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Record an ingredient purchase

Add the purchase under Purchasing, one line per ingredient lot, with the supplier lot number and expiration date on each line.

An ingredient purchase is one receiving event: a supplier, a date, and the lots you took in.

Before your first purchase, set up the pieces it refers to:

  • Suppliers (under Catalog, then Sourcing): name, type, and contact details.
  • Ingredients (under Catalog, then Sourcing): name and unit of measure. Choose the unit carefully. Once an ingredient is on a Bill of Materials or has purchases recorded, its unit can no longer be changed (respellings such as lbs to lb are still accepted). To switch units, create a new ingredient and swap it in.

Then record the purchase:

  1. Open Supply Chain, then Ingredient Purchases, and click Record purchase.
  2. Pick the Supplier, set the Procurement date, and rate the Overall quality.
  3. Add one line per ingredient lot: the ingredient, quality, Expiration Date, and Supplier Lot #. A Manufacture Date is optional. Use Enter by on the line to choose how you enter the amount: Packages (see below) or Total amount, a quantity and a price per unit. Only the boxes for that choice are shown. Click Add Ingredient for more lines; lines you leave empty are skipped.
  4. Click Save Ingredient Purchase.

Enter packages the way the receipt reads. When you buy in packages, such as 3 bags of 3 lb at $10.94 a bag, choose Packages and fill in Packages (3), Pack size (3), Pack unit (lb) and Pack price ($10.94), and set Price is to per package or per unit of the pack unit. A line under the boxes shows the result as you type, for example = 9 lb at $3.65/lb · Line total $32.82. The pack unit can differ from the ingredient's unit. FourFoxes works out the full amount for stock, remaining quantity and cost, and the line total matches the receipt. The purchase page shows the pack beside the quantity, for example 9.00 lb (3 × 3 lb). Pack size and unit fill in from your last purchase of that ingredient from the same supplier, and never replace values you have already typed. A pack unit that cannot convert to the ingredient's unit, such as gallons for an ingredient bought by the pound with no density, is rejected with a message.

Purchases you recorded before packages existed keep their stored quantities, and their lines open in Total amount when you edit them. If one was entered as a package count, switch the line to Packages and enter the package count, size and price.

KB facsimile: Linked Ingredient Purchases card with Scan QR and search

Each line becomes a lot FourFoxes can trace and count. Expiration dates feed the Expiry (FEFO) page, which shows lots to use first. The purchase's Print page includes a QR code; that code is how you link the purchase to batches from the floor.

Photograph the lot label instead of typing it. On a saved purchase, click Scan lot label (or Add lot next to a line with no lot number), take a photo of the supplier's label, and click Analyze lot label. On the Review lot label screen, pick the Purchase line, check the Lot / batch number, Expiration date, and Manufacture date, and click Save lot details. If the label shows more than one code, tap the right one under Other codes read. A value that differs from what is already on the line is highlighted, with Use scanned to take the scanned value. Lot label scans count toward your plan's monthly invoice scans.

Keep every page with the purchase. While you record or edit a purchase, choose files under Invoice files for the invoice, and under Lot label files on any line, including a line you just added. They save with the purchase when you click Save. On a saved purchase, you can also use Attach invoice pages, or the Attach button in a line's Lot # cell. You can attach up to 10 files at a time: JPEG, PNG, WebP, HEIC or PDF, each up to 10 MB and 25 MB in total. On the purchase form those limits count every file in the save. If any file is refused, nothing is saved and the form shows which file and why. Photos are saved as JPEG with location data removed. A PDF shows as an icon and its filename and opens in a new tab. Attaching does not use a scan and does not fill in any fields. Attached files count toward your storage, and the purchase's history records each one. Members and above can attach files.

Density is optional. Add a Density (g/mL) on the ingredient only if you buy it by volume and use it by weight in recipes, or the other way round. Admins and owners can click Add missing densities on the Ingredients list to fill several at once, with suggested values from USDA FoodData Central where an ingredient is matched to a USDA food.

Ingredient purchases are available on every plan.

Review lot label screen The lot label photo sits on the left. On the right are the Purchase line dropdown, the Lot / batch number with other codes read as chips, and the Expiration date and Manufacture date. The expiration date is highlighted because it differs from the scan, with a Use scanned link. A Save lot details button is at the bottom. Review lot label Valley Pepper Farm · 10/14/2026 1 field differs from the scan — check the highlighted values before saving. Lot label photo HABANERO MASH LOT L2410-03 PK 2410-03B BEST BY 12/15/2026 Open full size Purchase line Habanero peppers Lot details save to this line. Lot / batch number L2410-03 Other codes read: 2410-03B 1 Expiration date 11/30/2026 Scanned: 2026-12-15 Use scanned 2 Manufacture date mm/dd/yyyy Save lot details 3
Pick another code the scan read (1), take the scanned value where it differs (2), then save the lot details (3).
Always enter the supplier lot number

The supplier lot number is what connects your records to your supplier's records in a recall. A trace with a missing lot number is flagged as a data gap.

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