What does the tspoonlab stores report show and how do you use it?
This article shows you how to use the "Stores report" in tspoonlab to calculate your actual Food Cost, compare it with the theoretical Food Cost and understand where the difference comes from, find the ingredients with deviations between what should be in the store and what there is, and review waste, actual consumption by category and the variation of your inventories. You’ll also see how to filter it, how to export it to Excel and what to check if the data doesn’t add up.
This article is for managers, head chefs and store or cost control managers who take inventories in tspoonlab. You need a user profile with the "Reports" permission.
The "Stores report" in tspoonlab cross-checks your inventories, purchases, transfers, sales, productions and waste. The actual Food Cost comes from what has really left the store between two inventories; the theoretical Food Cost, from what you should have consumed according to your recipe costings. That’s why the "Stores report" needs a full inventory at the start and another at the end of the period.
How do you open the stores report in tspoonlab?
To open the "Stores report" in tspoonlab:
Click "Analysis", in the black bar at the top, and then "Reports".
Click the reports dropdown, at the top left, and select "Stores report".
tspoonlab opens the report with the current month and the active Cost Centre. The period you’re viewing appears below the report name, for example July 2026.
How do you choose the period of the stores report?
The period of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab is chosen only with the month and year, at the top right, and with the orange arrows to move to the previous or next month. This report doesn’t have the options to group by day or week or to compare with another period, because its calculations depend on the dates of your inventories, so the calculation starts with an initial inventory and ends with a final inventory.
📢 Important: The "Stores report" calculates actual consumption with the initial and final inventory of the period. If you haven’t taken an inventory at the end of the month, the final inventory won’t appear in the report, or it will be worth €0 if it’s created but empty, and the actual consumption, the actual Food Cost and the inventory variation won’t be reliable. Take a full inventory every month, with the date "Month end".
How do you filter the stores report by Cost Centre, store or other data?
Below the period dropdowns, the "Stores report" in tspoonlab has a row of filters. To choose the Cost Centres for the report:
Click the Cost Centre filter.
Tick one or more Cost Centres. To find one, type its name in "Description..."; to tick them all, click "Select all".
Click "Select". The report adds up the data of all the ticked Cost Centres.
As well as the Cost Centre, you can filter the "Stores report" by "Category...", "Customers...", "Customer type...", "Account..." (analysis account) and "Store".
What does the “Result” block show and how is the actual Food Cost calculated?
The "Result" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab has two parts, "Actual" and "Theoretical", each with two columns: "Amount", the value in euros, and "Impact (%)", the weight of each row over sales. The rows that add to or subtract from the Food Cost show their impact in points (pt).
The "Actual" part closes the period starting from "Sales":
"Purchases": the amount purchased and its % over sales.
"Incoming transfers" and "Outgoing transfers": what has come in from other stores or Cost Centres and what has gone out to them.
"Inventory variation (Initial − final)": the difference between the initial and the final inventory, with both amounts below and the % the inventory has changed.
"% Actual Food Cost / Adjusted consumption": what you have really consumed, which is the sum of the previous rows, and its % over sales.
"Total contribution": sales − adjusted consumption, in euros and in % over sales.
Actual Food Cost example:
Sales for the month: €10,000.
Purchases: €3,000, an impact of 30%. Incoming transfers: €100 (+1 pt). Outgoing transfers: −€200 (−2 pt).
Inventory variation: initial inventory €2,000 − final inventory €1,400 = €600 (+6 pt).
Adjusted consumption: €3,000 + €100 − €200 + €600 = €3,500, that is, an actual Food Cost of 35% (30 + 1 − 2 + 6).
Total contribution: €10,000 − €3,500 = €6,500, 65% of sales.
The "Theoretical" part calculates the Food Cost according to your recipe costings. Its "Sales" are only the sales with a cost, and below it shows separately the sales "Without cost" and the ones "Pending" association, which aren’t taken into account. With those sales, it shows the "% Theoretical Food Cost / Consumption per recipe costing" and the theoretical "Total contribution".
The "Result" block is viewed on screen and can’t be exported to Excel.
Below the "Result" block, click "More data..." to see the results in two views: "Previous", with the results of the previous months, and "By Cost Centre", with the results of each Cost Centre.
What does the “From theoretical to actual Food Cost” block show?
The "From theoretical to actual Food Cost" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab explains why your actual Food Cost is different from the theoretical one. It starts from the sales with a cost and the "Consumption per recipe costing", and adds in points (pt) what has been consumed outside them:
"Consumption outside recipe costings": purchases that aren’t associated with any sale or recipe, such as packaging, cleaning products or staff meals. Click "+ Info" to see the details.
"Transfer": transfers between stores or Cost Centres.
"Waste": the waste recorded.
"Recipe costing deviations": the difference between what should be in each store and what has been counted in the inventory. Click "+ Info" to see the details by store and ingredient.
The result is the "% Theoretical to actual Food Cost / Adjusted consumption" and the "Total contribution". The chart on the right shows the same path: it starts from the "% Theoretical Food Cost", adds the points of each item and reaches the "% Actual Food Cost". That way, you can see at a glance which item explains most of the difference.
📢 Important: The points in this block are calculated over sales with a cost. If you have a lot of sales pending association or without cost, the sales with a cost will be lower than reality and the % Theoretical to actual Food Cost can come out at hundreds or thousands of points. Associate your sales and review the ingredients without cost so the block is useful.
What does the “Store deviations” block show?
The "Store deviations" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab shows a chart with the amount of the deviations of each store and, below it, the list of stores with their number of ingredients and the total amount of their deviations. By default, only the stores with deviations appear; with "Show all" you can see all the ingredients, and with "Show only with deviations" you go back to the initial view.
Click a store’s arrow to see its ingredients. The table has two views, which you switch with "View by quantity" and "View by amount":
By quantity: "Initial inventory", "Incoming", "Outgoing", "Theoretical"(what there should be: initial inventory + incoming − outgoing), "Final inventory" (what has been counted) and "Deviation" (final inventory − theoretical).
By amount: "Total purchases", "Total sales", "Theoretical", "Actual", "Deviation", "%" (the deviation over the total purchased), "Average price" and "Amount" (the value of the deviation).
Example of an ingredient’s deviation:
Initial inventory 10 kg + incoming 25 kg − outgoing 15 kg = theoretical 20 kg.
In the final inventory you count 15 kg: the deviation is 15 kg − 20 kg = −5 kg, that is, 5 kg are missing.
Over what was purchased: −5 kg ÷ 25 kg = −20%. With an average price of €8.00/kg, the amount of the deviation is 5 kg × €8.00 = €40.00.
A negative deviation means there’s ingredient missing and its amount is shown as positive, because it’s a cost; a positive deviation means there’s surplus ingredient and its amount is shown as negative. Inside a store, "Show all" also includes the ingredients with no deviation.
Click the arrow next to an ingredient’s name to see how its stock has evolved day by day, with the "Inventories", "Purchases", "Productions", "Sales" and "Other"movements, and the list of each movement with its date and quantity. That way, you can find when the deviation started.
The "Store deviations" block has three exports. Click the three dots at the top right of the block and select one of these options:
"Export report (XLSX)": the ingredients with a deviation, with Category, Analysis account, Ingredient, Code, Unit, Sales, Productions, Waste, Other (store movements), Theoretical consumption, Initial quantity, Purchases, Transfers, Final quantity, Actual consumption, Deviation quantity, Average price and Amount.
"Export report by Cost Centre (XLSX)": the deviations of all the Cost Centres ticked in the filter, with a Cost Centre column and a Store column.
"Export full report (XLSX)": all the ingredients in the store, whether they have a deviation or not, to analyse the consumption of each ingredient.
Image: Store deviations report from "Export report (XLSX)".
Image: Store deviations report from "Export report by Cost Centre (XLSX)".
Image: Store deviations report from "Export full report (XLSX)".
📢 Important: A unit or a purchase format that’s set up wrongly causes huge deviations, for example an ingredient that’s bought by the kilo but has a format recorded in grams. If you see a deviation of thousands of units, check the ingredient’s unit and purchase format before looking for losses. To see deviations more clearly, record ingredients in standard units (kg, L, unit or bottle), not in grams or millilitres.
What does the “Key ingredient store deviations” block show?
The "Key ingredient store deviations" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlabshows the deviations only of the ingredients you’ve marked as key, such as the most valuable ones or the ones that are lost most often. Mark the ingredient as key from the three dots on its Ingredient Page, with "Set as key product". You’ll find more details in Partial counts: what are they and how do you do them?.
Click the arrow next to the store name to expand the key ingredients of each store, then click the arrow next to each ingredient to see how its stock has evolved day by day, with the "Inventories", "Purchases", "Productions", "Sales" and "Other"movements, and the list of each movement with its date and quantity. That way, you can find when the deviation started.
The "Key ingredient store deviations" block has two exports. Click the three dots at the top right of the block and select one of these options:
"Export report (XLSX)": the same columns as the "Store deviations" report, only for your key ingredients.
"Export report by Cost Centre (XLSX)": the deviations of the key ingredients of all the Cost Centres ticked in the filter, with a Cost Centre column and a Store column.
Image: Key ingredient store deviations report from "Export report (XLSX)".
Image: Key ingredient store deviations report from "Export report by Cost Centre (XLSX)".
💡 Tip: Mark your most valuable ingredients as key, such as meat, fish or alcoholic drinks. Reviewing only their deviations every month is the quickest way to spot significant losses.
What does the “Store waste” block show?
The "Store waste" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab shows the ingredients recorded as waste from the Waste module, their quantities and their amounts, split by store. Click the store’s arrow to see each ingredient with its amount and quantity.
To download the "Store waste" report, click the three dots at the top right of the block and select "Export report (XLSX)". This report shows Category, Ingredient, Code, Quantity, Unit and Cost.
What does the “Actual consumption by category with purchases” block show?
The "Actual consumption by category with purchases" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab shows a bar chart with the adjusted consumption of each category.
When you select "More data...", the table opens with the initial inventory, purchases, transfers, final inventory and the % of each category over the total.
To download the "Actual consumption by category with purchases" report, click the three dots at the top right of the block and select "Export report (XLSX)". This report shows Ingredient, Initial inventory, Purchases, Incoming transfers, Outgoing transfers, Final inventory and Adjusted consumption.
What does the “Inventory variation” block show?
The "Inventory variation" block of the "Stores report" in tspoonlab shows a chart with the difference between the initial and the final inventory of each store.
When you select "More data...", the table opens split by store, with the initial and final inventory, the initial and final amount, and the increase between them. The totals for all the stores are at the end of the table.
The "Inventory variation" block has two exports. Click the three dots at the top right of the block and select one of these options:
"Export report (XLSX)": Store, Cost Centre, Start date, End date, Initial inventory amount and Final inventory amount, and Increase.
"Export detailed report (XLSX)": the same columns and, in addition, Category, Analysis account, Ingredient, Initial quantity, Unit, Final quantity, Quantity variation and Amount variation.
Image: "Inventory variation" report from "Export report (XLSX)".
Image: "Inventory variation" report from "Export detailed report (XLSX)".
The amount of each inventory depends on the valuation method of each store. You’ll find an explanation of how each method works in Set up inventory valuation for your stores.
Why doesn’t the data in the stores report add up?
If the "Stores report" in tspoonlab shows a disproportionate actual Food Cost, for example of more than 100%, or deviations you don’t expect, check these points:
An inventory is missing: without a full inventory at the start and at the end of the period, the actual consumption isn’t correct.
Purchases after the inventory: if you receive a delivery note dated before an inventory you’ve already taken, that inventory isn’t recalculated automatically; correct the inventory by hand.
Units and formats set up wrongly: a purchase recorded in the wrong unit multiplies the purchase amount and makes the actual consumption shoot up.
Sales not associated or without cost: they don’t generate theoretical consumption and they reduce the sales with a cost, so the % Theoretical to actual Food Cost shoots up and their ingredients appear as a deviation.
Waste not recorded: if you don’t record waste from its section, it appears as a deviation.
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