Most operators know their revenue day by day and estimate their costs at the end of the month. The gap in between is where profit quietly melts away. If revenue is rising while profit stands still, the problem is usually not in sales but on the plate.
Why can't cost be found by estimation?
The cost of a plate is not a single number. You buy the same ingredient at different prices in different weeks, packaging changes, and waste rates shift with the season. A handwritten ledger cannot follow these movements; even if it could, it would not match sales. In the end, the price on the menu ends up being set against the cost of six months ago.
The recipe: the single source of truth for cost
The right method is to derive cost from sales. You define a recipe for every menu item: which ingredient goes in and how much, and what is added when a given option is selected. When the bill is closed, the ingredients are deducted automatically and the cost of that sale is recorded. Cost is then no longer an estimate remembered at the end of the month, but data written into every receipt.
In Genu, this deduction runs through every channel, including dine-in, takeaway, delivery and counter sales. The packaging used for takeaway is also part of the recipe, because it is a cost too.
Why does the moving average matter?
Last week you bought an ingredient at 80 lira, this week at 95 lira. The stock you hold is a mix of both. The moving average cost recalculates the average with every goods receipt and prices each sale at the real cost of that moment. That is the figure to look at when you update menu prices.
Waste, stock counts and the difference in between
Theoretical stock never matches the stock on the shelf exactly. What matters is knowing how big the difference is and where it comes from. A stock count sheet compares expected against counted and gives the difference both in units and in lira. Waste is recorded with a reason: spoiled, spilled, served on the house, or used for a staff meal. Without this distinction, every loss becomes "unknown" and no one takes responsibility.
Which item actually earns?
Once cost is clear, menu engineering becomes possible. Items that sell a lot but earn little separate from items that sell less but carry a high margin. Their place on the menu, their photo and their price change based on this information. You base the decision not on a hunch, but on the gross profit margin of each item.
When stock runs out, the menu closes itself
A recipe-based system also has an everyday benefit: an item whose ingredients have run out automatically switches to sold out on the menu. The guest cannot order it, the waiter does not have to apologize, and the kitchen does not receive a ticket for nothing. When goods are received, the item reopens on its own.
Where to start?
Don't try to put recipes on the whole menu in one day. Start with your twenty best-selling items; most of your revenue is already there. Define stock cards with unit and supplier information, enter critical levels, and do your first stock count. A week later, you will have figures instead of estimates.
In Genu, the stock module is off by default; you switch it on with a single tap when you are ready, and if you are not, you never see it.