mm)	inch, cm, meter
Count	each	piece, slice, dozen, case

PrepStation automatically converts between units in the same category when calculating costs.

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How Units Work

In Recipes

Use whatever units are natural for cooking:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 eggs

PrepStation converts these to vendor units for cost calculation.

In Vendor Items

Vendor items use packaging units:

Field	Purpose	Example
Package Unit	How it's sold	case, bag, box
Content Unit	What's inside	lb, kg, each
Content Quantity	Amount per package	50 (lb per bag)

Automatic Conversion

When you add "2 cups flour" to a recipe:

Recipe: 2 cups flour
    ↓ (convert cups → grams using standard conversion)
Weight: ~250g flour
    ↓ (convert grams → lb using vendor's unit)
Cost: 250g ÷ 453.6g/lb × $0.50/lb = $0.28

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Managing Units

Navigate to Settings → Units of Measure

Viewing Units

Units are grouped by category. Each unit shows:

• Name — Full unit name (e.g., "kilogram")
• Abbreviation — Short form (e.g., "kg")
• Conversion Factor — How it relates to the base unit
• Usage — How many vendor items use this unit

Adding a Custom Unit

1. Click New Unit
2. Select a Category (weight, volume, length, count)
3. Enter the Name (e.g., "bushel")
4. Enter the Abbreviation (e.g., "bu")
5. Set the Conversion Factor to the base unit
6. Click Create

Understanding Conversion Factors

The conversion factor tells PrepStation how many base units equal one of your custom units.

Category	Base Unit	Example Custom Unit	Conversion Factor
Weight	gram	pound (lb)	453.592 (1 lb = 453.592g)
Volume	milliliter	gallon (gal)	3785.41 (1 gal = 3785.41ml)
Count	each	dozen	12 (1 dozen = 12 each)

Example: Creating a "bushel" unit for volume:

• 1 bushel = 35,239.07 ml
• Conversion factor: 35239.07

Editing Units

1. Find the unit in the list
2. Click Edit
3. Update the fields
4. Click Save

Deleting Units

1. Find the unit
2. Click Delete
3. Confirm deletion

You cannot delete:

• System units (standard units like kg, lb, cup)
• Units currently in use by vendor items

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Standard Units

PrepStation includes common units out of the box:

Weight

Unit	Abbreviation	Conversion to gram
Gram	g	1
Kilogram	kg	1,000
Milligram	mg	0.001
Ounce	oz	28.3495
Pound	lb	453.592

Volume

Unit	Abbreviation	Conversion to ml
Milliliter	ml	1
Liter	L	1,000
Teaspoon	tsp	4.929
Tablespoon	tbsp	14.787
Cup	cup	236.588
Pint	pt	473.176
Quart	qt	946.353
Gallon	gal	3,785.41
Fluid Ounce	fl oz	29.5735

Count

Unit	Abbreviation	Conversion
Each	ea	1
Dozen	doz	12
Case	cs	varies
Piece	pc	1

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Cross-Category Conversions

Sometimes you need to convert between categories—like measuring flour by cups (volume) but buying it by pounds (weight).

Ingredient-Specific Conversions

For ingredients where volume and weight differ (flour vs. water vs. honey), you can set up ingredient-specific conversions:

1. Open the ingredient
2. Go to Conversions
3. Add a conversion (e.g., "1 cup = 125g" for flour)

This tells PrepStation the density of that specific ingredient.

Why This Matters

Ingredient	1 Cup Equals
Water	236g
All-purpose flour	125g
Honey	340g
Brown sugar	220g

Without ingredient-specific conversions, PrepStation can't accurately convert between volume and weight.

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Units in Vendor Items

When setting up vendor items, you specify two units:

Package Unit

How the vendor sells the product:

• Case
• Bag
• Box
• Pallet
• Each

Content Unit

What's inside each package:

• lb, kg (weight)
• gal, liter (volume)
• each, dozen (count)

Example: "50lb Bag of Flour"

• Package Unit: bag
• Package Quantity: 1
• Content Unit: lb
• Content Quantity: 50

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Tips for Unit Management

Keep It Simple

• Use standard units when possible
• Only create custom units when necessary
• Use consistent abbreviations

Verify Conversions

After adding custom units:

1. Create a test recipe
2. Check that costs calculate correctly
3. Verify unit conversions in the cost breakdown

Common Custom Units

Industry	Common Custom Units
Bakery	sheet, batch, dozen
Restaurant	portion, serving, plate
Catering	tray, pan, chafing dish
Beverage	keg, barrel, case

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Common Questions

Q: Why can't I delete a unit?
A: Either it's a system unit (standard units can't be deleted) or it's currently used by vendor items. Remove it from vendor items first.

Q: My costs are wrong after adding a custom unit. What happened?
A: Check the conversion factor. It should express how many base units (g, ml, or each) equal one of your custom units.

Q: Can I use different units in recipes vs. vendor items?
A: Yes! Use cooking-friendly units in recipes (cups, tbsp) and purchasing units in vendor items (lb, case). PrepStation converts automatically.

Q: What if my vendor uses a unit PrepStation doesn't have?
A: Create a custom unit with the correct conversion factor. For unusual packaging, use the count category.

Q: How do I convert between weight and volume?
A: Set up ingredient-specific conversions for each ingredient that needs cross-category conversion.

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Next Steps

• Managing Ingredients — Set up ingredients with units
• Vendor Items — Configure vendor packaging
• Creating Recipes — Use units in recipes