Up to three separate Item Categories can be assigned to each Purchased Item record and are used in various reports to create subtotals or filters.  Additionally, Item Categories can be assigned to Recipes that have been marked as 'Available in Inventory'.


Item Categories are organized in the following way:

  • Item Category 1- Broad
    • Example: Food (Cost Account = Food Cost; Inventory Account = Food Inventory)
  • Item Category 2- More specific
    • Example: Dairy (Cost Account = Dairy Cost; Inventory Account = Blank)
  • Item Category 3- Very specific
    • Example: Cheese (Cost Account = Cheese Cost; Inventory Account = Cheese Inventory)


These then fall into a hierarchy when entering them on an Item Record. Therefore, if all three Item Categories are entered on an Item Record, the Cost account will be used accordingly: Item Category 3 will override Category 2, and Category 2 will override Category 1.

  • Note: This hierarchy will follow in this order when the most specific account has both the Cost Account and Inventory Account entered.


Item Categories are different than Menu Item Categories and should be created and structured differently as well.  Click here for more information on Menu Item Categories.


Popular Reports that Utilize Item Categories


Actual vs Theoretical Analysis - Actual vs Theoretical efficiency with full drill down capability
Item Category Theoretical Variance - $ Variance over time in any category per Location (see trends of variances)
Item Price Change Analysis - View received cost fluctuations over time for each item
Item Theoretical Cost Analysis - Precursor to Actual vs Theoretical Analysis
Item Theoretical Variance - Drill down FROM Item Category Theoretical Variance - shows item by item total Variance $ trends


Item Category Examples and Naming Recommendations 


Category 1 - Typically these represents broad level categories

  • Food
  • Liquor
  • Beer
  • Wine
  • Supplies
  • Retail

Category 2 - Typically these represent the more detailed categories within each Category 1. Category 2s usually line up with P&L Accounts in the food categories (but not always)

  • Food:
    • Meat
    • Seafood
    • Dairy
    • Produce
    • Dry Goods
  • Liquor:
    • Vodka
    • Tequila
    • Gin
    • Rum
  • Beer:
    • Bottle Beer
    • Draft Beer and
  • Wine:
    • Red
    • White
    • Sparkling
  • Supplies:
    • Paper

Category 3 - These are used less often but can come in handy if you have a large Wine or Beer list (or a lot of different Meats)

  • Bottle Beer:
    • IPA
    • Stout
    • Amber
    • Ale
  • Wine:
    • Merlot
    • Cabernet
    • Chardonnay


Create Item Categories


Item categories can be created using the following methods:

  • Item Menu - Hover over the 'Item' menu, then the 'Setup' sub-menu, then the 'New Item Category' sub-sub-menu. Click on the Item Category type you wish to create


  • An existing Item Category form - Hover over the 'Save' menu and select 'Save & New' to open a new Item Category form

  • Via Quick-add on the Purchased Item - On the Item Categories tab, type in the text of the new Item Category you want to add in the Item Category field and then hit the 'Tab' or 'Enter' keys and a Qucik-add prompt will appear and ask if you want to add this new category. Click Yes and the Item Category form will open.


View and Edit Existing Item Categories


You can open an existing Item Category using the following methods:

  • Via the 'Item Categories' List - Navigate to the Operations Module - Inventory Subsection and select the 'Item Categories' list


  • On the Purchased Item record Item Category tab - Once an Item Category has been selected in the drop-down, you can click on the corresponding 'Item Category #' hyperlink to open that record in a new tab