Stock moves when the kitchen does
The moment an order item is fired to the kitchen, its recipe deducts each ingredient from that branch's stock, in the ingredient's own unit. Nobody re-keys a sale into a stock sheet after closing.
Restaurant inventory management for Egypt
Know what you used, what you lost and what it cost.
Plato ties every ingredient to the orders that consumed it, so stock, waste and food cost stay tied to real service instead of a spreadsheet someone updates on Sunday.
- Stock moves with the kitchen
- Counts record the variance
- Waste and expiry tracked
- Transfers between branches
What Plato inventory does
Stock that follows the service, not the calendar.
Plato is the inventory and food-cost layer of a restaurant operating system built for Egypt. Recipes link every dish to its ingredients, stock moves the moment an item is fired to the kitchen, counts record the difference against what the system expected, and food cost is calculated from what the kitchen actually consumed.
From recipe to real cost
Every dish sold moves the store room.
Stock control fails when it depends on someone remembering. In Plato the movement is a by-product of service that already happened.
Counts that show the gap
Post a stock count and Plato records what you counted against what it expected, then adjusts. Shrinkage stops being a feeling and becomes a number with a date on it.
Waste and expiry on the record
Log waste against a production batch, see near-expiry stock before it turns, and read the waste report by ingredient and period instead of by argument.
Cost that reaches the dish
Recipe costing prices every dish from its ingredients' current cost, so food-cost percentage and contribution margin sit beside the item that earned them.
Production runSample figures
- Theoretical
- 8.00 kg
- Actual
- 8.60 kg
- Variance
- +0.60 kg
Recorded against the run, so the next batch starts from a real number.
Theoretical against actual
The gap between what should have been used and what was.
A production run records the theoretical consumption for the output you made and the actual quantities your team used. Plato keeps both and the variance between them, so the gap shows up per run instead of at the end of the year.
- Theoretical consumption calculated from the recipe
- Actual quantities recorded by the team on the run
- Variance held per run and per ingredient
- Shrinkage, turnover and stock valuation reports
Against the spreadsheet
More than a stock file someone updates late.
Most kitchens already track stock. The question is whether the number survives a busy week.
| Capability | Stock spreadsheet | Plato |
|---|---|---|
| Deduction | Typed in after the shift | Fires with the kitchen ticket |
| Units | Converted by hand | Purchase, recipe and count units converted for you |
| Counts | A number with nothing to compare | Counted against expected, with the difference kept |
| Waste | Remembered, if at all | Logged per batch, reported by ingredient |
| Food cost | A monthly estimate | Per dish, from current ingredient cost |
| Branches | One file per branch | Transfers issued and received between branches |
Fitted to how you produce
One stock system, three kinds of kitchen.
Single kitchens
Attach recipes to the dishes you actually sell and get cost per dish without hiring a cost controller to maintain it.
Central production
Produce in batches, record actual against theoretical consumption, and label the output with its expiry before it ships.
Multi-branch groups
Issue and receive transfers between branches, and compare stock value, usage and waste across all of them in one view.
Getting your stock in
Four steps to a number you trust.
You do not need a perfect store room to start. You need a starting quantity and recipes on the dishes that move.
- 1
Load your ingredients
Bring in ingredients with their purchase units and costs. A photo of a supplier invoice is enough to start the list.
- 2
Attach recipes
Link dishes to their ingredients and quantities. Plato shows which menu items still have no recipe attached.
- 3
Count once to open
Post an opening count so the system has a starting quantity to measure everything else against.
- 4
Read the variance
Serve a week, count again, and look at the gap between what was expected and what was on the shelf.
Restaurant inventory questions
What operators ask before trusting stock software.
RelatedSee how the same order reaches the kitchen and the books:Restaurant POS system
Does stock deduct automatically from sales?
Yes. When an order item is fired to the kitchen, its recipe deducts each ingredient from that branch's stock in the ingredient's own unit. There is no separate step at the end of the shift.
How does Plato calculate food cost?
Recipe costing prices each dish from the current cost of its ingredients. Food-cost percentage and contribution margin are then reported per menu item, so you can see which dishes carry the margin.
What happens when a stock count does not match?
Posting a count records the counted quantity against the expected one and adjusts stock to what you counted. The difference is kept, so shrinkage can be reviewed by ingredient and by period.
Can I track waste and expiry?
Yes. Waste is logged against production batches, stock approaching its expiry date is listed before it turns, and the waste report groups it by ingredient and period.
Can I move stock between branches?
Yes. A transfer is created, issued by the sending branch and received by the destination branch, so both sides keep an accurate quantity instead of one branch guessing.
Do I have to use Plato's POS to use the inventory?
Inventory is part of the same operating system, and the deduction is triggered by orders moving through the kitchen. The POS and kitchen screens are what keep stock current as service happens.
See it on your own recipes
Put your menu's cost through Plato.
Book a walkthrough using your dishes, your suppliers and the ingredients that actually move in your kitchen.
30-minute walkthrough
See Plato on your menu.
Send us a few details. We'll set up a live walkthrough on your real menu, in your language, within one business day.
- We respond within one business day.
- The walkthrough runs on your menu, in your language.