Everything you need to know about The Ultimate Bean Counting App
When you first sign up, you'll land on the Dashboard. The app automatically assigns you a 14-day free trial so you can explore everything. On first login, the system tries to match you to your site based on your email or name — if it can't, it picks the first available site. You can switch sites at any time using the site selector in the top right of the Dashboard.
If you manage multiple locations, use the site selector (top right of the Dashboard) to switch between them. All data — stock, menus, waste, transfers — is filtered to the currently selected site. Your selection is remembered between sessions.
The Dashboard shows five key stat cards: Stock Deliveries, Recipes, Menu Cycles (published vs total), Waste Logged, and Invoices Uploaded. Tap any card to jump straight to that section.
Below the stats, the KPI panel summarises your delivery spend, waste cost, sales revenue, and stock count history for the selected site — giving you a quick financial pulse check.
A horizontal bar chart shows your most-wasted items at the current site, so you can spot patterns and take action. Tap into the Waste Log for the full breakdown.
Pending and recent stock transfer requests between sites are listed here, with a badge showing how many are awaiting approval.
The AI console on the Dashboard lets you ask questions in plain English about your data — e.g. "What's my most expensive ingredient this week?" — and get instant answers.
Shows what percentage of your ingredients are locally sourced, helping you track sustainability goals.
View daily sales summaries, revenue trends, and top-selling dishes. Sales data can be imported manually or synced automatically from your POS (e.g. Square) via the API Integrations page.
See revenue, cost of goods, and gross margin side by side to understand profitability at a glance.
Cool Beans AI is your built-in assistant for menu planning, cost analysis, and operational questions. Ask it to suggest menu changes, analyse waste trends, or generate shopping lists. It has context from your live data, so answers are specific to your site.
The Manus Agent can run longer, multi-step research and automation tasks in the background — for example, researching supplier alternatives or compiling a sourcing report. Create a task with a prompt, and check back on its progress. Results are saved for you to review.
Manage your full recipe library. Each recipe has a name, ingredients, quantities, unit cost, and an optional image. Recipes are the building blocks for menu cycles, cost analysis, and shopping lists.
Upload a photo for each recipe, or use the AI image generator to create one. Click a recipe image to view it full-size.
The app calculates the cost per portion automatically from ingredient prices and quantities, so you always know your margin.
Generate professional, printable recipe specification sheets — ideal for kitchen walls, training, or compliance. Each spec includes ingredients, method, allergens, and nutritional data.
The Stock page is your live inventory ledger. It tracks deliveries, current stock levels, and price history for every ingredient at the selected site.
Record stock deliveries as they arrive. You can upload an invoice photo and the app will parse the line items automatically, matching them to your ingredient catalogue.
Track how ingredient prices change over time. The price history graph helps you spot inflation trends and negotiate with suppliers.
Set minimum stock thresholds per ingredient. When stock falls below the threshold, the item is flagged so you can reorder before running out.
Organise ingredients by store room location to speed up stock counts and deliveries.
Run a full stock count by scanning product barcodes or manually entering quantities. The app compares your count against expected levels and highlights discrepancies.
On mobile, use the voice assistant to count stock hands-free — just say the product name and quantity.
Completed stock counts are archived weekly, creating a historical record you can revisit for audits and trend analysis.
Upload, view, and manage supplier invoices. The app extracts line items automatically and links them to stock deliveries, so your ledger stays accurate without manual data entry.
Upload multiple invoices at once using the bulk uploader. Each is parsed and matched to your ingredient catalogue.
The app automatically generates a shopping list based on your menu cycle, current stock levels, and minimum thresholds. Items you're short on are flagged "to order"; once ordered, mark them as "ordered" to track progress.
Shopping list items are grouped by supplier, making it easy to send each supplier their list of required items.
Manage your full product catalogue with PLU numbers, barcodes, suppliers, and pack sizes. Products link to ingredients and recipes for accurate cost and stock tracking.
Generate and print QR codes for any product. Scan them during stock counts to instantly pull up the product and log a quantity.
Upload and view 3D models of kitchen equipment, serving stations, or site layouts. Useful for planning, training, and visualising your space.
Create structured daily wastage reports capturing what was wasted, why, and the quantity. Reports can be imported from CSV or entered manually.
Each waste entry records a reason — overproduction, spoilage, expired, damaged, or quality reject — so you can identify root causes over time.
Log waste for dishes or individual ingredients. Each entry captures the item, quantity, unit, date, and reason. The waste log feeds directly into your Dashboard charts and KPIs.
Over time, the waste log reveals which items are consistently over-produced or spoiling, so you can adjust menus and ordering.
Request stock transfers from one site to another. Transfers move through statuses — pending, approved, rejected, completed — so both sites can track the movement.
Pending transfers appear on the Dashboard with a badge. Approve or reject them on the Transfers page.
Create and manage your sites (kitchens, canteens, cafes). Each site has its own stock, menus, waste, and sales data. Site contacts can be linked to user accounts for automatic site assignment.
Connect your POS system (e.g. Square) to automatically sync daily sales data. Connect procurement suppliers (Bidfood, Brakes, Oliver Kay) to import delivery and invoice data. Each integration is configured per site.
Each integration shows its last sync time, status, and record count, so you can confirm data is flowing correctly.
Admins have full access to everything, including all sites, user management, and settings. Regional Managers can manage multiple sites within their region. Site Managers can create and edit data for their assigned sites. Regular Users have read-only access to view data.
Row-level security ensures users only see and edit data for sites they're authorised to manage. Sensitive data like payment records and integration credentials is admin-only.
On mobile, a bottom tab bar gives quick access to Home, Stock, Recipes, and AI. Tap "More" to open the full navigation drawer with all sections.
On most pages, pull down from the top to refresh the data — useful after a delivery arrives or stock is counted.
The voice bean assistant lets you log stock, record waste, and navigate the app hands-free — ideal for busy kitchen environments.
The app offers three plans: Starter (up to 3 sites), Professional (up to 5 sites), and Enterprise (unlimited sites). A 14-day free trial starts automatically on signup.
Upgrade at any time from the landing page or the subscription banner. Payment is handled securely through Base44 Payments. Your access updates automatically once payment is confirmed.
If your trial ends without upgrading, your data is preserved. Contact support to reactivate or upgrade at any time.