Sale formats: one preparation, several prices

What is a sale format?

It is each way you sell a final preparation, with its own price. The same lasagne can go out as a portion in the dining room, as a GN tray for a catering client, or in bulk by the kilo. There is one costing; the formats hang under it and each carries its own price.

There are seven formats: Plate (portion), To share, GN tray, Platter, Beverage, Piece and Bulk.

They are optional. If you only cook the preparation and don’t sell it as is, leave the section empty.

How do I create and edit formats?

1. Go to Final preparations and open the sheet, or click «New final preparation». For an existing one, use «Edit».
2. Scroll down to the «Sale formats & prices» section.
3. Click «Add format» and pick the type under «Format».
4. Type the «Price» in your currency. If you’d rather have Miselup suggest it, leave the price empty and fill in «Target %» (explained below).
5. Optionally add a «Label (optional)» with your own name, such as «GN tray 1/1» or «Glass». Up to 80 characters.
6. To remove a format, use the bin icon («Remove format»).
7. Save with «Save final preparation». Formats are saved together with the sheet.

You can have one format of each type: if you repeat one, Miselup doesn’t save the preparation and warns you: «Don’t repeat the same format type: keep only one of each (plate, tray…).» The price must be above zero; an empty or invalid value is saved as no fixed price.

What is the main format?

The one you mark with the star («Set as main format»). There is always exactly one. If you don’t mark any, Miselup takes the first in the list. If you delete the main one, the star moves to the first format left. On the sheet it shows with the «main» badge.

Why do tray, platter and bulk ask for «Yield»?

Because they are sold by weight or volume, not by the unit, and Miselup needs to know how much of the preparation goes into that format. GN tray, Platter and Bulk show two required fields: «Yield *» (quantity) and «Unit *» (g, kg, ml, l or ud). For example, a tray that yields 3000 g.

Without quantity and unit it can’t be saved. The editor reminds you in red: «Yield is missing (quantity and unit): it’s required for trays, platters and bulk; without it this format can’t be saved.» While it’s missing, the preparation isn’t saved.

Per-unit formats (Plate, To share, Beverage, Piece) don’t need «Yield».

What is «Total yield» for?

It is the total quantity the recipe’s batch produces, in the data area of the sheet («Total yield» plus its «Unit»). It is optional, but mass formats can’t be costed without it. With it, Miselup splits the batch cost:

format cost = (batch total cost ÷ total yield) × what the format yields

If the batch yields 6 kg and costs €30, a tray that yields 3 kg costs €15. Miselup converts units for you (g to kg, for instance). If they aren’t compatible, such as grams against litres, you get: «The yield unit isn’t compatible with the recipe’s total yield unit.»

What margin and cost do I see on each format?

Under each format, once there is a price and a cost, a line shows three figures:

• «Real margin»: what is left of the price after the cost.
• «Food cost»: the cost against the price, green up to 30%, amber up to 40% and red above that. It is calculated on the product cost: consumables and disposables don’t count as raw material.
• «cost/serving» on per-unit formats, or «format cost» on mass ones.

On tray, platter and bulk, if something is missing, the editor tells you what: «Add the price to see this format’s margin» or «Set the recipe’s “Total yield” (above) to see this format’s margin.»

This margin covers raw materials only. It leaves out staff, rent and other fixed costs. For the formulas, see Food cost and margin.

What is the difference between a «Fixed» and a «Suggested» price?

On the preparation’s sheet, the «Sale formats» section lists each format with its price and a badge:

• «Fixed»: the price you typed.
• «Suggested»: you left the price empty and Miselup works it out from the cost and a target margin: cost ÷ (1 − margin). It uses the format’s «Target %» (0 to 95%); if it has none, it uses the preparation’s own «Target margin». If that margin is 0, no price is shown.

The «Target %» field only appears on per-unit formats. For tray, platter and bulk, the suggested price starts from the preparation’s target margin. A margin outside 0–95% is ignored on save.

Next to each format you also see its yield, and in the sheet header the batch’s total yield («yield 6 kg», for instance).

Where else do formats matter?

• Agreed prices per client: when you set a client’s price you choose the «Sale format», and the price is tied to that format. See Clients and agreed prices.
• Sales orders: when you add a line you pick a format, and the starting price is the client’s agreed price if there is one; otherwise the format’s price (fixed or suggested). See Sales orders and delivery.
• Production orders: when you generate production from an order, Miselup converts the format sold into the recipe’s production unit. For tray, platter and bulk the recipe needs a «Total yield» and the format’s unit must be convertible. It is covered in Production orders.

FAQ and edge cases

Does scaling servings change my formats? No. Scaling is screen only and doesn’t touch saved formats. See Scaling servings.

Can I have two trays of different sizes? Not as two formats of the same type, since only one per type is allowed. Use a different type, for example GN tray and Platter, and give each its own label.

My mass format shows no margin. Check three things: the recipe has a «Total yield», the format’s unit is compatible with it, and you have entered a price.

What if I leave the format’s price empty? It is saved anyway and the sheet shows a «Suggested» price using the format’s «Target %» or, failing that, the preparation’s «Target margin» (65% unless you changed it). It only has no price if that margin is 0 or, for tray, platter and bulk, if «Total yield» is missing or the unit isn’t compatible.