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Waste Waste is used to record ingredients that are no longer available for use.
Use waste when stock is lost, spoiled, damaged, thrown away, or otherwise removed from inventory without being sold or transferred.
What waste does When waste is posted, Mathership creates a negative inventory movement.
Waste quantity = Quantity removed from stock
Action Ledger type Stock effect Post waste WASTE Negative
Example:
Ingredient Storage unit Waste quantity Stock effect Tomatoes Kitchen Storage 2 kg -2 kg
When to use waste Use waste for:
Spoiled ingredients
Damaged goods
Expired stock
Preparation losses
Dropped or unusable items
Manual stock reduction that is not a sale, transfer, or count correction
When not to use waste Do not use waste for normal sales consumption.
Use these features instead:
Situation Use instead Stock used through sales POS posting / recipe issue Stock moved to another storage unit Transfers Physical stock correction after counting Stock counts Vendor delivery received into inventory Receive order
Single waste posting A single waste posting records waste for one ingredient.
Required fields:
Field Description Company Company that owns the stock Storage unit Storage unit where the waste happened Ingredient Ingredient that was wasted Quantity Quantity to remove from stock
Optional fields can include a reason.
Bulk waste posting Waste can also be posted in bulk.
This is useful when multiple ingredients are wasted at the same time.
Example:
Ingredient Quantity Reason Tomatoes 2 kg Spoiled Lettuce 1 kg Damaged Cream 0.5 l Expired
When bulk waste is posted, all items are processed together.
If one item in a bulk waste posting cannot be processed, the whole posting may fail.
Waste reasons Waste reasons help explain why stock was removed.
Examples:
Reason Example Spoiled Product spoiled before use Expired Product passed expiry date Damaged Packaging or product damaged Preparation loss Ingredient lost during preparation Incorrect storage Product became unusable because of storage issue Other Any other manual reason
Inventory value Mathership calculates the inventory value of waste using the current weighted average cost of the ingredient.
Waste value = Waste quantity × weighted average cost
The waste value is stored in the inventory ledger.
Example Current stock:
Ingredient Storage unit Current stock Tomatoes Kitchen Storage 12 kg
Waste posted:
Ingredient Quantity Reason Tomatoes 2 kg Spoiled
Result:
Ingredient Storage unit New stock Tomatoes Kitchen Storage 10 kg
What happens in the ledger Each waste posting creates an inventory ledger entry.
Field Value Transaction type WASTE Quantity Negative Unit cost Weighted average cost Value Negative waste value Storage unit Selected storage unit Ingredient Selected ingredient
This makes waste visible in ingredient history, storage unit reports, and inventory reports.
Permissions You can only post waste for companies and storage units you are allowed to access.
If you do not have access, Mathership returns an authorization error.
Common errors Ingredient not found The selected ingredient does not exist or does not belong to the selected company.
Check the ingredient and try again.
Storage unit not found The selected storage unit does not exist or does not belong to the selected company.
Check the storage unit and try again.
Validation error Required fields are missing or invalid.
Check company, storage unit, ingredient, and quantity.
Authorization error You do not have access to the selected company.
Switch to the correct company or contact an administrator.
Best practices
Record waste as soon as it happens.
Add a clear reason where possible.
Use waste only for unusable stock.
Use transfers when stock is moved.
Use stock counts when correcting counted inventory.
Review waste regularly to identify recurring issues.
Related pages
Ingredients Learn how ingredients are tracked in inventory.
Storage Units Learn how inventory locations are managed.
Transfers Learn how to move stock between storage units.
Inventory Ledger Learn how stock movements are recorded.
