If you are just getting started with Theoretical Usage reporting, you might find it helpful to see these articles first:
- Getting Started with Theoretical Usage Reporting
- Getting Started with Commissary Theoretical Usage Reporting
- How do I complete PMIX Mapping?
Article Contents
- Actual vs. Theoretical
- Viewing Theoretical Usage for A Product
- See the Detailed Calculations for A Product
- Viewing Theoretical Usage for a Commissary
Actual vs. Theoretical
Once you have at least two closed inventories in the system, you can start to view information on theoretical usage report. To do this, in the MarginEdge main menu, go to Performance > Theoretical Usage.
Once on the report, you will notice two tabs for Actual vs. Theoretical and Theoretical On-Hand. This article covers the Actual vs. Theoretical, see this article for more information on theoretical on-hand.
On the Actual vs. Theoretical tab, you will see the following filters at the top of the page:
The filter bar includes:
Date Range Filter: The starting date uses the date after the selected inventory and the ending date is the date of your selected closed inventory. You have the ability to toggle by specific count sheet
Category Type: Default is to view products for all category types, or you can select a specific category to view.
Different Value Threshold: You can use this toggle to look for variances over a set amount
Show Only mapped products: Default is to view all products, but you can also choose to view only those products that have been mapped using PMIX Mapping.
Show Only Inventoried products: If viewing "All Used Products", you will see all products that have been bought or sold regardless of whether inventoried. Select "Inventoried Products Only" to view only those products that appear on the starting or ending inventory or both.
(Conditional) Include Commissary Usage: If you operate a commissary, you have the option to view theoretical usage for just the restaurant or for the restaurant and commissary combined.
Viewing Theoretical Usage for A Product
By default, the page will show totals for each category of product. You can click the "+" on the left end of a row to expand the section and see individual products. Click the "+" to the left of the word "Categories" to expand all sections at once.
Once expanded, you'll see a display like the below:
For each row you can view:
Report By: the inventory unit associated with the product. It can be modified on the Edit Product page for the individual product.
Sold Units: how many of the specific product was sold based on all POS buttons mapped to the product.
Sold Revenue: the revenue corresponding to the Sold Units.
Used Units: a calculation of starting inventory, plus purchases, minus ending inventory.
Used Value: Used Units multiplied by the last purchase price for the product.
Difference Units: Used Units minus Sold Units. A negative number tells you more was used than theoretically should have been used.
Difference Value: the Difference Units times the last purchase price for the product.
Target Food Cost Percentage: the cost % that would have resulted from the Used Units = Sold Units. This is the theoretical and best possible cost %S.
Actual Food Cost Percentage: the cost % actually realized by dividing the Used Units by the Sold Revenue.
Wasted Units: this is the quantity of wasted units for this particular product / category
Wasted Value: this is the dollar value of your wasted units
Waste Percentage: we calculate this by taking your "Wasted Value" and dividing it by your "Used Value"
Are you seeing $0 in your revenue column? This article can get you back on the
right track: Missing Revenue in Theoretical Usage Report
See the Detailed Calculations for A Product
When you see a variance for a product you want to investigate further, click on a product row. This will present a new window with all the data that is combined for the theoretical usage calculations. This includes starting and ending inventory counts, purchase amounts, specific POS options selected, and purchase details.
Below is an example showing the detail behind the "Miller High Life 12oz" product from the above data grid.
- Unusually large variances: Sometimes a big variance can be a result of an inventory mistake, such as a bad count, or a product mixup where a count was entered for the wrong product.
- Positive Variances: The report may show a positive variance, meaning your actual usage is lower than the usage expected based on your sales. However, this is unlikely—you usually do not sell more product than you depleted—so it typically indicates missing or inaccurate data. A missing invoice is one of the most common causes because it understates your actual usage. Review the purchase details at the bottom of the page to confirm that all invoices have been processed.
Viewing Theoretical Usage for a Commissary
If you have a standalone commissary, see this article for more information on viewing and interpreting your report.
If your location operates as both a restaurant and a commissary, you can choose to view theoretical usage for the restaurant only or for the restaurant and commissary together.
By default, the report shows restaurant-only usage. When you send out prepped items through commissary orders, those items appear as negative Used Units, which removes them from restaurant usage.
For example, if you make tomato sauce and send it to another location, that transfer is deducted from your restaurant’s Used Units for tomato sauce.
To include commissary activity, toggle on "Include commissary usage". When enabled:
- Commissary transfers will no longer appear as negative Used Units.
- [me] breaks each ordered recipe into its individual ingredients and calculates how much of each ingredient you should have theoretically used. These amounts are reflected in the "Sold Units" column.
For example, if your tomato sauce recipe uses tomatoes, the tomato product will show both restaurant usage and the additional tomatoes needed to produce sauce for commissary orders.
Commissary usage is calculated from commissary orders and recipes, not POS data, so PMIX Mapping is not required for commissary calculations.