Production Logging
The Production Logging system in Ice Cream Calculator tracks every batch you make, from scaling your recipe to reviewing analytics. This article covers the Produce page, the Production Log, and Production Analytics.
Producing a Batch
The Produce page is your primary production interface. To open it, click the Start Production button from any recipe view. You can also arrive here from the Planning page, in which case the batch size and container information are pre-filled from your plan.
At the top of the page you will see the recipe name and a navigation button labeled either “Back to Recipe” or “Back to Planning.” The green Mark as Produced button sits in the top-right corner on desktop, or appears as a floating action button on mobile.
If your recipe uses sub-recipes (derived ingredients such as a pastry base or a sauce), a navigation bar of chips appears below the header. Click any chip to switch between the main recipe and its sub-recipes while staying in the same production session.
Setting Your Batch Size
The Batch Size card gives you several ways to scale your recipe. Choose whichever method best matches how you work in your kitchen or production facility.
Multiplier buttons let you scale relative to the base recipe, with default slots of 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, and 10x. The active multiplier appears as a filled button, and a custom multiplier field lets you enter any arbitrary scale factor.
Fixed weight buttons set the total batch to a specific weight, with defaults of 1 kg, 2.5 kg, 5 kg, 10 kg, 15 kg, and 20 kg. A custom weight field (in grams) lets you enter any exact target weight.
Volume target buttons appear when your recipe includes volume data, showing labels like “Mix: 1.2L” and “Ice Cream: 1.8L.” The container calculator (calculator icon) opens the Production Volume Dialog where you specify container count, size, and overrun percentage to calculate the exact mix weight needed.
At the bottom of the card, a summary line shows Total weight in grams, the base recipe weight in parentheses, and any add-in weight separately. For example: “Total: 5000g (base: 4200g) + 800g add-ins.”
Customizing Your Presets
Click the gear icon in the Batch Size card to open the settings panel where you can customize all six multiplier slots and six fixed weight slots. The 1x multiplier slot cannot be changed.
- Click the gear icon to expand the settings panel.
- Edit the multiplier values (the 1x slot is locked).
- Edit the fixed weight values in kilograms.
- Click Save Settings to keep your changes, Reset to Defaults to restore originals, or Cancel to discard edits.
Your customized presets are saved to your account and persist across sessions.
Planned Production
When you arrive at the Produce page from the Planning page (via a plan ID), the Batch Size card is replaced by a Planned Production card. This card displays the planned quantity in kilograms and any plan notes.
If your plan includes containers, they appear as clickable cards. Tap each container to toggle it between unchecked and checked (filled) state as you work through your production run. This gives you a visual record of which containers have been filled.
The Ingredient Checklist
Below the batch size controls, a progress bar tracks how many ingredients you have checked off, showing both a count (e.g., “4/12 ingredients”) and a percentage.
The ingredient list supports two display modes via the Grouped and Recipe Order toggle. Grouped view organizes ingredients into categories, while Recipe Order shows them in the sequence they appear in your recipe.
In Grouped view, ingredients are sorted into categories with emoji labels and subtotal weights:
- Liquids — milks, creams, water, liquid sweeteners
- Powders — sugars, milk powders, stabilizers
- Inclusions — chocolate chips, cookie pieces, fruit chunks
- Infusions — vanilla beans, tea leaves, spices
Each group header shows the combined weight for that category. To mark an ingredient as weighed, click or tap its card and a green checkmark appears; click again to uncheck. The Reset All button clears every checkmark at once.
Each ingredient card shows the ingredient name and its scaled weight in grams. The weight automatically reflects your selected batch size, so you always see the exact amount to weigh.
Marking as Produced
Once you have finished your batch, click the green Mark as Produced button. On desktop this is in the top-right corner of the page header. On mobile, it appears as a floating action button.
This opens the Enhanced Production Dialog, which shows a summary of the recipe, quantity, estimated cost, and an ingredient table listing each ingredient’s weight, current stock level, and projected stock after production.
In the dialog, you can enter:
- Batch notes — any observations about the production run
When you confirm, the system performs several actions automatically:
- Generates a batch code in the format YYYYMMDD-NNN (for example, 20260209-001).
- Deducts ingredient quantities from your stock levels.
- Calculates and records the estimated batch cost based on ingredient prices.
- Creates ingredient usage logs for every ingredient in the batch.
- Creates lot usage records following FIFO (first in, first out) order for traceability.
If you arrived from the Planning page, confirming production also marks the plan as produced and navigates you back to the Planning view. A success message confirms the quantity that was recorded.
Production Log
The Production Log page, found at Production > Log, is your complete production history. It shows every batch you have ever produced, with key details visible at a glance.
A summary header displays aggregate statistics for your filtered results: total batch count, total weight in kilograms, unique recipes produced, total cost, and total waste. These update automatically as you apply filters.
On desktop, production records appear in a table with the following columns:
- Batch code — displayed in monospace font for easy reading
- Date — when the batch was produced
- Recipe name — which recipe was produced
- Quantity — shown in both grams and kilograms
- Quality rating — a star rating from 1 to 5
- Cost — estimated production cost for the batch
- Actions — edit, view details, trace lots, and delete
Batches that originated from a production plan display a purple “Planned” badge. Batches produced less than 24 hours ago display a green “Recent” badge. On mobile, the layout switches to compact cards optimized for smaller screens.
Filtering Your Log
Use the search field to filter by recipe name. The time period dropdown lets you narrow results to a specific window:
- Last Week
- Last Month
- Last 3 Months
- Last 6 Months
- Last Year
- All Time
- Custom Range (with date pickers)
Active filters appear as chips that you can dismiss individually. Click Clear to remove all filters at once and return to the full view.
Actions on Each Batch
Each production record has four action buttons:
- Edit (pencil icon) — opens the Edit Production Log Dialog
- View details (eye icon) — opens the Production Details Dialog showing the full recipe breakdown and costs
- Trace lots (track changes icon) — navigates to the Traceability page with this batch pre-filled for backward tracing
- Delete — permanently removes the production record
Editing Production Details
Clicking the edit icon on any batch opens the Edit Production Log Dialog. The top of the dialog shows read-only information: recipe name, batch code, production date, and quantity produced.
You can update the following fields:
- Operator name — who produced the batch
- Quality rating — a 1-to-5 star rating
- Quality notes — observations about what went well or could improve
- Batch notes — general notes about the production run
Yield Tracking
The yield tracking section lets you record what actually happened versus what was planned. Enter either the actual yield (in grams) or the waste amount, and the other field updates automatically since yield plus waste must equal the planned quantity.
After entering yield data, an alert shows the percentage difference from planned. A yield within 5% shows a green success indicator. Larger deviations are flagged so you can investigate and improve your process over time.
Production Analytics
The Production Analytics page provides a visual overview of your production trends. Access it from Production > Analytics. A time period filter at the top lets you select from Last Week through All Time, or define a custom date range.
Five overview cards appear at the top, each with a trend arrow comparing the current period to the previous equivalent period:
- Total Batches — how many batches you produced
- Total Volume — combined weight of all production
- Unique Recipes — how many different recipes you made, plus average batch size
- Total Costs — combined estimated cost, with a per-kilogram breakdown
- Total Waste — total waste amount with a waste rate percentage (shown only when waste data exists)
Trend arrows are color-coded: green for improvement, red for decline, and gray for no change. The comparison period matches your selected time window (e.g., “Last Month” compares to the month before that).
Charts
Below the overview cards, four interactive charts visualize your production data:
- Production Volume Over Time — a line chart showing your output across the selected date range. This is the largest chart, spanning the full width on desktop.
- Most Popular Recipes — a bar chart ranking your recipes by how often they were produced.
- Top Ingredients by Usage — a bar chart showing which ingredients you consume the most by weight.
- Top Ingredients by Cost — a bar chart revealing which ingredients cost you the most in total.
When no data exists for the selected time period, each chart area displays a placeholder message prompting you to either log some production or adjust your date range.
Tips
- Customize your presets early. Set your multiplier and fixed weight slots to match your standard batch sizes and container volumes. This saves time on every production run.
- Use the ingredient checklist consistently. Tapping each ingredient as you weigh it reduces errors, especially for complex recipes with many powders.
- Record operator names. When multiple people produce batches, noting the operator helps trace quality issues back to specific production runs.
- Track yield and waste after every batch. Even rough estimates are valuable. Over time, this data reveals patterns that help you reduce waste and improve consistency.
- Add quality ratings. A quick 1-to-5 star rating takes seconds but builds a powerful dataset for spotting which recipes and conditions produce the best results.
- Review analytics monthly. Regular reviews help you catch rising costs, waste, and volume trends before they become problems.
- Use the container calculator for precision. If you sell in fixed-size containers, the Production Volume Dialog eliminates guesswork about how much mix to prepare.
- Filter the log to focus. Use the time period and recipe name filters to zero in on the data that matters instead of scrolling through months of records.