Solution
Inventory management software for restaurants, hotels and food groups
Inventory management is not just counting stock. tSpoonLab lets you control stock by store, track every movement, compare theoretical vs real inventory, and understand how inventory value affects food cost.
Why inventory control breaks at scale
Most food operations start with manual counts and spreadsheets. At a single location, this can work, barely. But as soon as a second kitchen, a central production unit or a satellite location enters the picture, manual inventory tracking collapses.
- Spreadsheets can't consolidate stock data across locations
- Manual counts are infrequent, inconsistent and prone to human error
- There's no connection between what's sold, what's produced and what's in stock
- Transfers between locations go untracked, creating phantom inventory
- By the time discrepancies are found, the cost impact has already compounded
Outcome:
Without inventory infrastructure, operators manage stock reactively, discovering problems after they've already eroded margins.
Inventory by store, family and cost center
Manage inventory across dry stores, cold rooms, freezers, bars, packaging stores, central kitchens, satellite locations or hotel outlets. Products can be grouped by family, store and cost center, so teams count, analyze and control stock the way the operation actually works.
Physical inventories without spreadsheets
Run stock counts by store, family, product or location. Teams count what exists in each store, compare it against expected stock, import inventory files when needed, and keep a clear history of every count.
- Count by store, product family or location
- See previous inventory counts
- Import stock count files
- Compare counted stock vs expected stock
- Review differences before closing the period
- Use final inventory values for reporting
Proof point
In a high-volume operation such as PortAventura, inventory workflows with tSpoonLab helped teams reduce the time spent on stock counts by 4 to 5 hours.
Every product movement explained
For each product, tSpoonLab shows how stock changed over time: opening inventory, purchases, productions, sales, transfers, waste, adjustments and physical counts. Instead of seeing only a final number, teams understand exactly why stock increased, decreased or deviated.
When recipes are structured as escandallos, sales trigger theoretical deductions based on ingredients, quantities and yields, so inventory becomes a direct reflection of what was planned, produced and sold.
Theoretical vs real inventory
Theoretical inventory
What should be in stock based on purchases, production, transfers, sales and waste.
Real inventory
What your team actually counts in each store.
Variance
The difference that reveals waste, counting errors, missing transfers, over-portioning or unrecorded consumption.
Waste tracking and stock variance
The gap between theoretical and actual inventory is where margin leaks. tSpoonLab tracks waste, spoilage and unaccounted losses, making variance visible, measurable and actionable.
- Structured waste recording by category, reason and location
- Variance reports comparing theoretical vs. actual stock levels
- Identify patterns: which products, locations or periods show the highest losses
- Track spoilage, over-portioning and unrecorded usage separately
- Set variance thresholds and receive alerts when limits are exceeded
Outcome:
Waste becomes a managed operational metric rather than an invisible cost absorbed into general expenses.
Know the value of your stock
tSpoonLab calculates inventory value by store, product family and period, helping teams understand how stock affects financial results. See which stores, families or products create the largest valuation differences between opening and closing inventory.
Inventory reports
These inventory values feed directly into food cost. Food Cost Control uses them, together with purchasing and sales, to measure real cost and margin.
Integration with purchasing and production
Inventory doesn't exist in isolation. In tSpoonLab, stock levels connect directly to purchasing workflows and production planning, creating a closed loop where every movement is accounted for.
- Low stock triggers purchase suggestions based on consumption
- Production orders deduct raw materials and add finished goods to inventory
- Central kitchen distribution updates stock at both origin and destination
- Supplier deliveries are validated against purchase orders before updating stock
- Full traceability from supplier delivery to final dish served
Outcome:
When inventory, purchasing and production share a single data layer, operators gain end-to-end visibility, from supplier to plate.
Related resources
Theoretical vs Actual Food CostFrequently asked questions
Control every stock movement across your operation
See how tSpoonLab connects physical inventories, stores, product movements, waste, production, purchasing and food cost across every location.
Schedule a discovery call