Central kitchen dispatch to outlets
One kitchen cooks for several outlets: each dispatch records what left, in which vehicle and at what temperature, and the outlet records what arrived. When the outlet belongs to another Entity of your group, the received food is billed between the two at cost plus your markup.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- The central kitchen sends 40 litres of sambar to the hostel mess, and only 35 reach the counter.
- Food leaves hot and arrives lukewarm, and there is no record of either temperature.
- The trust's school canteen and its college canteen are separate companies, and the kitchen's cost sits in one set of books.
- Accounts raise the inter-company bill by hand at month end, from a register.
How it works
- Under Food Service > Configuration > Places > Kitchens, set the kitchen's Kind to Central Kitchen. On each outlet it feeds, choose it as the Kitchen. Outlets of another Entity can be fed only by a central kitchen.
- Before the meal, the kitchen opens Food Service > Kitchen > Dispatches, clicks New and chooses the Outlet, the Date and the Session.
- It adds each item and the quantity Sent, the Vehicle, the number of Containers and the Temperature at Dispatch (°C), then clicks Dispatch. The dispatch is On the Way.
- Stocked items move from the kitchen store to the outlet store by themselves, with no approval.
- At the outlet, the Temperature on Arrival (°C) is filled in and the dispatch is marked Received, with who received it and when.
- If the outlet is in another Entity, an invoice is posted in the kitchen's Entity and a vendor bill in the outlet's Entity. Both are at cost plus the Central Kitchen Markup (%).
Everything it does
Kitchens and outlets
- Kitchen kinds: Central Kitchen and Local Kitchen; Local to start with
- A local kitchen feeds outlets of its own Entity; a central kitchen also feeds outlets of others
- A central kitchen and the outlets it feeds see each other across Entities
- A dispatch goes only to an outlet the kitchen feeds
The dispatch
- Kitchen, Outlet, Date, Session, Vehicle, Containers, Temperature at Dispatch and on Arrival (°C), note
- Items: Sent, Received, Damaged and Shortage (sent less received and damaged)
- States: Draft, On the Way, Received, Cancelled; only a draft can be cancelled
- Dispatched and received times, and who received it
- Stocked items: a transfer from the kitchen store to the outlet store, made on Dispatch, batches expiring first
- Received more than was sent is refused
Billing between Entities
- Price per item: the item's cost in the kitchen's Entity plus the Central Kitchen Markup (%)
- Billed: the quantity received times that price
- An invoice from the kitchen's Entity and a vendor bill in the outlet's Entity, both posted on receipt
- Accounts per Entity: Central Kitchen Sales Account and Central Kitchen Purchases Account
- Taxes per Entity: Taxes on Central Kitchen Invoices and Taxes on Central Kitchen Bills; empty means no tax
- The dispatch's Billing tab links the Kitchen Invoice and the Outlet Bill
- Within one Entity there is no billing; the stock simply moves
Cooking for the outlets
- The kitchen's production plan gathers the forecasts of every outlet it feeds
- Central purchase: one Entity can also buy raw materials for the group (see Several entities)
Who uses it
Kitchen Manager / ChefMakes and sends the dispatches of each meal.
Outlet supervisor or cashierRecords the temperature on arrival and marks the dispatch received.
StorekeeperSees stocked items move between the kitchen store and the outlet store.
AccountsSets the markup, accounts and taxes of each Entity and reads the inter-Entity invoices and bills.
Food AdministratorSets up the kitchens and which outlets they feed.
Where you use it
- Web: Food Service > Kitchen > Dispatches; Food Service > Configuration > Places > Kitchens and Outlets; the Entity's form, Central Kitchen group
- Not on the apps: dispatches are made and received in the back office
- Not in the screens yet: a dispatch filled in from the outlet's forecast; the items are typed
- Not built: an alert when the arrival temperature is out of range; temperatures are recorded
What you control
Settings
- Kitchen Kind: Local Kitchen to start with
- Central Kitchen Markup (%): 0, per Entity
- Central Kitchen Sales Account and Purchases Account: none until set
- Taxes on Central Kitchen Invoices and Bills: none until set
Questions
Can our central kitchen feed outlets of two different companies?
Yes. Set the kitchen as a Central Kitchen and choose it on each outlet. Outlets of another Entity can only be fed by a central kitchen.How is the food priced between the companies?
At the item's cost in the kitchen's Entity plus the Central Kitchen Markup (%). Only what the outlet received is billed.Is GST charged on the inter-company invoice?
You can set the Taxes on Central Kitchen Invoices on the kitchen's Entity. You can set the Taxes on Central Kitchen Bills on the outlet's Entity. If set, they are applied. Left empty, no tax is charged.Do we record shortage and damage on arrival?
The dispatch has Received and Damaged per item and works out the Shortage. Today the Received button in the back office records every item as received in full; we are fixing it so the quantities typed are kept.Does a dispatch move the stock as well?
Yes, for stocked items. On Dispatch they move from the kitchen store to the outlet store with no approval. Cooked dishes that are not stocked are recorded on the dispatch only.Related features
KITCHEN PRODUCTIONRecipes, forecasts and production plansWrite each dish as a recipe with its yield, preparation loss and cost. Each meal gets a forecast of how many will eat and what to cook. The kitchen's day becomes a production plan with the raw materials it needs. Any shortfall goes to the store in one click.PAYINGSeveral EntitiesRun the canteens of several colleges, schools or offices under one account, each as its own Entity with its own outlets, taxes and bill series. Customers, sessions and payment modes can be shared, and with Scale a central kitchen and central purchase serve them all.STORES AND PURCHASEStock per store with batches and use-by datesKeep the stock of your main store, kitchen store and outlet stores apart, with each batch and its use-by date. Stock that expires first goes out first, and each store asks for more by itself when an item falls below its reorder level.KITCHEN PRODUCTIONFood cost, leftovers and plate wasteRecord what was left after each meal and what became of it, and weigh the plate waste. Every night SmartMy Feast works out the cost per plate and food cost % of each outlet and meal. It sets what was cooked against who came, with the reasons in plain words.ACCOUNTING AND REPORTSDaily accounting entry for food serviceOnce a day SmartMy Feast posts one journal entry per Entity for everything the food service did. It covers money taken by mode, wallet and plan advances, revenue as meals are served. Also subsidy and complimentary meals by cost centre, taxes, and, if you choose, food cost and wastage.SET-UPOutlets, counters and meal sessionsSet up each mess, canteen, tuck shop or cafe as an outlet with its own counters, open days, meal sessions, selling methods and payment modes. Serving times and cut-offs can differ by outlet and by weekday.
See it with your own menu.
Tell us how many outlets you run and how people pay today. We will show you a day in your mess or canteen on SmartMy Feast.