InsightChef Pro V2.0 DIY Chef
Training 3 of 7: Vendors, Ingredients & Pack Profiles

Build a reusable purchasing language from real deliveries.

Slide 1: Vendors are entered once on Settings
Vendor setup begins on Settings. Enter the working business name and the useful contact details once, then keep the vendor Active while the relationship is current. Receive Invoice uses the active vendor list, which prevents spelling variations from splitting the purchasing history.

Slide 2: Ingredients describe what the kitchen uses
The ingredient record describes what the kitchen actually uses, not just what one vendor prints on a case. Use a clear standardized name and the most appropriate category, including food, beer, wine, and liquor categories when applicable. In the clean customer release, operational ingredients begin in First Use so real vendor packs can be learned correctly.

Slide 3: Pack profiles translate vendor language
Vendor pack profiles translate the supplier's language into usable inventory and recipe units. A case might contain six heads of romaine, four ten-pound logs, or an average-weight beef case priced by the pound. The profile stores the pack expectation, while the receipt stores what actually arrived and what it cost.

Slide 4: Planning cost and receipt cost stay separate
Benchmark costs provide a practical fallback when a clean workbook has no receipt history yet. They are not a substitute for the invoice. Each posted receipt updates the operational cost with real purchasing information. That lets recipes and planning work on day one while still improving as the restaurant receives actual product.

Slide 5: The payoff is faster, cleaner receiving
The objective is not more data entry. It is one careful setup followed by fast repeat receiving. Teach each vendor-item pack once, reuse it on later invoices, and return to review only when the vendor changes the product, pack, price basis, or other important assumption.