Kitchen Inventory and Purchasing
How to track kitchen ingredients and supplies, set par levels, monitor low stock alerts, and manage purchase orders with suppliers.
KitchenSync's inventory and purchasing tools keep your kitchen stocked and give you the visibility to order ahead of demand instead of scrambling when something runs out. This article covers how to manage your ingredient and supply inventory, configure par levels, and use purchase orders to coordinate with suppliers.
Kitchen Inventory
Kitchen inventory tracks the consumable items your kitchen uses — ingredients, beverages, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and anything else that needs regular restocking.
Adding inventory items
Navigate to KitchenSync → Inventory and click New Item.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Ingredient Name | The name of the item (e.g., "Chicken Breast," "Olive Oil," "Cocktail Napkins") |
| Category | Produce, Protein, Dairy, Dry Goods, Beverages, Spirits, Beer & Wine, Spices, or Other |
| Unit | The unit of measure for tracking quantity (lbs, gallons, cases, each, oz, etc.) |
| Quantity on Hand | Current stock level |
| Par Min | Minimum quantity you want to maintain at all times (triggers a low stock alert when reached) |
| Par Max | Ideal maximum quantity to order up to when restocking |
| Reorder Threshold | An alternative alert threshold — if set, alerts trigger at this level instead of par min |
| Supplier | The vendor you order this item from |
| Unit Cost | Cost per unit for expense tracking |
Understanding par levels
Par levels define your target inventory boundaries:
- Par Min — The floor. When quantity on hand reaches par min, the item turns amber in the Low Stock alert panel. Below 50% of par min, it turns red (critical).
- Par Max — The ceiling. When ordering, this tells your purchasing staff how much to bring you up to.
- Reorder Threshold — An optional override for the alert trigger. Use this if you want to be alerted earlier than par min (e.g., you want to reorder when you hit 20 lbs but par min is 10 lbs, to give yourself lead time).
Low stock alerts
Any item at or below its par min (or reorder threshold if set) appears in the Alerts panel on the KitchenSync Dashboard. Items are sorted by criticality — most depleted relative to par min first — so your most urgent restocking needs are always at the top.
The Low Stock stat card on the dashboard shows the total count of items needing attention. When this number is zero, the card displays "all inventory levels OK" in green.
Conducting inventory counts
To update quantities after a delivery or a physical count:
- Navigate to KitchenSync → Inventory
- Find the item (use the search bar or filter by category)
- Click its Qty on Hand figure directly in the table — no detail sheet to open
- Type the true count and press Enter
Counting a number down does not change Last Restocked; only an increase does. That column means "when stock last arrived", so a spoilage write-off or a recount will not make it look like a delivery turned up.
Do regular cycle counts (e.g., count proteins weekly, dry goods bi-weekly, beverages monthly) rather than waiting for a full physical inventory. This keeps your low stock alerts accurate and prevents surprise shortages.
An inventory item has no storage location and no notes field — the record is name, category, quantity, unit, thresholds, cost and supplier, and nothing else. Suppliers likewise have no account number. If you need any of those, they have to live in the name.
Bar Inventory
The Bar section of KitchenSync is a specialized inventory list for beverage and bar supplies. Navigate to KitchenSync → Bar to access bar-specific inventory.
Bar inventory works the same way as kitchen inventory — add items with par levels, track on-hand quantities, and let the system surface low stock alerts. Keeping bar and kitchen inventory separate makes it easier to split purchasing responsibilities between your kitchen manager and bar manager.
Suppliers
Suppliers are the vendors you order from. Adding suppliers to KitchenSync lets you link inventory items and purchase orders to their source.
Adding a supplier
Navigate to KitchenSync → Purchasing (or the Suppliers section within Purchasing) and click Add Supplier.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Supplier Name | The vendor's name (e.g., "Sysco," "Local Farm Co-op," "Wine Distributor") |
| Contact Name | Your account representative or main contact |
| Phone and Email | Contact details for placing orders |
| Delivery Days | Which days of the week they deliver |
| Min Order ($) | Their minimum order requirement |
| Notes | Special terms, lead times, seasonal notes |
Suppliers linked to inventory items appear in the item's detail view so your team always knows who to call for a specific item.
Purchase Orders
Purchase orders (POs) are formal requests to a supplier for a specific quantity of items. Creating POs in KitchenSync gives you a paper trail of what was ordered, from whom, and when delivery is expected.
Creating a purchase order
- Navigate to KitchenSync → Purchasing
- Click New Purchase Order
- Select a Supplier
- Set the Expected Delivery date
- Add line items:
- Item name (can reference your inventory items)
- Quantity ordered
- Unit
- Unit price
- Add any notes (special delivery instructions, substitution preferences)
- Set the PO status to Draft (to continue editing) or Submitted (to indicate you've sent it to the supplier)
PO statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Being prepared, not yet sent |
| Submitted | Sent to supplier, awaiting confirmation |
| Confirmed | Supplier has confirmed the order |
| Partial | Some lines arrived, some did not |
| Received | Every line arrived in full |
| Canceled | Abandoned |
Active POs (Submitted and Confirmed) appear in the Pending POs alert panel on the KitchenSync Dashboard so you always know what's incoming.
Receiving a delivery
When a delivery arrives:
- Open the PO in KitchenSync
- Enter what actually turned up, line by line — you can receive less than you ordered
- Confirm
Do not then go and add the same quantities to Inventory. Receiving does that for you: each line's received quantity is added to that ingredient's stock and its Last Restocked date is stamped, in the same action. Entering them again by hand double-counts the delivery.
The order's status follows what you entered — Received if every line came in full, Partial if any line came up short — so a short delivery stays visibly open instead of being closed off.
Keeping these steps in sync ensures your inventory counts stay accurate after every delivery.
Frequently asked questions
Can I generate a shopping list automatically from upcoming events? KitchenSync doesn't currently auto-generate shopping lists from recipes. However, the upcoming events timeline on the Dashboard and the recipe library together give you everything you need to manually calculate your needs for the week. Review your catering orders, check the assigned recipes, and create purchase orders accordingly.
What's the difference between Par Min and Reorder Threshold? Par Min is the absolute minimum you want on hand. Reorder Threshold is an optional earlier warning — use it when you need lead time to order. For example, if your supplier takes 3 days to deliver, set Reorder Threshold higher than Par Min so you get the alert while you still have enough stock to last through the delivery window.
Can multiple staff members update inventory counts simultaneously? Yes. Inventory updates save immediately. For cycle counts, coordinate with your team to avoid two people counting the same category at the same time — the last save wins, and concurrent edits aren't flagged.
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