Recipes from your own stock
free in fullEach ingredient is one of your stock items, measured in its own unit. A size can use a different quantity, so a large latte costs more than a small one.
Recipe costing that shows what you really keep
Add a recipe once. DUMA costs it from your ingredient prices, takes VAT out of the price if you’re registered, and shows the margin per size and per combination of options, on the menu and in the reports.
Free in fullVAT taken out firstUpdates when prices change
A product in DUMA with its price, recipe and margin
What recipe costing is, and why VAT matters
Recipe costing means adding up what goes into one portion of a dish (every ingredient, at what you pay for it) so you can set a price that leaves a margin. Without it, menu prices are guesses, and a rise in the price of milk or butter eats your margin without anyone noticing.
The common mistake is to compare the cost with the menu price. If you are VAT-registered and your prices include VAT, part of every price is HMRC’s, not yours. On a £3.20 flat white at 20% VAT you keep £2.67, so 60p of ingredients leaves £2.07, not £2.60. DUMA always works the margin from what you keep.
What DUMA’s recipe costing does
Products, menu and margin are part of the free plan in full.
Options have recipes too
free in fullGive a modifier its own recipe, so oat milk or an extra shot changes the cost of the drink it’s added to, exactly as the till sells it.
Margin after VAT, the way the till records it
DUMA takes VAT out of VAT-inclusive prices, or adds it to exclusive ones, using the same arithmetic as the till. Not registered? Nothing is deducted. An item can have its own VAT rate.
Try a combination
Pick the options a customer would choose and see that exact drink or dish’s cost and margin, before you put a price on it.
Costs that keep up
Ingredient cost comes from the stock item’s cost per unit. Receiving a purchase order updates it to the price you just paid, so the margin follows your suppliers.
Gaps are flagged
Items with no recipe show as recipe gaps, and a total that includes an ingredient with no cost is marked as incomplete, so a margin is never quietly too good.
Allergens roll up
Set the 14 UK allergens on ingredients once, and each dish shows the allergens its recipe contains, with energy and nutrition per size.
Menu engineering
The menu engineering report sorts dishes by popularity and margin into Stars, Workhorses, Opportunities and Low performers, with what to do about each.
How to cost a recipe in DUMA
Once your ingredients have a cost, a recipe takes a minute.
Add your ingredients as stock items
Give each one a unit (g, ml, each) and what it costs you per unit, or let a received purchase order set it.
Open the dish’s Recipe & cost tab
Add each ingredient with its quantity, and a different quantity for each size where it changes.
Add recipes to the options
Give milk swaps, extra shots or add-ons their own small recipe, so every combination is costed.
Read the margin and set the price
See the cost, the VAT and what you keep for each size. Change the price until the margin is where you want it.
What recipe costing doesn’t do yet
Honest gaps. Tell us if one of these matters: we add things on request.
- Ingredient cost is the stock item’s cost per unit (set by hand or by the last purchase order), not a weighted average.
- No meal deals or bundles priced as one item yet. Option groups set the rules for choices instead.
- Items with no ingredient cost are left out of the menu engineering report until they have one.
Questions about recipe costing
What is recipe costing software?
Software that adds up the cost of the ingredients in one portion of a dish and compares it with the price, so you know the margin on each item. DUMA does it from your own stock items, per size and per combination of options.
Does DUMA take VAT into account in the margin?
Yes. If you are VAT-registered, DUMA takes the VAT out of a VAT-inclusive price (or adds it to an exclusive one) before working out the margin, using the same arithmetic as the till. If you are not registered, nothing is deducted.
Where does the ingredient cost come from?
From each stock item’s cost per unit. You can type it in, and receiving a purchase order updates it to the price you just paid.
Can I cost drinks with milk swaps and extra shots?
Yes. Options can have their own recipes, and Try a combination shows the cost and margin of an item with the options a customer would actually choose.
Does selling a dish take its ingredients off stock?
Yes. When an order is completed, the recipe of each item and of each option chosen is taken off stock.
Is recipe costing free?
Yes. Products, menu and margin are part of DUMA’s free plan in full, with no time limit and no card needed.
Price every dish on purpose.Free, with the margin after VAT.
Start in minutes with no card needed. We’ll help you bring your menu and ingredients across.