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.Record unusable stock
Post ingredients that were spoiled, damaged, expired, spilled, or otherwise lost.
Reduce inventory
Create negative inventory movements so stock balances stay accurate.
Track waste reasons
Add clear reasons to understand why stock was removed.
What waste does
When waste is posted, Mathership creates a negative inventory movement.| Action | Ledger type | Stock effect |
|---|---|---|
| Post waste | WASTE | Negative — stock is reduced |
| 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
- Complimentary items given away
- Staff meals
- Customer returns
- Spillage
- Over-portioned ingredients
- 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.| Situation | Use instead |
|---|---|
| Stock used through sales | POS posting or recipe issue |
| Stock moved to another storage unit | Transfers |
| Physical stock correction after counting | Stock counts |
| Vendor delivery received into inventory | Receive order |
How to open the waste sheet
Waste is posted from the storage unit detail page.Adding waste lines
The waste sheet works the same way as the stock count and transfer sheets. You add one ingredient line at a time, then submit all lines together. Each line needs:| Field | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredient | Yes | The ingredient being wasted |
| Quantity | Yes | The amount to remove from stock |
| Unit | Yes | Base unit or packaging unit |
| Reason | Yes | The reason for the waste |
| Custom reason | Only for Other | Free-text explanation when using Other |
Waste reasons
Reason is required for every waste line. Choose from the built-in options or enter a custom reason.| Reason | When to use |
|---|---|
| Spoiled | Product spoiled before use |
| Expired | Product passed expiry date |
| Damaged | Packaging or product was damaged |
| Broken package | Packaging broke, making the product unusable |
| Quality issue | Product was unusable due to quality problems |
| Over-portioned | More was prepared than needed and cannot be reused |
| Spillage | Product was spilled and lost |
| Complimentary | Item was given to a guest at no charge |
| Staff meal | Used for staff consumption |
| Customer return | Returned by a customer and cannot be resold |
| Other | Any other reason — requires a free-text description |
Waste lines table
Once lines are added, they appear in the table above the add form.| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Ingredient | Ingredient name with current on-hand shown below |
| Waste | The quantity to be removed, shown with a negative sign and packaging breakdown format |
| Reason | The selected reason shown as a pill badge |
| Actions | Edit and Delete buttons |
Editing a line
Click the pencil icon on any line to edit it inline. The row switches to edit mode showing:- Quantity input
- Unit dropdown
- Numpad toggle
- Reason dropdown
- Custom reason input, if reason is Other
Removing a line
Click the trash icon to remove a line. This only removes it from the current waste session. No stock has changed yet.Submitting waste
When all lines are ready, click Submit waste in the footer. The footer shows the total count of lines, including any unsaved editor line that is ready to add. When submitted, Mathership processes all lines as a bulk posting. All items are processed together in one request.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 as a negative value.What happens in the ledger
Each waste line creates an inventory ledger entry.| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Transaction type | WASTE |
| Quantity | Negative |
| Unit cost | Weighted average cost at time of posting |
| Value | Negative waste value |
| Storage unit | The storage unit waste was posted to |
| Ingredient | The wasted ingredient |
Example
Current stock:| Ingredient | Storage unit | Current stock |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | Kitchen Storage | 12 kg |
| Ingredient | Quantity | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | 2 kg | Spoiled |
| Ingredient | Storage unit | New stock |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | Kitchen Storage | 10 kg |
Bulk waste example
Multiple ingredients can be wasted in one submission.| Ingredient | Quantity | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Tomatoes | 2 kg | Spoiled |
| Lettuce | 1 kg | Damaged |
| Cream | 0.5 L | Expired |
Entering quantities in packaging units
If an ingredient has packaging levels configured, you can enter the waste quantity in those units instead of the base unit. For example, if butter has a packaging level of 1 Block = 250 g:| You enter | Unit | System converts to |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Block | 500 g |
| 500 | g | 500 g |
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
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
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.
Reason is required
Reason is required
A reason must be selected for every line.If you chose Other, the custom reason text field must also be filled in before the line can be added.
Validation error
Validation error
Required fields are missing or invalid.Check that ingredient, quantity, unit, and reason are all filled in correctly.Quantity must be greater than zero.
Authorization error
Authorization error
Best practices
Record waste immediately
Delayed waste entries make stock reports less accurate between the loss and the posting.
Add clear reasons
Specific reasons make it easier to identify recurring spoilage, over-portioning, or quality issues.
Use waste only for unusable stock
Do not use waste to correct stock counts or record sales. Use the correct feature for each situation.
Use packaging units
If you count waste in boxes, blocks, or packages, select the packaging unit to reduce calculation errors.
Review waste regularly
Recurring waste for the same ingredients may indicate storage, portioning, or ordering problems.
Check the ledger
Review waste entries in the ledger to confirm quantities, values, and storage units.
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.