> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mathership.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Ingredients > Create and manage the ingredients used for inventory tracking, recipes, receiving, stock counts, waste, transfers, POS sales, and reorder suggestions # Ingredients Ingredients are the foundation of your inventory system. Use them to track stock, build recipes, calculate recipe usage, receive ordered products into inventory, and connect POS sales to stock movements. Track ingredient quantities, values, and movements across storage units. Use ingredients in recipes to calculate expected usage and stock deductions. Map vendor products to ingredients so received orders update stock correctly. ## What are ingredients? An ingredient is any item that you want to track inside your restaurant inventory. Examples: * Tomatoes * Olive oil * Beef * Milk * Wine * Flour * Sauces * Prepared components Each ingredient belongs to your company and has a base unit of measure. The base unit defines how Mathership tracks the ingredient internally. ## When to use ingredients Use ingredients when you want to: * Build recipes * Track stock levels * Receive ordered products into storage * Map vendor products to inventory items * Track waste * Transfer stock between storage units * Reduce stock from POS sales * Create inventory reports ## Viewing your ingredient list Go to **Manage** → **Ingredients**. The list shows all ingredients for your company. | Column | Description | | --------- | ------------------------------------ | | ID | Internal ingredient ID | | Name | Ingredient name | | Base unit | The unit used for inventory tracking | | Allergens | Allergens assigned to the ingredient | | Created | Date the ingredient was created | ## Filtering and searching Use the toolbar to narrow the list. | Filter | Description | | --------- | ------------------------------------ | | Search | Filter by ingredient name | | Active | Show only active ingredients | | Base unit | Filter by a specific unit of measure | | Created | Filter by creation date range | | Updated | Filter by last update date range | Click **Add filter** to show additional filters. Use **Clear all** to reset. ## Adding a new ingredient Go to **Manage** → **Ingredients**. Click the button to add a new ingredient. Add the ingredient name, base unit, and optional allergens. Save the form to add the ingredient to your company inventory. ### Ingredient form fields | Field | Required | Description | | --------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- | | Name | Yes | The ingredient name | | Base unit | Yes | The unit used for inventory tracking — select from the dropdown | | Allergens | No | Comma-separated allergen values, such as `gluten` or `lactose` | ## Choosing the base unit The base unit is the main unit used to track the ingredient. Choose the unit you use for inventory tracking, not necessarily the unit you buy from the vendor. | Ingredient | Recommended base unit | | ---------- | --------------------- | | Tomatoes | kg | | Milk | L | | Eggs | piece | | Olive oil | L | | Flour | kg | | Beef | kg | Choose base units carefully. Changing base units later can be disruptive because recipes, mappings, reports, and inventory movements depend on them. ## Adding many ingredients at once Use CSV upload to add multiple ingredients at once. This is useful when setting up your inventory for the first time. ### CSV column mapping | Field | Required | Description | | --------------- | -------- | --------------------------------------------------------- | | Ingredient name | Yes | The ingredient name | | Base unit | Yes | The unit — matched by name, code, or `name (code)` format | | Allergens | No | Comma-separated allergen values | ### Example CSV | name | unit | allergens | | ------------- | ---- | --------- | | Tomatoes | kg | | | Milk | L | dairy | | Peanut Butter | kg | nuts | ## Editing an ingredient Go to **Manage** → **Ingredients** and click the ingredient row. Use the edit action on the ingredient detail page. Change the name, allergens, or other editable fields. Save the updated ingredient. ## Deleting an ingredient Only delete an ingredient when it is no longer needed. Before deleting or deactivating an ingredient, check whether it is used in: * Recipes * Product mappings * Stock counts * Waste entries * Transfers * POS mappings * Reports Deleting or deactivating ingredients that are still used can make recipes, mappings, and reports harder to understand. ## Ingredient detail page Click any ingredient row to open its detail page. ### Header The header shows: * Ingredient name * Active or inactive badge * Base unit * Packaging levels, if configured * Allergens * Creation date From here, you can click **Edit** to update the ingredient or **Reorder configurations** to manage reorder rules. ### Stats The stats strip shows a live summary. | Stat | Description | | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | On hand | Total quantity currently in stock across all storage units | | Inventory value | Total value of the stock on hand | | Storages with stock | Number of storage units that hold this ingredient | | Last movement | When the last inventory movement was recorded | ### Recipes This section lists the recipes that use this ingredient. It shows the quantity per portion and trim percentage for each recipe. Click a recipe row to open it. Click **View all** to open the full recipes sub-page for that ingredient. ### Mapped vendor products This section shows all vendor products that are mapped to this ingredient, including: * Vendor name * Product name * Article number * Packaging levels See [Product Mapping](/en/restaurants/inventory/product-mapping) for details on how to create these mappings. ### Per storage This section shows current stock broken down by storage unit. Each storage row can include: * On-hand quantity * Inventory value * Last movement date Click a storage row to open the inventory ledger for that ingredient and storage unit. ## Viewing all recipes for an ingredient Click **View all** in the **Recipes** section of the ingredient detail page to open the full recipe list for that ingredient. This page shows all recipes that use the ingredient. | Column | Description | | --------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | Name | Recipe name | | Status | Active or inactive | | Qty per portion | How much of the ingredient is used per recipe portion | | Trim | Trim or loss percentage applied to the ingredient line | | Created | When the recipe was created | | Updated | When the recipe was last updated | You can filter by search or active status. You can sort by name, quantity per portion, creation date, or update date. Click a recipe row to open the recipe detail page. ## Reorder configurations Reorder configurations define the rules Mathership uses to generate reorder suggestions for this ingredient. Click **Reorder configurations** on the ingredient detail page to manage them. ### Configuration fields | Field | Description | | -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Storage unit | The storage unit this rule applies to, or **All storage units** for a global rule | | Lead time (days) | How many days it takes for an order to arrive | | Safety stock (days) | How many days of buffer stock to keep on hand | | Review period (days) | Window used to calculate average daily consumption — must be at least 1 | | Min. order qty | Minimum quantity to include in a suggested order | | Notify on critical | Send a notification when stock reaches the critical threshold | | Notify on warning | Send a notification when stock reaches the warning threshold | Reorder suggestions generated from these configurations are visible under **Automation** → **Reorder Suggestions**. ## Managing allergens Ingredients can include allergen information. This helps identify allergens in recipes and supports safer menu planning. Allergens are entered as comma-separated free text when creating or editing an ingredient. Common allergens include: * Gluten * Milk * Eggs * Fish * Shellfish * Nuts * Peanuts * Soy * Sesame ## Using ingredients in recipes Recipes are built from ingredients. A recipe line can contain: * An ingredient * Quantity per portion * Unit * Optional trim or loss percentage Recipes use ingredient quantities to calculate expected stock usage. | Recipe | Ingredient | Quantity | | ----------- | ---------- | -------- | | Tomato soup | Tomatoes | 2 kg | | Tomato soup | Cream | 0.5 L | | Tomato soup | Salt | 0.02 kg | See [Recipes](/en/restaurants/inventory/recipes) for more details. ## Mapping vendor products Vendor products can be mapped to your internal ingredients. This is important when receiving orders into inventory. | Vendor product | Ingredient | Conversion | | ----------------------- | ---------- | ---------- | | Tomato box 5 kg | Tomatoes | 5 kg | | Milk crate 12 × 1 L | Milk | 12 L | | Olive oil bottle 0.75 L | Olive oil | 0.75 L | This allows Mathership to convert ordered products into inventory quantities. See [Product Mapping](/en/restaurants/inventory/product-mapping) for more details. ## Receiving orders into inventory When you receive a vendor order, Mathership can add the received products to inventory. For this to work: 1. The ordered product must be mapped to an ingredient 2. The conversion factor must be correct 3. A storage unit must be selected 4. The received quantity must be confirmed See [Receiving Orders](/en/restaurants/inventory/receiving-orders) for more details. ## Counting stock Stock counts compare counted stock with the current book stock. During a stock count, you can: * Select a storage unit * Count ingredients * Enter counted quantities * Post stock adjustments See [Stock Counts](/en/restaurants/inventory/stock-counts) for more details. ## Recording waste Waste entries reduce ingredient stock. When waste is posted, Mathership creates a stock movement and reduces the ingredient quantity. Examples: * Spoiled tomatoes * Broken bottles * Overproduced sauce * Kitchen waste See [Waste](/en/restaurants/inventory/waste) for more details. ## Moving stock between storage units Transfers move ingredients from one storage unit to another. Examples: * From Main Storage to Kitchen * From Cold Room to Bar * From Central Storage to another company location See [Transfers](/en/restaurants/inventory/transfers) for more details. ## Connecting POS sales to stock Ingredients can be reduced automatically when POS sales are imported or synced. 1. A POS item is sold 2. The POS item is mapped to a recipe or ingredient 3. Mathership reduces the related stock from inventory See [POS Mapping](/en/restaurants/integrations/pos-mapping) for more details. ## Understanding stock information The ingredient detail page shows stock-related information such as: * Current quantity on hand * Inventory value * Storages with stock * Last movement date * Per-storage breakdown with on-hand quantity, value, and last movement Stock values are calculated from inventory ledger movements: * Receipts * Issues * Waste * Transfers * Stock count adjustments ## Naming ingredients clearly Use clear and consistent ingredient names. * Tomato puree * Beef ribeye * Olive oil extra virgin * Milk whole * Flour wheat * Oil * Meat * Sauce * Cheese * Miscellaneous Clear names make recipes, product mappings, stock counts, and reports easier to understand. ## Best practices Use one clear name per ingredient across recipes, mappings, and reports. Use units that make sense long term, such as kg for weight, L for liquids, and piece for countable items. Add allergens at creation time so recipe allergen data stays easier to audit. The more lead time and usage data Mathership has, the more useful reorder suggestions become. Review your ingredient list regularly and deactivate unused ingredients only when they are no longer needed. Most receiving problems come from missing or incorrect product mappings. ## Common problems Check that: * The ingredient exists * The ingredient belongs to the selected company * The ingredient has not been deleted * The page was refreshed after creating it Check: * Recent receipts * Waste entries * Transfers * Stock count adjustments * Product mappings and conversion factors * The per-storage breakdown on the ingredient detail page Check that: * The vendor product is mapped to an ingredient * The order was received into a storage unit * The received quantity was entered * The item was not already posted Check the ingredient base unit and the product mapping conversion. The vendor product unit and the ingredient base unit may be different. Check that: * The name column is not empty * The unit value matches a known unit name or code * The CSV file has at least a header row and one data row * The column mapping is complete before uploading ## Related pages Create and manage storage locations where ingredient stock is tracked. Use ingredients to build recipes and calculate expected usage. Map vendor products to ingredients for receiving and inventory tracking. Receive ordered products and post them into ingredient stock. View and act on suggestions generated from reorder configurations. Review stock levels, movements, costs, and usage across ingredients.