This article covers the following topics:
- How to Add, Edit or Remove a Count Sheet
- Organizing methods for Count Sheets
- Adding New Products to Count Sheets Automatically
- Setting up the Count Sheets
Overview
In [me], "Count Sheets" are the customized lists of products/recipes you will use when counting your inventory. To view your count sheets, organize them or add/remove them, click on Inventory > Count Sheets.
By default, two count sheets are created for you, called "Food Inventory" and "Bar Inventory" (you are welcome to change the names.) These two may be enough for you, and if so, no need to create any more.
If desired, you can separate your inventory into a few different count sheets, such as Front of House and Back of House. You might also create count sheets with smaller sets of products used for daily or weekly or "spot" inventories. You could add a count sheet for weekly protein counts and do your full inventory on the default count sheet. Or you could rename the "Food Inventory" count sheet as "Kitchen Inventory", remove all the stored products, and then create a second count sheet "Storage Inventory". Each count sheet lets you specify which types of products, if any, you want added to that count sheet when a new product is bought. More on this below.
When using a count sheet, if a Product is counted on one of these count sheet's inventories but not accounted for in the other, it will be reported as having a count of zero on the date when an entry is missing. Because of this, creating and using the appropriate [me] Count Sheets will allow you to maintain accurate reporting.
Setting Up Count Sheets Video Walk Through
How to Add, Edit or Remove a Count Sheet
- To add a new count sheet, click the "+ Add a Count Sheet" button (shown in the image below). You can then name it, choose how it will be organized and add products/recipes to it.
- To edit a count sheet, select it by clicking on it,
On the Edit Count Sheet page you can re-name it, add or remove products, and if in "sheet to shelf" mode, add/edit/delete sections as well.
- To remove a count sheet, select the count sheet by clicking on it, then scroll all the way down and look to the bottom right of the page. Here you will see two options: "Delete" and "Deactivate".
- Deactivate will preserve all previous inventories that were taken using this count sheet, but will prevent new counts from happening. It removes it from the dropdown menu you access when it's time to add a new count.
- Delete will fully delete the count sheet. This can only be done if there have been no closed inventories taken using this count sheet.
Organizing Methods for Count Sheets
For each count sheet, you can choose to organize by one of two methods:
"Auto by Category" - In this mode, any products you add will be automatically put into sections based on Categories and sorted alphabetically within each section. (Categories are used for reporting and accounting purposes and are typically things like Food, Beer, Wine, etc., or even more detailed groupings like Meat, Produce, Seafood, Dairy, etc.)
"Sheet to Shelf" - With "Sheet to Shelf", you have complete control over how to organize your sheet. You can create and name your own sections and organize your products in sections however you'd like. Usually, this mode is selected by those wanting to organize count sheets to match physical locations within the restaurant (e.g., Walk-In, Front Bar, Liquor Room, etc.) This method gives you more control but also takes more work to maintain.
Adding New Products to Count Sheets Automatically
You buy new products all the time. New ingredients, a new beer or liquor, a new wine. Having to add them all to count sheets one by one can be a pain. So, we've created a way to have all new products automatically put on one or more count sheets for you
At the top of the Edit Count Sheet screen, you can specify that new products of certain types be added to the count sheet automatically. The choices are made with the five checkboxes as shown below:
If you have a single count sheet for your full inventory, you will likely check each box - every time you buy a new product that would typically be inventoried, it will be put on this count sheet. What does it mean to check "Other"? It doesn't mean everything you buy will end up on the Inventory. It just means when something in an "other" category is flagged to be inventoried, we'll automatically put it on this count sheet.
Where do the new products go on the count sheet?
Depends how you organize your count sheet:
If your count sheet is in auto-mode ("Auto by Category"), MarginEdge knows where to put new products: new products will be automatically placed in the section corresponding with its Category. If you have a Dairy Category, when you buy a new type of butter, it will be placed in Dairy and put in alphabetical order.
If your count sheet is in "Sheet to Shelf" mode, then MarginEdge won't know where to put new products. So, they will all be placed in a section called "New Products". You can move them from there to any section(s) of your choosing.
Setting up the Count Sheets
How you setup your count sheet depends on the method of organization.
Setup a count sheet using "Auto by Category"
To setup a count sheet, you can add products/recipes, and they will be put into sections based on Categories. To do this, use the "+Add Product" and "+Add Recipe" buttons.
Using "+Add Product", you can add products one at a time, or if adding products from a category for the first time, you can add all the products from that category at once.
When adding one product, simply start typing part of the name in the Product drop-down list, and it will filter as you type. Below, the word 'cake' was typed, and the list filters to show all products with the letters 'cake' in them.
Select the product from the dropdown list and click Save.
As shown in the image below, once you select the product; it will automatically be placed in the section named for its category.
The following is an example of adding all products in a category.
When initially setting up a count sheet, you can add all products in a category at once. This can be done for any category not currently on the count sheet. So, for example, if there are no "Fish" products on the count sheet, you can quickly add all "Fish" products in one quick step. Below is an example of adding all products in a category. Note that the category dropdown shows all categories in ME, however if any product from the category is already in use on the count sheet then "(on Inventory)" is displayed and it cannot be selected.
To remove any products from the count sheet, click the red delete button on the right side of any row (shown in the image below). This will remove the product from the one count sheet you are working with but not any others where the product appears.
Important: Be sure to click "Save" after making changes to your count sheet.
Setup a count sheet using "Sheet to Shelf"
To setup a count sheet in "sheet to shelf" mode, you can create sections, add products/recipes to sections, and re-order your products/recipes within sections. You can have the same product in multiple sections, since you might have the same food or liquor product in more than one location of your restaurant.
To setup your sheet, you'll use the "+Add Section", "+Add Product" and "+Add Recipe" buttons.
Creating Sections
To create a section, use the "+Add Section" button.
You will be redirected to ‘Add new section to count sheet’. As shown in the image below, type section name and click save.
A new section is empty, and you will have to choose products for that section.
Once you create a section, you will see the blue and red buttons to the left of each section name as shown below.
You can do these things to a section:
- Edit the name: simply type in the box with the section name to edit it.
- Re-order sections: move the section up or down using the arrow buttons.
- Alphabetize products: at any time, you can sort the products in the section alphabetically by clicking the button with AZ shown. This is particularly helpful once you have moved products into a section, allowing you to quickly resort in alpha order.
- Remove it: click the red button to delete an entire section.
You can also create a new section using the "Add all Products in a Category" option (see below.) This creates a new section that uses the name of a category (such as Dairy, Meat, Beer, etc.)
Adding and Organizing Products
Once you have created a section, you can use the "+Add Product" button to:
- add products one at a time, or
- add all the products from a category at once, creating a new section of that name
Add products one at a time
To add products, click ‘Add Products and you will be redirected to ‘Add Product to Count Sheet’ screen.
On the Add Product to Count Sheet’ screen, select the option "Add one Product".
Then, simply start typing part of the name in the Product drop-down list, and it will filter as you type. Once you select the product, you must also specify which section that product should go in. (You can add a product to a section even if it's already in a different section on the count sheet - example, you may have the same beers at a bar and in a storeroom, etc.)
Click Save once you have selected product and section.
Once a product is on the count sheet, you'll see a number of buttons on the right side of each row, as shown below. Using these buttons you can do these things to products:
- Re-order: move products up or down using the arrow buttons OR you can simply click anywhere on the row and drag a product down or up to a new location.
- Change section: click on the crossed arrows button to move the product to a new section.
- Remove it: use the red button to remove the product from the section.
Add all products in a category at once.
This can be done for any category not currently on the count sheet. So, for example, if there are no "Fish" products on the count sheet, you can quickly add all "Fish" products in one quick step. Below is an example of adding all products in a category. Note that the category dropdown shows all categories in ME, however if any product from the category is already in use on the count sheet then "(on Inventory)" is displayed and it cannot be selected.
If you are a Restaurant Admin, you can also click on the product name or the count by unit to do more setup, including changing the product name or changing the unit you count by.