Packaging works the same way for every account, and it starts from the batch.
- On the Batches list or the batch page, click Package Batch. FourFoxes asks Was this batch packaged today?
- Check the Packaging Date, and record the Batch pH if you take one.
- Pick the Container and enter How many did you fill? FourFoxes starts on the container from the product's Bill of Materials or its last packaging run, and estimates the count from the batch size divided by the fill size. Check it against what you actually filled. To fill more than one container type, click More containers. If the container has a case pack on the Bill of Materials, you can choose Cases instead of Loose units and enter How many cases? FourFoxes records the units: 7 cases of 12 is 84 units.
- To add the batch code, yield, notes, or photos now, click Add details.
- Click Yes, packaged today. If you are not ready, click No, package later.
The batch is now packaged, and what you filled is saved as a packaging run. If the count was an estimate you did not change, the batch page shows Count estimated from batch size, not checked. until you click Confirm count. Confirming changes no stock.
To add another run, for example a second bottle size, click Packaging Runs on the batch page, then under Add Packaging Run(s) pick the package type, enter the units filled, and click Save Runs. Runs added there are loose units; record cases from the Package Batch card. A run packed in cases shows its case count, for example 84 (7 cases). The same page holds the batch's packaging date, batch code, pH, and notes under Batch context; click Save Batch Context to keep them current.
Batch already has runs? If packaging runs were logged before the batch got a packaging date, the card asks When was this batch packaged? instead. The date starts on the day the first run was logged, and you do not enter a container or count again. To change a count, use Packaging Runs.
Packaging early. If the batch's earliest package date has not arrived yet, FourFoxes warns you, and you confirm by checking I'm packaging this batch before its earliest package date. Nothing is saved without it. The same check appears on Edit Batch when you move the packaging date earlier than the earliest package date. Each confirmation is recorded: the batch page and the pH Testing Log show who acknowledged it and when.
Food safety checks. If your account has a pH check set to sync batch pH, recording the Batch pH logs that check automatically. Log other checks in the Critical Control Points panel on the Packaging Runs page. A pH you log in that panel also fills in the batch's Batch pH, and a later retest replaces it. A Batch pH you typed yourself is not changed.
About batch codes. A batch code can be up to 64 characters and must be unique for that product in your account. If you reuse one, FourFoxes shows an error and asks for a different code. You can set or change the code later on the batch's Edit Batch page or the Packaging Runs page.
Printing. Click Print Batch Sticker on the batch page.
Saving a packaging run draws containers, closures, and labels from your packaging purchases, using the product's Bill of Materials. A run packed in cases also draws the case pack's supplies, such as case boxes and shrink-wrap. Deleting a run returns them. If no container is set up, the count still saves, but nothing is drawn.
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