Stock and kitchen
Waste and Loss Record Form
Complete it as soon as waste occurs and before the shift ends. Waste recorded from memory in the evening loses both the quantity and the reason. Complimentary items are also waste. Protecting the guest experience does not remove the need for a record. A complimentary item leaves stock but does not enter revenue.
Do not enter an approximate value. Weigh the quantity or check the recipe weight. Approximate figures distort the food cost calculation over time. Waste is not closed without a manager's initials. Do not approve your own waste. The food cost guide explains how unrecorded waste appears at month end.
Separate waste recorded during service from waste discovered at closing. The time of waste found at closing is unknown, so state that in the notes. If the same product is wasted for three days, review its recipe or storage conditions. Completing the form is not enough. Repetition must be added to the weekly manager checklist. Leaving the value column blank hides the cost even when a reason has been entered.
How to use this form
- Record the product, quantity, unit, and reason immediately. Trying to remember it later leads to an estimated weight.
- State the reason: spoilage, cooking error, spill, complimentary item, or return. If the reason is not recorded, the same waste will recur the next day.
- Record complimentary items on the same form. An unrecorded complimentary item creates both a cash variance and an inflated cost.
- Do not close the row without a manager's initials. The person completing the row and the person approving it must be different.
- Enter it as a stock movement on the same day. Waste that remains only on paper appears as an unexplained shortage during the count.
- File the form with the stock count. Unrecorded waste is often the source of a food cost variance.
How this maps to Ritapos
Sales affect stock through recipes. If waste is not recorded, the recipe makes an unsold product appear to have been sold. Before the stock count, enter the items on this sheet as Ritapos stock movements.
Complimentary items and returns should also be closed with a note in the activity log. The form records the reason, while the software records the value. If they remain separate, the food cost report and the paperwork will not match at month end. The recipe lesson shows which product leaves stock; this form shows what leaves outside a sale.
This form is a checklist for training purposes. It does not change your municipal, food registration, or occupational health obligations. Confirm local requirements in writing.
