If you have more than one restaurant with MarginEdge, then you most likely have a shared database of Products and Recipes. So by default, a recipe you create will be shared across all units in your Concept.
If you wish to restrict a recipe so that it is only viewable at some of your restaurant units, you can follow the instructions below to do so.
PROTIP: It's best to think about this as you are creating your recipes so that it's set up correctly from the beginning. Fixing it later can be cumbersome.
What's in this Article
- Prep vs. Menu Recipes - Plan Carefully
- Definitions
- Deep Dive on Recipe Restrictions - Video
- Step by Step Instructions
- Troubleshooting - But what if it won't let me check the box?
- Recipe Restriction Permissions Matrix
Prep vs. Menu Recipes - Plan Carefully
Take note of how Prep recipes interact with Menu recipes. If you want to restrict Prep recipes, we recommend you always start by restricting the Menu recipes FIRST. Work backwards from there - find all Menu recipes you want to restrict and then go through and restrict the associated Prep recipes. Otherwise you may end up with conflicting permissions and not get the desired results.
A recipe that is used as an ingredient in another recipe must be available in all of the locations it’s used in. For example, if “Spicy Mayo” is restricted to Unit A then the “Spicy Tuna Roll” recipe - which contains “Spicy Mayo” as an ingredient - cannot be viewed in Unit B.
If you have a Prep recipe (like Spicy Mayo) that is used in different recipes, some of which you may not want to restrict, you may end up needing to make a copy of the Prep recipe so that you can achieve the different restriction levels.
Definitions
This checkbox defines whether a recipe is global or restricted:
Unchecked → The recipe is Global.
Checked → The recipe is Restricted.
How do I choose the units?
When checked, you can choose which restaurants can access the recipe via a searchable list.
- You will only be able to select a unit in which you have the correct permissions (i.e. Sous Chef, Restaurant Admin, MarginEdge Admin)
- Units that are not accessible to a particular user will show as disabled.
- Choose "Select All" to grant access to all current restaurants shown in the list.
- A recipe that is restricted to all units in the Concept is not the same as the recipe being "Global". A global recipe will automatically be shared with any new units that get added later, but a recipe that was restricted before this new unit exiested will not inherit any viewing permissions.
When can a recipe NOT be restricted?
-
If it appears on a count sheet for that unit
- If the recipe is on the unit’s count sheet for inventory purposes, you will not be able to restrict it.
-
If it is used as an ingredient in a recipe shared with other units
- If the recipe is used as an ingredient in another recipe that is available in another unit, then it cannot be restricted from that unit.
In other words: if Recipe A is an ingredient in Recipe B that is shared with Unit 1, then Recipe A must also be available in Unit 1.
- If the recipe is used as an ingredient in another recipe that is available in another unit, then it cannot be restricted from that unit.
-
If it is PMIX-mapped for that unit
- If you have PMIX mapping linked to a recipe in a given unit then that recipe cannot be restricted from that unit. It must be unmapped first.
Deep Dive on Recipe Restrictions
1. Find the recipe you want by clicking into the appropriate navigation section.
2. Find and click on the recipe, and then click "Edit Recipe"
3. In the "Recipe Settings" section, you'll see a checkbox marked "Recipe should be restricted to certain Restaurants". Check this checkbox.
4. Next, in order to specify which restaurant units can view the recipe, click "Add Restaurant"
5. From the dropdown menu that appears, click to choose the restaurant. Repeat this process and click to "Add restaurant" for any additional units. Click the trashcan icon if any restrictions should be removed.
7. Once finished, scroll to the bottom of the recipe and click "Save".
Help! But what if it won't let me check the box?
Want to restrict a recipe but it seems to not give you that option?
1) Check to make sure you have the correct user permissions. You must be a user in ALL locations in order to restrict a recipe.
2) It may be because the recipe contains another recipe as an ingredient, or it is itself used in another recipe. If this is the case, keep reading to understand the order with which you will need to restrict each recipe.
When restricting Prep recipes, we recommend you always start by restricting the Menu recipes FIRST. Work backwards from there, meaning find all menu recipes you want to restrict and then go through and restrict the associated Prep recipes.
If you have a Prep recipe that is used in different recipes, some of which you may not want to restrict, you may end up needing to make a copy of the Prep recipe so that you can achieve the different restriction levels.
Recipe Restriction Permissions Matrix
Role |
Recipe State |
Can Create? |
Can Edit? |
Can restrict a global recipe or make a restricted recipe global? |
Can restrict/unrestrict to which locations? (Units Selectable in Restriction Dropdown) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MarginEdge Admin / Restaurant Admin |
Global (box unchecked) |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
Only units user has access to |
|
Restricted (box checked) |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ |
Only units user has access to |
Sous Chef |
Global (box unchecked) |
🚫 |
⚠️ Only if they have access to all units in the concept |
🚫 |
Only units user has access to |
|
Restricted (box checked) |
✅ |
⚠️ Only if they have access to all the locations where the recipe is restricted |
🚫 |
Only units user has access to |