Preferred Vendors

Each ingredient can have multiple vendors, but one is marked as preferred. The preferred vendor's price is used for all cost calculations.

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Why Preferred Vendors Matter

Preferred Vendor Price → Ingredient Cost → Recipe Cost → Menu Pricing

When you set a preferred vendor:

• That vendor's unit cost becomes the ingredient cost
• All recipes using the ingredient recalculate
• Menu item costs update automatically

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Setting a Preferred Vendor

From the Ingredient Page

1. Open the ingredient
2. Find the Vendors section
3. Click the star (★) next to the vendor you want
4. The star fills in and that vendor becomes preferred

From the Vendor Item

1. Open the vendor item
2. Click Set as Preferred
3. Confirm if prompted

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How Preferred Selection Works

First Vendor Added

When you add the first vendor to an ingredient:

• It's automatically set as preferred
• The ingredient gets its cost from this vendor

Switching Preferred Vendors

When you change the preferred vendor:

What Changes	How
Ingredient cost	Updates to new vendor's unit cost
Recipe costs	Recalculate with new ingredient cost
Menu item costs	Update based on new recipe costs
Cost reports	Reflect current costs

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Comparing Vendors

Use the ingredient's vendor list to compare before selecting:

Vendor	Package	Price	Unit Cost
★ Sysco	50lb bag	$24.99	$0.50/lb
US Foods	25lb bag	$13.50	$0.54/lb
Rest. Depot	50lb bag	$22.99	$0.46/lb

In this example:

• Sysco is currently preferred ($0.50/lb)
• Restaurant Depot has the lowest unit cost ($0.46/lb)
• Switching to Restaurant Depot would lower recipe costs

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When to Change Preferred Vendors

Consider switching when:

Scenario	Action
Better price	Switch to lower-cost vendor
Quality issues	Switch to more reliable vendor
Vendor unavailable	Switch to backup vendor
New vendor onboarded	Evaluate if they should be preferred

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Bulk Preferred Vendor Changes

To change preferred vendors for multiple ingredients at once:

1. Go to Ingredients
2. Select the ingredients to update
3. Click Bulk Actions → Change Preferred Vendor
4. Select the vendor
5. Confirm

This is useful when:

• Switching primary suppliers
• Onboarding a new vendor for multiple products
• Responding to price changes

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Preferred Vendor Requirements

To be set as preferred, a vendor item must have:

Requirement	Why
Unit type set	Cost calculation needs unit information
Price entered	Can't calculate cost without a price
Active status	Inactive items can't be preferred

If you try to set a vendor as preferred without these, you'll see an error.

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No Preferred Vendor

If an ingredient has no preferred vendor:

• Ingredient cost shows as $0.00 or Missing
• Recipes using it show incomplete costs
• A warning appears on the ingredient

Fix: Set a Preferred

1. Add a vendor item with complete pricing
2. Set it as preferred
3. Costs calculate automatically

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Cost Calculation Example

Ingredient: All Purpose Flour
Preferred Vendor: Sysco, 50lb bag @ $24.99

Purchase Cost:     $24.99
Content:           50 lb
─────────────────────────
Unit Cost:         $0.50/lb

Recipe uses:       2 lb flour
Ingredient Cost:   2 × $0.50 = $1.00

If you switch to Restaurant Depot (50lb @ $22.99):

Unit Cost:         $0.46/lb

Recipe uses:       2 lb flour  
Ingredient Cost:   2 × $0.46 = $0.92
─────────────────────────
Savings:           $0.08 per recipe

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Common Questions

Q: Can I have multiple preferred vendors for one ingredient?
A: No. Only one vendor can be preferred at a time. The concept is "which vendor's price do we use for costing."

Q: What if my preferred vendor is out of stock?
A: You can still order from other vendors. The preferred designation only affects cost calculations, not ordering.

Q: Do I need to set preferred for every ingredient?
A: Yes, if you want accurate costs. Ingredients without a preferred vendor show zero or missing costs.

Q: How do I know which vendor is currently preferred?
A: The preferred vendor shows a filled star (★) in the vendor list.

Q: Can I see how costs would change before switching?
A: Yes. Compare unit costs in the vendor list. The difference times your usage shows potential savings.

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Next Steps

• Vendor Items — Add more vendors to compare
• Managing Ingredients — Complete ingredient setup
• Cost Reports — Analyze your costs