The vocabulary of running a venue.

The cost of the food and drink actually used to produce what was sold in a period. It is normally calculated as opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock, which is why it depends on accurate stock counts rather than purchase invoices alone.

In ForkestraForkestra derives cost of goods sold from counted stock and recorded deliveries, so the figure moves with what a venue really used rather than what it bought.

Revenue minus cost of goods sold, usually expressed as a percentage of revenue. Gross profit percentage is the headline margin measure in hospitality because it isolates product cost from rent, labour, and overheads.

Cost of goods sold for food divided by food revenue, expressed as a percentage. It is the inverse view of gross profit and is often tracked separately from beverage cost because the two behave differently.

Total staff cost for a period divided by revenue for the same period. Because it depends on hours actually worked rather than hours planned, it can only be measured accurately once real attendance is recorded.

In ForkestraRota planning in Forkestra shows labour cost against the plan, including roles, availability, sick days, and replacements.

The cash a menu item contributes after its own ingredient cost, calculated as selling price minus item cost. Ranking items by contribution margin rather than percentage margin shows which dishes actually pay the fixed costs.

A physical count of what is on hand at a point in time. Counts are what turn purchase records into a usable cost figure, because they close the gap between what was delivered and what remains.

In ForkestraCounts can be recorded on a phone during service and committed against the venue’s current stock position.

The difference between the stock a venue should hold based on recorded sales and recipes, and the stock it actually holds after a count. Persistent variance points to waste, over-pouring, portioning drift, theft, or recipe data that no longer matches the kitchen.

The target quantity of an item a venue wants on hand at the start of a period, set high enough to cover expected demand plus a safety buffer until the next delivery. Ordering to par is the simplest reordering rule in hospitality.

How long current stock will last at the current rate of use, usually expressed in days. It answers the ordering question directly: an item with two days of cover and a three-day lead time is already late.

The check performed when a supplier delivery arrives, comparing what was ordered against what physically turned up and what was invoiced. Discrepancies caught at intake are the cheapest ones to resolve.

In ForkestraIntake is handled on a phone at the delivery door and feeds the same stock position as counts and waste.

Stock that was bought but never sold, whether through spoilage, over-production, breakage, staff meals, or returned dishes. Recording waste by reason is what separates a supply problem from a preparation problem.

The elapsed time between placing a supplier order and receiving it. Lead time determines how far ahead ordering decisions must be made, and it is the reason a forecast is more useful than a current stock figure alone.

The practice of classifying menu items by popularity and contribution margin, then acting on each group — promoting high-margin favourites, repricing or reworking popular low-margin items, and removing items that are neither.

In ForkestraMenu optimisation in Forkestra works from recorded item sales and recipe costs rather than estimates.

The proportion of total sales made up by each item or category. Two venues with identical revenue and identical recipe costs can have very different margins purely because of mix.

The number of guests served in a period. Covers are the denominator behind spend per head, and they make demand comparable across days that had different opening hours.

Revenue divided by covers. Because it separates how many guests arrived from how much each one spent, it distinguishes a footfall problem from a pricing or upselling one.

Building the cost of a finished dish or drink from its ingredients, their purchase prices, and their yields after preparation. Recipe costing is the link that lets sales data say something about margin.

The usable proportion of an ingredient after trimming, cooking, or portioning. A recipe cost that ignores yield understates the true cost of every dish that uses the ingredient.

The system that records transactions at the counter or table. A POS is authoritative for what was sold, but it typically holds little of the surrounding context needed for margin, stock, labour, or production decisions.

In ForkestraForkestra is designed to run alongside a supported POS rather than replace it, so front-of-house keeps its existing checkout flow.

The trading day as an operator defines it, which usually does not end at midnight. A bar closing at 03:00 needs those sales attributed to the night that generated them, or every late-night comparison is wrong.

A batch of prepared items made ahead of service, such as stocks, sauces, doughs, or portioned components. Planning runs against forecast demand is what keeps prep from becoming either a shortage or tomorrow’s waste.

The published staff schedule for a period, assigning people to shifts and roles. A rota is a plan; the hours actually worked are a separate record, and the gap between them is where labour cost overruns appear.

The mapping of menu items to the regulated allergens they contain, derived from recipes and ingredient specifications. It has to be regenerated whenever a recipe or supplier product changes, which is why it is kept with recipe data rather than beside it.

A menu guests read on their own device, usually reached by QR code. Its operational value over a printed menu is that prices and availability can change without a reprint.

In ForkestraThe live menu stays synced with Forkestra prices and stock through the shift.