Quick Start Guide: Your First 5 Minutes#

Welcome to MenuM8! This guide will take you through creating your first ingredient, recipe, and menu costing in just 5 minutes. By the end, you'll understand how MenuM8 helps you cost your menu accurately and profitably.

Your First Workflow: Ingredient → Recipe → Costing#

MenuM8 follows a simple three-step workflow. Let's walk through it together with a practical example: costing a simple pasta dish.

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Step 1: Create Your First Ingredient (1 minute)#

Let's start by adding a basic ingredient: pasta.

How to Create an Ingredient#

1. Click Inputs in the main navigation menu

2. Click the New Input button (+ icon)

3. Fill in the following details:

   Example: Dried Pasta

   • Name: Dried Pasta
   • Unit of Measure: Select kg from the dropdown
   • Price: 3.50 (price per kilogram)
   • Quantity: 1 (the quantity this price is for)
   • Supplier: (optional for now - you can skip this)

4. Click Save

Add a Few More Ingredients (Optional)#

If you want to make this example more realistic, add a couple more ingredients:

• Tomato Sauce: 500g jar for £2.00
• Parmesan Cheese: 1kg for £12.00
• Olive Oil: 1 liter for £8.00

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Step 2: Create Your First Recipe (2 minutes)#

Now let's create a recipe using the ingredients you just added.

How to Create a Recipe#

1. Click Products in the main navigation

2. Click the New Product button (+ icon)

3. Fill in the recipe details:

   Example: Pasta Pomodoro

   • Name: Pasta Pomodoro
   • Output Quantity: 4 (number of servings)
   • Output UOM: portions

4. Now add your ingredients by clicking Add Component:

   First Component: Dried Pasta

   • Input/Product: Select Dried Pasta
   • Quantity: 0.4 (400 grams = 0.4 kg)

5. Click Add Component again for the next ingredient:

   Second Component: Tomato Sauce

   • Input/Product: Select Tomato Sauce
   • Quantity: 0.5 (500 grams = 0.5 kg or full jar)

6. Add more components if you created additional ingredients

7. Click Save

Understanding Your Recipe Cost#

After saving, you'll see:

• Total Cost: The sum of all ingredient costs
• Cost Per Portion: Total cost divided by output quantity (4 portions)

For our example:

• Dried Pasta: 0.4 kg × £3.50 = £1.40
• Tomato Sauce: 0.5 kg × £2.00 = £1.00
• Total Cost: £2.40
• Cost Per Portion: £2.40 ÷ 4 = £0.60 per serving

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Step 3: Create Your First Menu Costing (2 minutes)#

Now let's create a menu costing to see how you'd price this dish for your customers.

How to Create a Costing#

1. Click Costings in the main navigation

2. Click the New Costing button (+ icon)

3. Fill in the costing details:

   Example: Lunch Menu

   • Name: Lunch Menu
   • Global Markup: 200% (this means selling price = cost × 3, giving you a 66% gross profit margin)

4. Click Add Item to add your recipe to the costing:

   First Item: Pasta Pomodoro

   • Product: Select Pasta Pomodoro
   • Quantity: 1 (one serving)
   • Markup: Leave blank to use global markup (200%)

5. Click Save

Understanding Your Costing#

After saving, you'll see a summary:

• Total Cost: £0.60 (cost of ingredients per portion)
• Markup: 200% (your profit multiplier)
• Selling Price: £1.80 (what you should charge customers)
• Profit: £1.20 per dish sold
• Profit Margin: 66.7% (£1.20 profit ÷ £1.80 price)

Adjusting Your Markup#

Want to change the selling price? Simply:

1. Edit the costing
2. Change the Global Markup percentage
3. Or set an Item-Specific Markup for individual dishes
4. Save and see the new prices instantly

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What You've Accomplished#

In just 5 minutes, you've:

• ✅ Created an ingredient with pricing
• ✅ Built a recipe from ingredients
• ✅ Created a menu costing with markup
• ✅ Calculated your selling price and profit margin

You now understand the core MenuM8 workflow: Inputs → Products → Costings

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Next Steps: Explore More Features#

Now that you've completed the basics, here are some features to explore:

Add More Complexity#

• Multiple Suppliers: Track prices from different suppliers for the same ingredient
• Component Recipes: Use recipes as ingredients in other recipes (e.g., make a sauce, then use it in multiple dishes)
• Custom Fields: Add custom data to your costings for flexibility
• Labour Tracking: Record preparation time to include labour costs

Generate Reports#

• Shopping Lists: Generate a shopping list for your costing to see exactly what to order
• Job Sheets: Create production sheets for your kitchen team
• Menu Printing: Export menus with allergen information for customers

Organize Your Data#

• Tags: Add colored tags to organize ingredients, recipes, and costings
• Allergens: Assign allergens to ingredients and see them automatically appear in recipes
• Images: Upload images to your ingredients and recipes

Load Demo Data#

Want to see a fully populated system with realistic data?

• Click Account → Load Demo Data
• Explore the sample ingredients, recipes, and costings
• Use it as a learning tool before adding your own data

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Common Questions#

Can I change ingredient prices later?#

Yes! When you update an ingredient price, MenuM8 automatically recalculates all recipes and costings that use that ingredient. This helps you keep your menu prices up to date as supplier costs change.

How do I add more ingredients to a recipe?#

Edit the recipe and click Add Component to add more ingredients. You can also remove components or change quantities at any time.

What if I want to charge a fixed price instead of using markup?#

You can "lock" the price of an item in a costing. This is useful when you have set menu prices or promotional pricing. Just edit the costing item and enable Locked Price.

Can I use recipes as ingredients?#

Yes! MenuM8 supports component recipes (also called sub-recipes). Create a product (like "Pizza Dough"), then use it as a component in another product (like "Margherita Pizza"). MenuM8 automatically calculates the nested costs.

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Help Resources#

Need more guidance? Check out these detailed articles:

• Getting Started with MenuM8 - Comprehensive onboarding guide
• Basic Workflow: From Ingredients to Costs - Detailed workflow explanation
• Creating Your First Ingredient - In-depth ingredient creation
• Creating Your First Recipe - Advanced recipe features
• Menu Costings - Costing strategies