Production System

Introduction

What is the Production System?

The Production System is a comprehensive set of tools designed for professional ice cream makers and small businesses to track, manage, and analyze their production operations. Whether you’re running a small home-based business or managing a professional ice cream operation, these tools help you maintain inventory, track costs, and understand your production patterns.

Key capabilities:

• Stock Management – Track ingredient inventory levels and costs (optional)
• Production Logging – Record batch production and ingredient usage
• Production Analytics – Visualize trends, costs, and production patterns
• Cost Tracking – Calculate production costs when ingredient prices are tracked

Who Should Use This?

The Production System is ideal for:

• Small ice cream businesses tracking inventory and costs
• Professional makers who want to analyze production patterns
• Home-based businesses managing ingredient purchases
• Anyone who wants detailed records of their ice cream production

Note: All production features are optional. You can use production logging without stock tracking, or track stock without detailed cost analysis. Choose the features that match your needs.

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Getting Started

Accessing the Production Hub

Navigate to the Production System from the main menu:

1. Click Production in the sidebar navigation (factory icon)
2. You’ll see the Production Hub with three main sections:
   • Stock Management – Track ingredient inventory
   • Production Log – View production history
   • Analytics – Analyze production trends

Understanding the Production Hub

The Production Hub provides a quick overview of your production activity:

Quick Stats Display:

The hub shows up to 5 different statistics depending on your data:

• Ingredients Tracked – Total number of ingredients you’re monitoring in Stock Management
• Low Stock Items – Count of ingredients that are out of stock or running low (only shown if any exist)
• Batches This Month – Number of production runs logged this month
• Production Costs – Total production costs for the current month (only shown if you track ingredient costs)
• Total Volume – Total weight/volume produced this month (only shown if production exists)

These stats update automatically as you log production and manage stock. Some stats only appear when relevant data exists.

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Stock Management

Stock Management allows you to track ingredient inventory levels and costs. This is completely optional – you can log production without tracking stock.

When to Use Stock Tracking

Consider using stock tracking if you:

• Want to know when to reorder ingredients
• Need to calculate production costs
• Want to track ingredient usage over time
• Run a small business and need inventory management

Accessing Stock Management

1. From the Production Hub, click Stock Management
2. You’ll see a table of all ingredients you’re tracking
3. Use the search box to find specific ingredients

Understanding Stock Status Colors

The stock table uses color coding to show inventory status:

• Green rows – Good stock levels (above 100g)
• Orange rows – Low stock warning (100g or less)
• Red rows – Out of stock (0g or not tracked)

Adding Ingredients to Stock Tracking

To start tracking an ingredient:

1. Click Add Ingredient Stock button
2. You’ll be redirected to the ingredient selection page
3. Search and select the ingredient you want to track
4. You’ll return to a dialog where you can enter:
   • Current Stock Weight (in grams)
   • Cost per kg (optional)
   • Notes (optional, e.g., “Preferred supplier: ABC Dairy”)
5. Click Save

The ingredient now appears in your stock table with its current inventory level.

Updating Stock Levels

There are two ways to update stock:

Method 1: Inline Editing (Quick)

1. In the stock table, click directly in the Current Stock or Cost per kg field
2. Type the new value
3. The system auto-saves after you finish typing (1 second delay)

Method 2: Edit Dialog (Detailed)

1. Click the Edit icon (pencil) next to an ingredient
2. Update any fields:
   • Stock weight
   • Cost per kg
   • Notes
3. Click Save

Tips:

• The system handles both comma (,) and period (.) as decimal separators
• When you add stock, the “Last Restocked” date updates automatically
• Leave cost empty if you don’t need cost tracking

Finding Untracked Ingredients

If you want to see which ingredients aren’t being tracked yet:

1. Click Find Untracked button
2. A dialog shows all ingredients used in your recipes that aren’t in stock tracking
3. Select ingredients you want to start tracking
4. Click Add Selected

This is helpful when you want to track all ingredients from your active recipes.

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Daily Production Workflow

Overview: Accessing the Produce Page

To log production, you’ll use the dedicated Produce page. This page provides a detailed interface for tracking your batch production with ingredient checklists and batch scaling.

The Produce page is designed for real-time use during production – you can check off ingredients as you add them and adjust batch sizes on the fly.

Step 1: Open the Produce Page

1. Navigate to any recipe in your recipe list
2. Click to view the recipe details (Recipe View page)
3. Click the Start Production button
4. You’ll be taken to the Produce page for this recipe

Step 2: Set Your Batch Size

The Produce page shows your recipe with scaling options:

Quick Multipliers:

• Click 1x, 2x, 3x, 5x, or 10x buttons for standard batch sizes
• OR enter a custom weight in grams

Step 3: Track Your Progress (Optional)

The Produce page shows all ingredients in two display modes:

Grouped View (Default):

• Ingredients organized by type:
  • LIQUIDS 🥛 – Milk, cream, water-based ingredients
  • POWDERS 🥄 – Sugars, stabilizers, powders
  • INCLUSIONS 🍫 – Add-ins like chocolate chips, nuts

Recipe Order View:

• Ingredients listed in the order they appear in your recipe
• Toggle between views using the buttons at the top

Checking Off Ingredients:

• Click any ingredient card to mark it as added
• The card turns green with a checkmark
• Progress bar at the top updates automatically
• This is optional – use it if it helps your workflow

Step 4: Mark as Produced

When you’ve finished making the batch:

1. Click Mark as Produced button (top right or bottom)
2. A dialog appears with production details:
   • Quantity Produced – Shows your scaled batch size (editable)
   • Batch Notes – Optional notes about this production
   • Estimated Cost – Calculated if you track ingredient costs

3. Review the information:
   • The quantity defaults to your scaled mix weight
   • Production date is set to now
   • Cost is calculated automatically (if costs are tracked)
4. (Optional) Add batch notes:
   • “First batch with new stabilizer”
   • “Customer order #123”
   • “Test batch – increased vanilla”
5. Click Confirm Production or Produce Anyway. Produce anyway is displayed if some ingredients in the recipe are out of stock.

Step 5: Confirmation

After confirming:

• You’ll see a success message
• If stock tracking is enabled, ingredient inventory automatically decreases
• The production log is created
• You’re ready for your next batch

What Happens Behind the Scenes:

• Production log created with date, quantity, and notes
• Each ingredient usage is recorded separately
• Stock levels decrease (if tracking enabled)
• Costs are captured (if cost tracking enabled)
• Progress checkboxes reset for your next batch

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Analyzing Your Production

Accessing Production Analytics

1. From the Production Hub, click Analytics
2. You’ll see comprehensive production statistics and charts

Understanding the Overview Stats

At the top of the Analytics page, you’ll see key metrics:

Total Batches – Number of production runs in the selected period

• Shows change vs. previous period (trending up/down)

Total Volume – Combined weight of all production

• Displays in kg or lbs based on your settings
• Shows change vs. previous period

Unique Recipes – How many different recipes you’ve produced

• Shows average batch size
• Helps identify production diversity

Total Costs – Sum of all production costs (if tracking costs)

• Shows cost per kg/lb
• Helps with pricing decisions

Time Period Filtering

Change the time range to analyze different periods:

Quick Filters:

• Last Week
• Last Month
• Last 3 Months
• Last 6 Months
• Last Year
• All Time

Custom Range:

• Select “Custom Range” from the dropdown
• Choose start and end dates
• Click Update to refresh all charts

Production Volume Chart

This line chart shows your production volume over time:

What it shows:

• Daily or periodic production totals
• Trends in production volume
• Busy vs. slow periods

How to read it:

• X-axis: Time periods (days/weeks/months)
• Y-axis: Volume produced (kg or lbs)
• Higher peaks = busier production days

Use it to:

• Identify seasonal patterns
• Plan ingredient purchases
• Forecast production capacity

Most Popular Recipes Chart

This chart shows which recipes you produce most frequently:

What it shows:

• Top 10 recipes by batch count
• Relative popularity of different recipes

How to read it:

• Longer bars = more batches produced
• Helps identify your “core” recipes

Use it to:

• Plan ingredient inventory (buy more of popular recipe ingredients)
• Identify recipes to optimize or cost-reduce
• Understand customer preferences

Top Ingredients Charts

Two charts help you understand ingredient usage:

Top Ingredients by Usage (Weight):

• Shows most-used ingredients by total weight
• Helps plan bulk purchases

Top Ingredients by Cost:

• Shows most expensive ingredients in your production
• Only visible if you track costs
• Helps identify cost-saving opportunities

Use these charts to:

• Negotiate bulk pricing for high-usage ingredients
• Focus cost-reduction efforts on expensive ingredients
• Plan inventory based on actual usage patterns

Interpreting Trends

The analytics system compares current period to previous period:

Trend Indicators:

• Green arrow up ↑ – Increase from previous period
• Red arrow down ↓ – Decrease from previous period
• Shows percentage or absolute change

Example Insights:

• “Total Batches: 15 (+5 vs. previous period)” = Production increased
• “Total Costs: $250 (-$30 vs. previous)” = Production costs decreased
• “Unique Recipes: 8 (same as previous)” = Recipe diversity unchanged

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Production History

Viewing Your Production Log

1. From Production Hub, click Production Log
2. You’ll see a detailed table of all production entries

Understanding Production Records

Each production log entry shows:

• Date – When the batch was produced (with “Recent” badge for last 24 hours)
• Recipe – Recipe name and ID
• Quantity – Batch size produced
• Cost – Estimated cost (if ingredient costs tracked)
• Notes – Any batch notes you added
• Ingredients – Count of ingredients used with untracked warning if applicable

Filtering Production History

Search by Recipe:

• Type recipe name in the search box
• Results filter in real-time

Filter by Time Period:

• Last Week
• Last Month
• Last 3 Months
• Last 6 Months
• Last Year
• All Time
• Custom Range (select specific dates)

Active Filters:

• Shows chips below filters indicating what’s active
• Click X on a chip to remove that filter

Viewing Production Details

To see detailed information about a specific production:

1. Find the production entry in the table
2. Click the View icon (eye icon)
3. A detailed dialog shows:
   • Complete production information
   • All ingredients used with quantities
   • Stock levels before/after (if tracking enabled)
   • Individual ingredient costs (if tracking enabled)
   • Total batch cost breakdown

Deleting Production Logs

If you logged a production incorrectly:

1. Click the Delete icon (trash can)
2. Confirm deletion
3. The production log is removed

Important: Deleting a production log does NOT restore stock levels. If you need to adjust stock, update it manually in Stock Management.

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Summary

The Production System helps you professionally manage your ice cream production:

Key Takeaways:

• All features are optional – use what you need
• Production logging works with or without stock tracking
• Cost tracking provides valuable business insights when used
• Analytics help you understand and improve your production
• The Produce page (from Recipe View) is the primary way to log production

Recommended Workflow:

1. Set up stock tracking for ingredients you want to monitor
2. Use the Produce page to log batches as you make them
3. Review Analytics monthly to understand patterns
4. Use insights to optimize inventory and costs

For more help with recipes and ingredients, see the related articles in the Help section.