Purchasing, rate contracts and vendors
Buy for your stores with purchase requests, approval above a value, orders at the prices of your rate contracts and receipts checked at the gate. Vendor bills that do not match the order and the receipt cannot be posted, and vendors with an expired food licence cannot be ordered from.
PLANSScale only
The problem it solves
- The vegetable vendor charges more than the rate you agreed, and nobody checks the bill against it.
- Half the tomatoes came in rotten, but the bill was paid for the full quantity.
- A vendor's FSSAI licence ran out three months ago and nobody noticed.
- The cook phones the vendor directly, and the store finds out when the goods arrive.
How it works
- The storekeeper or kitchen manager raises a purchase request under Food Service > Purchase > Purchase Requests. Give Deliver to (the store), Needed on and the items. It can also come from an indent the main store cannot fill.
- Each line takes an Estimated Price from the cheapest active rate contract, or else the item's cost. Click Submit.
- A request up to 5000 is approved at once. Above that it waits for a purchase officer or a Food Administrator, on the web or in the SmartMy Feast Manager app.
- The purchase officer makes the order under Purchase Orders with Deliver to Store. Rate contract prices fill in. An order to a vendor who is not approved for an item, or whose food licence has expired, is refused.
- When the goods arrive, the storekeeper receives them on the Store app. They mark Accepted and Rejected per line, a reason for what is rejected, the batch and the use-by date.
- The vendor's bill is checked against the order and the receipt. A bill for more than was received, or priced above the order, cannot be posted.
Everything it does
Purchase requests
- Deliver to (a store), Needed on, items with Quantity and Estimated Price, Estimated Total
- States: Draft, To Approve, Approved, Quotations, Ordered, Cancelled
- From an indent: Request Purchase for Shortfall asks for what the source store cannot give, delivered to it
- A submitted request cannot be cancelled by the person who asked; an approver refuses it
- Approved or refused in the SmartMy Feast Manager app too
Orders and receipts
- Purchase orders with Deliver to Store: goods are received into that store
- Rate contract price set on the order line for that vendor's items
- Approved Vendors per item: an order for the item to anyone else is refused; empty means any vendor
- An order to a vendor whose food licence has expired is refused
- Receipt check on the Store app: Accepted, Rejected and the reason. Reasons are Poor quality, Damaged, Expired / too close to expiry, Wrong item, Temperature and Other. Also batch and use-by date
- A short delivery is closed, not kept open for later
- Receipt Checks lists every checked line by vendor and item, with who checked
Vendor bills
- Billed quantity above the received quantity: the bill cannot be posted
- Price above the order price by more than the Bill Price Tolerance (%): the bill cannot be posted
- The bill shows the problems found; correct it and post
Rate contracts and market rates
- Rate contract: name, vendor, Date From, Date To and a price per item; Activate and Close
- When several contracts are active, the cheapest price of the day is used
- Market Rates: one rate per item and day, with its source (market, mandi, website)
- Quick Purchases for perishables: vendor, store, items, quantity, price, batch and use-by; Received makes the order, the receipt and a draft bill in one step
- A quick purchase priced above the day's market rate by more than the Market Rate Tolerance (%) is flagged
Vendors
- Food Licence (FSSAI) number and Licence Valid until on the vendor
- Reminders 30 and 7 days before the licence ends, and the day after
- Reports: Purchase Prices and Purchases by Vendor
- Several Entities: one Entity can buy for the others and send each its share (see Several entities)
Who uses it
StorekeeperRaises purchase requests, receives deliveries with the check, makes quick purchases.
Kitchen Manager / ChefRaises purchase requests for the kitchen store.
Purchase OfficerApproves requests above the limit, orders, keeps rate contracts and market rates.
Food AdministratorApproves requests, sets the tolerances and the chain.
AccountsPosts vendor bills once they match.
Where you use it
- Web: Food Service > Purchase > Purchase Requests, Purchase Orders, Quick Purchases, Receipt Checks, Market Rates, Rate Contracts. Food Service > Reports > Stock and Purchase > Purchase Prices and Purchases by Vendor
- The SmartMy Feast Store app: Receive a delivery with accepted, rejected, batch and use-by; built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- The SmartMy Feast Manager app: purchase requests waiting for a decision, approved or refused; built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not built: a button that turns a request into quotations, or a screen that puts several vendors' quotations side by side. Make a quotation per vendor under Purchase Orders and confirm the one you choose
- Not built: a vendor score on a screen; judge vendors from Receipt Checks, Purchase Prices and Purchases by Vendor
- Not built: the accepted and rejected check on a receipt done in the back office; it is on the Store app
What you control
Settings
- Purchase request chain: approved at once up to an Estimated Total of 5000, then purchase officers and Food Administrators
- Bill Price Tolerance (%): 0, per Entity
- Market Rate Tolerance (%): 5, per Entity
- Approved Vendors per item: empty (any vendor)
- Requester May Approve: on for the chain; switch it off so that nobody decides their own request
Approvals
- Purchase request: at once up to 5000, above that one level of purchase officers and Food Administrators; add levels or name people on the chain
Notifications
- Food: Purchase Request to Approve: to the people who decide the level, in the app and by email. App push once the apps are in the stores. Sent at once
- Food Purchase Order Overdue: once, to the purchase officers (else the Food Administrators). It goes when an order is not fully received a day after its planned date. Same channels
- Vendor Food Licence Expiring: to the purchase officers (else the Food Administrators), in the app and by email
- Each person can switch off a channel, such as email, for themselves; in-app notices always arrive
Questions
Can we stop the vendor billing above the agreed rate?
Yes. With a rate contract the order takes the agreed price, and a bill priced above the order cannot be posted. Set a Bill Price Tolerance (%) if you allow a small difference.What happens to goods rejected at the gate?
On the Store app the storekeeper types what was accepted and what was rejected, with a reason. Only accepted goods enter the store, and a bill for more than was received cannot be posted.Can we buy vegetables every morning without a full purchase order?
Yes. A quick purchase records the vendor, items, quantities and prices. Received makes the order, the receipt and a draft bill at once, and flags prices above the day's market rate.Does the system compare quotations from three vendors?
Not on a screen. Make a quotation per vendor under Purchase Orders, compare them there, confirm the one you choose and cancel the others.Will we know before a vendor's FSSAI licence runs out?
Yes. Purchase officers are told 30 days and 7 days before, and the day after. Once it has expired, an order to that vendor is refused.Related features
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.STORES AND PURCHASEStore issues, stock counts and wastageThe kitchen asks the main store for what it needs with an indent, the store approves and issues it, and every movement is recorded. Stock counts show what is really there, and wastage is written off with a reason, with an approval when the value is large.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.PORTAL AND APPSManager app with alertsSmartMy Feast Manager puts the mess or canteen on the manager's phone. It shows today's and tomorrow's meals with the forecast, prepared against served with the reasons, and money and food cost. Also ratings, approvals and the week's menu. Its screens sit in the Menu under the same areas as the web.ACROSS SMARTMY FEASTApproval chainsDecide who approves what in your canteen. It may be a void or discount at the counter, a guest meal or a promotion. Or an indent, a purchase request, a stock count difference or wastage. Each kind has its own chain per Entity, with levels and amounts, and small requests can go through at once.ACCOUNTING AND REPORTSFood service dashboard and outlet scorecardsOpen Food Service and see the day's sales, bills and reversed bills at once, in every plan. On Scale a nightly scorecard per Entity adds food cost %, waste, stock value, items to reorder and what you owe customers. It has charts per outlet and analyses of stock, purchase, production and discounts.
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.