Vendor Items

Vendor items are the specific products each vendor sells. Link them to your ingredients to track pricing and enable cost calculations.

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What Is a Vendor Item?

A vendor item represents one product from one vendor:

Vendor Item	Linked Ingredient
Sysco All Purpose Flour 50lb Bag	All Purpose Flour
US Foods AP Flour 25lb	All Purpose Flour
Restaurant Depot Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1gal	Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Each vendor item has:

• Product name — How the vendor calls it
• SKU — Vendor's item code
• Pricing — What you pay
• Packaging — Package size and contents

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Adding Vendor Items

From an Ingredient

1. Open an ingredient
2. Scroll to Vendors section
3. Click Add Vendor
4. Select the vendor
5. Enter product details
6. Click Save

From a Vendor

1. Open a vendor
2. Click Add Item
3. Search for and select the ingredient
4. Enter product details
5. Click Save

From Invoice Processing

When you process an invoice with new items:

1. Match the item to an ingredient
2. The vendor item is created automatically
3. Future invoices auto-match using the SKU

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Vendor Item Fields

Product Identification

Field	Description	Example
Item Name	Vendor's product name	"All Purpose Flour 50lb"
Vendor SKU	Vendor's item code	"1234567"
Notes	Additional information	"Unbleached, organic"

Pricing

Field	Description	Example
Purchase Cost	Price per package	$24.99
Package Quantity	Units per package	1
Package Unit	Package unit type	bag
Content Quantity	Amount in package	50
Content Unit	Content unit type	lb

Example: Understanding Packaging

For a 50lb bag of flour at $24.99:

Purchase Cost:     $24.99
Package Quantity:  1 bag
Content Quantity:  50 lb
─────────────────────────
Cost per lb:       $0.50

Ordering Settings

Field	Description
Minimum Order Quantity	Minimum you must order
Lead Time Days	Override vendor's default lead time
Default Storage Location	Where to store when received

Status

Field	Description
Active	Currently available for ordering
Preferred	Used for ingredient cost calculation

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Catch Weight Items

Some products are priced by weight but counted by piece:

Example: Chicken breasts

• Ordered by the case (6 pieces)
• Priced by the pound
• Each case weighs approximately 15 lbs

For catch weight items:

Field	Value
Catch Weight	Enabled
Estimated Weight per Unit	2.5 lb (per piece)

This helps estimate costs before you know the exact weight.

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Viewing Vendor Items

Vendor cards show the number of ingredients each vendor supplies:

View ingredients from a vendor:

On an Ingredient

The ingredient page shows all vendors supplying that item:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ All Purpose Flour                                   │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ VENDORS                                             │
│                                                     │
│ ★ 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    │
│                                                     │
│ ★ = Preferred vendor                                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

On a Vendor

The vendor page shows all items from that supplier:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Sysco                                               │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ ITEMS SUPPLIED                                      │
│                                                     │
│ All Purpose Flour     50lb    $24.99    ★ Preferred │
│ Kosher Salt          3lb     $12.50                │
│ Olive Oil            1gal    $45.00    ★ Preferred │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Editing Vendor Items

1. Find the vendor item (from ingredient or vendor page)
2. Click to open
3. Update fields
4. Click Save

Updating Prices

When prices change:

Method	When to Use
Process an invoice	Prices update automatically
Edit vendor item	Manual price updates
Import prices	Bulk updates from spreadsheet

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Orphaned Vendor Items

Sometimes you have vendor items not linked to an ingredient:

• Created during invoice processing before the ingredient existed
• Imported without ingredient match
• Items you don't track as ingredients (supplies, equipment)

Linking Orphaned Items

1. Open the vendor item
2. Click Link to Ingredient
3. Search for and select the ingredient
4. Click Save

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Deactivating Vendor Items

No longer ordering a product from this vendor?

1. Open the vendor item
2. Click Deactivate
3. The item won't appear in ordering but history is preserved

To reactivate: Open the item and click Activate

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Common Questions

Q: Can one ingredient have items from multiple vendors?
A: Yes. Add as many vendor items as you have suppliers. Set one as preferred for costing.

Q: What if the same product comes in different sizes?
A: Create separate vendor items for each size (50lb bag vs 25lb bag).

Q: How do I compare vendor prices?
A: View the ingredient's vendor list—it shows unit cost for easy comparison.

Q: What happens to cost history when I change prices?
A: Each price change is recorded. You can view price history on the ingredient.

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Next Steps

• Preferred Vendors — Set which vendor's price to use
• Invoice Scanning — Auto-update prices from invoices
• Managing Ingredients — Ingredient setup