Catering Software Key Terms

Learn catering software key terms to maximize software usage and performance
By Christine Pollock You want to know more than cooking terms when dealing with the business end of the catering industry. You also want to know catering software key terms so you can manipulate data and track inventory and expenses.
 

Learning catering software key terms saves time and money as you use programs designed to aid you in the business part of catering. Knowing these terms also helps you consult with other professionals in the industry.

Unit conversion

Many catering software programs offer unit conversion. This term refers to the algebraic transformation of a specific value that a single unit represents to an equal value of a different unit.
Try: View an online example of an online cooking unit converter at Asknumbers.com.

Inventory items

Inventory items are items in a stock supply. Lists of these items help business owners know what ingredients and materials they have on hand and what they need to purchase.
Try: Restaurant Management Solutions offers software that works with many facets of inventory management. It automatically updates pricing for inventory items, categorizes and offers reports on inventory items.

Invoice

This is another term for a bill given by one who offers services to one who pays for the services rendered. Most catering software programs provide a template for your invoicing needs.
Try: Scribd provides a sample of a catering invoice.

Recipe costing

Determining the costs of ingredients in a recipe compared to other recipes and ingredients helps business owners cut expenses. Many catering software programs sum up the values in recipe costing and create charts for easy comparison.
Try: View examples of template used for recipe costing at RestaurantOwner.com, providing more information on the importance of knowing your costs.

Nutrition information

This term refers to weights and serving sizes of macro nutrients and other product components. It covers natural and synthetic ingredients in a recipe.
Try: Plonka Interactive offers its Food Service Software, which is a handy tool for caterers working with customers who want details on nutritional information for food offerings. You can see a picture of the nutritional label provided by the software to the side of the product description.

Sub recipe

Sub recipes are components for other recipes. For example, a recipe for white sauce is a sub-recipe for another recipe called spaghetti in white sauce.
Try: Advanced Analytical offers a visual image demonstrating how its software offers sub recipes for those in the food and catering business. It runs software using Excel spreadsheets.