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The same word can mean different things on the floor, at the bar, in the kitchen and at the till, and that can get confusing. This glossary explains the cafe and restaurant ideas and terms as the trade uses them.
A la carte means the guest picks each item and sees a portion and a price on every line. A set lunch is one plate at one price and the choice is quick. A la carte takes longer, and the bill grows from those extra lines.
Example. The lunch set closed and dinner switched to a la carte. The guest picked soup and a grill as separate lines, and the bill came item by item.
See. Set menu, Fine dining, Menu engineering
Actual cost is the cost taken from counted stock movement. Theoretical cost reads the recipe, and the gap between them lands in variance.
Example. Actual cost sat above theoretical because the jigger had left the well. The count showed more spirit gone than the recipes allowed, so the gap was posted to the free-pour line.
See. Theoretical cost, Variance, COGS
An AeroPress is a manual brewer that steeps coffee briefly and presses it through a plunger. A V60 drips slowly and takes longer for a single cup. In a lunch queue you can get one filter out faster on the AeroPress.
Example. We made the single filter on the AeroPress in time for the lunch queue. The V60 was still dripping, so we did not hold the second cup on it.
See. V60, French press, Brew methods
An airpot is a vacuum pot that keeps filter coffee hot. At a lunch queue you do not brew every cup again. When the airpot empties, the barista goes back to the brewer.
Example. The queue asked for filter before the second airpot was full. The barista did not hold a half brew. They served from the first airpot.
See. Filter coffee, Barista, Brew methods
An allergen is an ingredient such as nut, milk, egg or gluten that can trigger a guest. If it is not plain on the menu and in what the waiter says, the wrong plate reaches the table. Allergen labeling is the job of writing and saying that ingredient.
Example. The pistachio baklava had no allergen line. The waiter said nut at the table, and the guest with a nut allergy did not take that plate.
See. Allergen labeling, Gluten, QR menu
Allergen labeling means nut, milk or gluten sit in plain sight on the menu and in what the waiter says. The allergen is the ingredient itself. The labeling is both a legal duty and the thing that stops the wrong plate reaching the table.
Example. The pistachio baklava carries an allergen line and the waiter says it aloud as well. The guest sent the plate back without having to ask.
See. QR menu, Menu engineering
American service means the food is plated in the kitchen and brought to the table; it is the usual cafe and lokanta service. A placemat is the paper or cloth under the plate. This entry is plated service itself, and portions are not split in the room.
Example. The grill left as American service, already plated in the kitchen. The waiter did not carve at the table and the portion was not split in the room.
See. Placemat, Service, Fine dining
AOV is how much a guest leaves on one order, on average. Even when table count stays the same, a dessert prompt or a better place on the menu can lift that average. Turnover is total sales; AOV is the amount that sits on each order.
Example. The waiter asked every table about dessert while the table count stayed the same. Average spend per order grew because a second line went into the basket.
An aperitif is a light bite before the main: oil and bread, cheese or a small meze. It is not a filling starter. It lands as the table sits, and the drink order opens before the main arrives.
Example. Aperitif cheese arrived as the table sat. The drink order opened before the main was written, and the check started on that line.
See. AOV, Ticket size, Upselling
Automation is orders, payment, stock and reports running on a screen instead of a notebook. When a paper ticket goes into a pocket the kitchen does not see the order. Automation drops the same line on the till and the range.
Example. After automation the Getir order reached the kitchen on its own. The till did not type the same line again.
On the floor, average usually means the average closed check. AOV looks at the order, ticket size at the table. Both answer the same question: how much did the guest leave.
Example. The average dropped today. The lunch menu pulled ticket size down, so closed checks were smaller.
See. AOV, Ticket size, KPI
The back bar is the bottle and kit shelf behind the bartender. The speed rail is the house pour within reach in front. A drink whose brand was named comes down from the back bar.
Example. Call whisky came off the back bar because the guest named the brand. The house bottle stayed on the speed rail in front.
See. Speed rail, Underbar, Bar station
A bain-marie heats chocolate, sauce or cream over simmering water so the pan never sits on the flame. A chafing dish keeps buffet food hot from below. The bain-marie lives in the kitchen; put the sauce on a direct flame and it burns, and that portion goes in the bin.
Example. The chocolate sauce stayed in the bain-marie and never sat on the hob. It did not catch, so that portion did not go in the bin.
See. Chafing dish, GN pan, Mise en place
A bar mat is the rubber surface where glasses and the shaker sit. The drip tray lives under the espresso machine. The mat keeps the bench from staying wet, so a glass does not slide.
Example. When the bar mat came off, the bench went wet. A glass slid, and the shaker would not sit on the wet wood.
See. Drip tray, Speed rail, Shaker
A bar spoon is a long-handled spoon for stirring a cocktail. A shaker throws the drink with ice. A bar spoon stirs a stirred drink without clouding it.
Example. The martini was stirred with a bar spoon and never went in the shaker. The drink stayed clear and the ice was not smashed.
A bar station is the bartender's working spot for shaker, measure and ice. The under-bar shelves and the bottle row in front belong to that spot. If it is cluttered, cocktails do not keep up and last-call drinks run late.
Example. The bar station was tight for two; shaker and ice met in the same spot. Last-call cocktails queued up and closing ran long.
See. Station, Underbar, Speed rail
A bar tab is a check left open at the bar in the guest's name. If it is not moved onto the table check, close-out still shows a separate bar line. You close two bills and think it was one table.
Example. The bar tab moved onto the open table check. One bill closed, and close-out did not leave a separate bar line.
See. House account, Open check, Par level
The barista is the person who runs espresso, milk and brew at the bar. The cashier takes payment. If the barista does not keep the cups coming, the queue waits at the bar even when the till is free, and the guest still has no coffee.
Example. At lunch the barista pulled two groups at once. The till was free, but the line at the bar kept moving because the cups kept coming.
Beverage cost is the ingredient share of drink sales: beverage cost divided by drink sales, times 100. Free pour lifts that percentage even when food cost is quiet, because the pour overruns the recipe.
Example. Weekend beverage cost rose because the jigger had sat in the drawer. Food cost stayed still; the drink measure had slipped, so the percentage moved only on the bar line.
A bill split is dividing one table check by person or by item. Partial payment mixes cash and card on the same ticket, while a bill split makes two separate checks.
Example. Four people split the bill and each card took its own line. Half cash and half card on one ticket would have been partial payment, whereas here separate checks came out.
See. Partial payment, Check, Table merge
A blast chiller pulls hot food down to service temperature fast. Rice cooling on the bench spoils. A blast chiller holds the HACCP window. A blast freezer takes the same product below freezing.
Example. Lunch rice rested on the bench and skipped the blast chiller. A spoilage line was written that evening and those portions went to waste.
See. Blast freezer, HACCP, Spoilage
A blast freezer pulls product below freezing fast. A blast chiller goes to service temperature. A blast freezer locks stock by freezing it. A holding freezer then keeps what is already frozen.
Example. The blast freezer was full so the ice cream could not go in. It went into the holding freezer and the texture suffered because it froze slowly.
See. Blast chiller, Freezer, HACCP
A blender cuts ice with a blade for a frozen cocktail or a smoothie. A shaker throws ice, it does not crush it. When the blender runs the bar gets loud, and that drink takes longer than a simple pour.
Example. Two blenders started together and the station drowned in noise. The frozen orders jumped ahead of the shaken drinks, and the queue at the bar waited.
See. Shaker, Ice bucket, Bar station
A blind basket is a filter basket with no holes, used to backflush. It locks into the group so the machine washes in reverse. Skip it and scale can reach the shot.
Example. The blind basket went missing. The group clean was skipped and the scale sat until the next day.
See. Filter basket, Group head, Cimbali
BOH is the kitchen, stores and staff rooms: the back of house the guest does not see. FOH is the dining room and the till. 86, the count and the pass all run in BOH.
Example. The BOH walk-in door stayed open. The saladette warmed, and the salad garnish started to turn before it reached the pass.
See. FOH, Walk-in cooler, Pass
A Boston shaker is a two-piece tin and glass. A cobbler has its cap and strainer built in. Boston wants a separate strainer in a fast bar, and when it sticks you lose time pulling the glass off the tin.
Example. The Boston shaker stuck and the glass would not leave the tin. Service kept moving on the backup cobbler, so that round was not lost.
See. Shaker, Cobbler shaker, Strainer
A bottle cooler is a bar fridge for bottles. A wine cabinet wants a set degree. A bottle cooler chills beer and the well spirit fast. Pack it solid and well gin comes out warm.
Example. The bottle cooler was packed solid and air could not move. Well gin came out warm, so the bartender moved spare bottles onto a faster chill.
See. Wine cabinet, Speed rail, Well drink
A bottle opener lifts a crown cap. A corkscrew takes a corked wine. Without an opener the beer cap stays on the table.
Example. There was no bottle opener on the speed rail, so the beer caps stayed on. They moved to draft and that round of bottles never opened.
See. Corkscrew, Speed rail, Draft
A bread basket is the basket that carries bread to the table. Cover charge is often thought of together with that bread, so if the basket arrives late the guest argues the charge.
Example. The bread basket arrived after the meze and the table asked about the cover line. Once the waiter set the basket down the argument closed, and the check presenter went out with that line on it.
See. Cover charge, Tray, Condiment set
Brew methods are the ways coffee or tea is made: filter, French press, pour-over or teapot. Each method wants its own time and its own product code, and when the bar mixes them at once the barista loses the sequence and service slows.
Example. When V60 and espresso opened together, the bar split into two rhythms. The barista finished the shots first, then moved to pour-over, and the queue settled.
See. Pour-over, French press, Filter coffee
Brunch sits between breakfast and lunch, often on weekends. One menu can carry fried eggs and a burger. Tables stay longer than a weekday breakfast, so lunch turns more slowly.
Example. Sunday brunch carried both fried eggs and a burger. Tables were still sitting at lunch close, so a second seating never opened.
See. Table turnover rate, A la carte, RevPASH
A bucket stand holds a wine bucket beside the table. Without it the bucket sits on the floor or on the table, and tongs and napkins get wet.
Example. There was no bucket stand. The wine bucket sat on the floor and tipped when someone walked past.
See. Wine bucket, Tray, Fine dining
A buffet is the guest filling a plate from a display or a counter. A la carte locks the portion in the kitchen. On a buffet the guest takes what they want, so cheese and salad run out fast, and what sits too long warms and goes in the bin.
Example. Cheese on the breakfast buffet was refilled three times because guests served themselves. Before lunch the warmed leftover went in the bin; the kitchen had not locked the portion.
See. Self-service, Portion, Waste
A bus tub is the tub that collects dirty service ware. The busser carries it from the table. Without it, dirty plates pile onto trays in the dish pit and washing stops.
Example. The bus tub sat full and the busser could not start a second round. Dirty plates stacked on trays in the pit, and washing had to wait.
A busser is the helper who clears the table, fills water and supports service. The waiter usually takes the order. The busser stays with plates and setup, not the check.
Example. The busser took the empty plates and filled the water. The waiter wrote the dessert order at the same table.
See. Waiter, Sous chef, Table management
A cafe latte is espresso with plenty of steamed milk. It is milkier than a cappuccino and usually sits in a larger cup. Steaming that milk takes the barista longer, and if the large size is its own item the check grows with it.
Example. Large latte sat as its own item, apart from the small. The guest took the large, the check rose on that line, and the barista steamed a separate jug.
See. Cappuccino, Espresso, SKU
A call drink is a pour where the guest names the brand. A well drink takes the house bottle on the rail. A call drink comes off the branded bottle and the check rises on that line.
Example. They made the gin a call drink because the guest named the brand. The house bottle stayed on the well rail and the check closed on the branded line.
See. Well drink, Pour, Ticket size
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee of espresso, steamed milk and foam in balance. It takes less milk than a latte. If the barista loses the foam, the cup is pulled again and the queue waits at the bar.
Example. On the morning cappuccino queue the barista pulled two groups side by side. The foam held, so nobody had to remake a cup, and the line at the bar did not stall.
See. Cafe latte, Espresso, Barista
A carafe is the vessel that brings water, wine or a prepared drink to the table. A decanter leaves the sediment, while a carafe speeds service because the measure is already ready at the table.
Example. The water carafe went to the table early, so the waiter did not walk back for every glass. The decanter was for wine and sat apart, so the two vessels were not mixed.
Cart abandonment is when the guest puts items in a QR or kiosk cart and leaves before paying. When checkout grows by two screens the cart sits there and the kitchen never sees it. Read it next to order conversion rate.
Example. When the QR checkout grew by two screens, full carts sat unpaid. The kitchen never saw those lines and conversion fell.
Cash close is counting cash, cards and house accounts at the end of a shift or day. You look with X and lock the day with Z, and if the card total misses the POS the slips are counted again.
Example. At night cash close the card total missed the POS, so the slips were counted again. The room had looked with X and had not yet cut Z. Once the gap was found, the day was locked.
See. X report, No payment, Partial payment
The cash drawer is the till compartment that holds notes and coin. If you skip the opening count, the cash in the drawer will not match the till and you will not know where the gap came from.
Example. The drawer was not counted at the start of the shift, so nobody owned the cash gap at close.
See. Till opening, Till variance, POS
Catering is food leaving for an event or an office, not for the dining room. Portions, delivery and billing are planned on their own. The kitchen can still run on a day the room stays empty.
Example. Saturday catering sandwiches left the kitchen in the morning and went to an office. The dining room stayed empty that night, but the kitchen had still worked.
See. Ghost kitchen, Recipe, Order management
A chafing dish keeps buffet food hot from below. A bain-marie holds sauce in the kitchen without burning it. The chafing dish carries the display; when the fuel runs out the rice goes cold and the guest takes a cold plate.
Example. The chafing dish fuel ran out and the buffet rice went cold. The guest took a cold plate, while the bain-marie in the kitchen still held the sauce.
See. Bain-marie, GN pan, Buffet
The check is the record of what is on the table and what it costs. When kitchen, till and guest see the same line, the bill does not turn into an argument. A paper ticket is a copy of that record; the check itself is what sits on the screen or in the book.
Example. The waiter added a second coffee to the check. Till and kitchen saw the same line, and the guest did not argue the bill.
The check number is the sequence given to each open bill. When the kitchen ticket and the till share that number, a void or a refund hits the right table. You call the number instead of hunting by name.
Example. The void posted to check 1842. The wrong table was not cleared, and the kitchen ticket carried the same number.
A check presenter is the folder that carries the check to the table. Without it the slip gets wet and the tip and card can go missing.
Example. Check presenters ran out, the bill left on a wet tray, and the card stayed on the table. Once the station was restocked, later checks arrived in a folder and the tip sat with the slip.
See. Check, Tray, Waiter station
Check software keeps orders, tables and payment on screen. When a paper ticket goes into a waiter's pocket the kitchen never sees the order. The on-screen check shows the same table to everyone.
Example. At peak a paper ticket went into a pocket, but the kitchen did not go quiet. The check software kept the table open and the order stayed on screen.
See. Check, Mobile ordering, Ritapos
The chef holds the pace of the kitchen and the standard of the plate. The sous-chef splits prep. If the chef is not on the pass, mise en place frays and tickets pile up.
Example. The chef stayed on the pass through service. Two grills left together and a cold plate did not reach the room.
See. Sous chef, Mise en place, KDS
A Chemex is a glass brewer that drips slowly through a thick filter. A V60 is one cup and stays on the bar. Chemex can leave for the table like a server, and that glass does not come back until the table finishes the pot.
Example. The Chemex sat on the table and the glass did not come back until the pot was empty. The next party waited on that brewer, while the V60 still made one cup at the bar.
See. V60, Coffee server, Pour-over
Churn is the share of guests who do not come back in a given period. Without a points card or a brand app you cannot follow that name. When they stop coming, you do not notice.
Example. At the branch without a points card, regulars stopped coming and nobody noticed. Once names were on a record, the no-returns showed; with a card those names could be followed.
See. Loyalty program, Rewarita, KPI
Cimbali is a name from the La Cimbali brand that many Turkish rooms also use for any espresso machine. The group head and portafilter sit on that machine. When the floor says the Cimbali is cold, they usually mean the house espresso machine, not the brand itself.
Example. When they said the Cimbali was cold, the barista meant the house espresso machine. It was not a La Cimbali; the generic machine on the bar had not come up to temperature.
See. Group head, Portafilter, Espresso
A citrus press is the tool that squeezes lemon and orange. The garnish tray holds the wedge. Fresh juice comes from the press; if it breaks, the sour goes onto bottled mixer.
Example. The citrus press broke and no fresh lemon juice came out. The sour went onto bottled mixer; the garnish tray still had wedges, nothing to squeeze.
See. Garnish tray, Muddler, Shaker
A cloche is the cover that sits over a plate. It keeps the dish hot and hidden on the walk from the kitchen. Leave it on the table and the plate steams under the lid.
Example. The cloche was left on the table and nobody lifted it. The grill steamed under the lid, and the guest never saw the plate clearly.
See. Pass, Tray, Fine dining
Closing stock is the stock at the end of the count period. Write it short and cost of goods sold looks high, because product still in the store is treated as if it had been sold.
Example. Month-end closing was written before the flour sacks were counted, so stock still in the store was treated as gone. Food cost rose; after flour was counted again the percentage moved back toward the recipe.
See. COGS, Opening stock, Stock count
A cloud-based system keeps checks, stock and reports in an online account, not in a box in the venue. The owner can see sales from home. When the branch closes, the data does not vanish.
Example. With the cloud POS, night sales were visible on the phone at home. The shop was closed and the report still sat in the online account.
A cobbler shaker is a three-piece tin with cap and strainer built in. Boston wants a separate strainer. A cobbler closes in one hand; when that built-in strainer clogs, a fine strainer comes in.
Example. The cobbler strainer clogged and mint would not pass. A fine strainer came in, and that round finished without switching to a Boston.
See. Shaker, Boston shaker, Strainer
A coffee server is the carafe that catches a filter brew. This word does not mean the waiter who serves the table. The vessel sits under a V60 or Chemex and carries the brew to the table.
Example. There was no coffee server and the Chemex went straight to the table, so the brewer sat on the table. Once a server was put in place, the brew ran into the carafe and the Chemex returned to the bar.
COGS is the cost of what was sold: opening stock, plus purchases, minus closing stock. Food cost divides that amount by food sales. If the month-end count comes in short, what you sold looks more expensive even when purchases did not change.
Example. The month-end count came in short and purchases had not changed. COGS rose because the closing stock was lower, so what was sold looked more expensive.
See. Opening stock, Closing stock, Food cost
Cold brew is coffee steeped for a long time in cold water. On a summer menu it is its own item, apart from hot filter. If you do not set it the night before, lunch runs out and you cannot brew a batch on the spot.
Example. Cold brew was set overnight and the lunch display did not run dry. Hot filter sat as its own item; nobody tried to steep a cold batch at noon.
See. Filter coffee, Brew methods, Stock
The cold station is the line that runs saladette and cold prep. The hot station takes the range. Leave this line open and the GN pans warm and spoilage starts.
Example. The cold-station GN pans warmed during service. Expo pulled the greens, wrote 86, and salad left the menu.
See. Hot station, Saladette, Station
A combi oven uses steam and hot air together. A convection oven runs dry. A combi cooks meat and vegetables without drying them out.
Example. The combi lost steam. The chicken skin split because the cook had turned into dry heat.
See. Convection oven, Sous-vide, Hot station
A commercial sink is the professional kitchen sink, and grade 304 steel is expected on a food-contact surface. Rinsing plates before they go into the machine starts here.
Example. When the sink blocked, plates went into the machine still dirty and the hood washer sat empty. Once the drain opened, pre-rinse ran at the sink again and the rack started to fill.
A community kitchen serves meals for a low fee or a donation, not for profit. A tradesmen's diner turns lunch and holds a till. A community kitchen puts filling plates first.
Example. The neighbourhood community kitchen sent the lunch set to doorsteps. Nobody was watching profit; the portions left to fill people.
See. Tradesmen's diner, Lokanta, Set menu
A comp is a line that reaches the table and is not collected. An unauthorised comp eats sales, and if it is mixed with discount and void at close-out the report does not show which line was actually sold.
Example. The birthday dessert was written as a comp, not a void and not a discount. Because the permission sat on the record, night reports read that line as an uncollected comp.
See. Discount, Void, Permission
Comp rate is the comped amount as a share of sales. An unauthorised dessert lifts that percentage and gross profit falls, because an uncollected line does not sit as sales.
Example. Birthday comps piled up, the comp rate rose, and permission was tightened. Dessert could still be written as a comp, but it could not be posted without manager approval.
See. Comp, Void rate, Permission
Concept is theme, menu, decor and service telling the same story. When the concept frays, the guest does not know what to order. If the menu and the room tell different stories, the order scatters too.
Example. The third-wave concept held on filter and V60. The pastry case stayed simple, so the menu did not leave the coffee story.
See. Menu engineering, Restaurant, Barista
A condiment set is the salt, pepper and oil on the table. If the waiter station is not filled, service runs to the kitchen for every table.
Example. The condiment salt ran out. Three tables called at once because the waiter station had no spare.
See. Waiter station, Placemat, Napkin holder
A contactless experience means menu, payment and the survey finish on the phone. No card or paper menu changes hands. The table closes on its own pace and the waiter only carries the plate.
Example. In the contactless flow the menu, payment and survey all finished on the phone. The waiter did not bring a check. The table closed on QR.
Contribution margin is what remains from a sale after variable costs such as ingredients, boxes and commission, to put toward rent and other fixed costs. When lemonade runs high and the grill plate runs low, that gap shows which line is carrying the room.
Example. In the weekly sheet, lemonade still left a solid share for rent after ingredients and boxes. The grill plate left much less on the same calculation.
See. Variable costs, Food cost, Turnover
A convection oven is a professional oven that moves hot air with a fan. A combi also adds steam. Convection evens croissant and tray bakes on dry heat.
Example. The convection fan stopped. One side of the tray burned and the other side stayed doughy.
See. Combi oven, Salamander, Prep
A corkscrew is the tool that pulls a cork. A bottle opener lifts a beer cap. Without a corkscrew the decanter waits on the table and the wine stays closed.
Example. When the corkscrew broke the bottle would not open. The wine bucket sat full until the waiter brought a spare corkscrew from the back bar.
See. Bottle opener, Decanter, Wine bucket
Cost analysis is seeing ingredient, labour and overhead on a dish, line by line. Food cost and prime cost come from that sheet. A price set from memory loses contribution.
Example. Cost analysis took the steak off the menu. Once ingredients and labour were added up, contribution was not holding.
See. Food cost, Prime cost, Recipe
A course is a service step such as starter, main or dessert. If the kitchen starts the main while the meze is still on the table, the grill goes cold or the pass jams. The course tells the plate when to leave.
Example. The main course started cooking while the meze was still on the table. The grill sat on the pass and went cold, then left late once the meze was cleared.
Cover charge is a service or bread-and-water fee taken when the guest sits. If it is not printed under the menu it arrives as a surprise on the check, and average spend looks bigger than the food and drink actually were.
Example. The cover charge was printed under the menu. Bread and water arrived as its own line on the check, so it was not a surprise.
See. Cover count, Service charge, AOV
Cover count is how many guests you hosted in a period. Cover charge is a line on the check. Cover count is the head count: how many people you seated.
Example. Saturday cover count hit 180. Table turnover was enough to seat that many guests.
Cross-selling is offering a complement to what was already ordered: a cookie with coffee, ayran with the main. Upselling grows the same item. Cross-selling adds a second line to the cart.
Example. The waiter offered a cookie with the latte and the guest took both. A second line hit the check; it was not a larger latte, it was another item.
See. Upselling, AOV, Ticket size
Cupping is tasting coffees side by side for aroma, acidity and body. A roaster or barista uses it to decide which coffee goes on the menu. It is a buying session, not the cup you sell the guest.
Example. Cupping compared two beans side by side and the lunch filter coffee changed on the back of that tasting. It was a menu choice, not a cup sold to a guest.
See. Filter coffee, Barista, Menu engineering
A current account is a named customer or company ledger you bill later. Veresiye, in most rooms, is the day's tab at the table. Cari sits under a name in the books and is not counted as cash at close-out.
Example. The corporate lunch went to the current account and never hit the drawer. The e-invoice left at month end, and close-out did not count that line as cash.
A customer display is the second screen the guest sees at the till. When the total sits there, a wrong discount or a hidden line is spoken at the counter, and till variance falls.
Example. The customer display showed 100 instead of 10. The guest spoke up and the till line was corrected.
See. POS, Discount, Till variance
A daily special is a plate written for that day, not sitting on the printed card, and it sells before stock runs out. If the POS has no product code, close-out closes that line from memory.
Example. The daily special sold out before lunch. Because it had its own code on the POS, the till could see which portions had gone. That line, which was not on the printed card, was not written from memory at night close.
The daybook is posting the day's income, costs and till movement into the accounts book. The Z report locks the till. The daybook carries that day into the books.
Example. Z ran at night and in the morning turnover and costs went into the daybook. The fiscal report sat on the books and the two records matched.
A daypart is a slice of the trading day, such as breakfast, lunch or dinner. When the menu and the price sit on that slice, brunch comes off after lunch and dinner opens on its own list.
Example. The set menu came up on the lunch slice, because that hour was built for office and student traffic. When the evening daypart opened, a la carte prices ran on the same table.
See. Price level, Set menu, Happy hour
A decanter is the vessel that airs wine and leaves the sediment behind. A carafe carries water or a prepared drink to the table, while a decanter opens the bottle before the guest and keeps the lees in the bottom.
Example. The older red went into the decanter before service and the sediment stayed in the bottle. The carafe on the table was kept for water, so the two vessels were not mixed.
See. Carafe, Wine bucket, Corkscrew
A deep fryer is the professional vat that fries in oil. Skip the oil change and the taste goes off and a refund follows, while ingredient spend stays in the books and sales on that line fall.
Example. The fryer oil went dark, fries stayed on the menu, and a refund came. After the oil was changed the taste recovered and that line was not written as a refund.
See. Hot station, Waste, 86
A deposit is money taken up front for a booking. If the party does not come, that amount can post as sales. Skip it and a large table sits empty when you could have seated someone else.
Example. No deposit was taken for the ten-top. The party did not come and the room sat empty at that hour.
See. Reservation, No-show, RevPASH
A digital menu is a menu opened on a tablet, a screen or QR instead of a printed card. A sold-out dessert comes off there, so you do not wait on a printer or a wall board.
Example. Cheesecake sold out after lunch and the line came off the digital menu. The wall board stayed as it was, but the QR at the table showed the current price and stock.
Digital tipping is the guest leaving a tip on the payment screen when the card closes the table. When cash is scarce, the waiter's work does not vanish in the drawer, because the amount shows separately at close-out.
Example. Tip choices appeared on the screen when the table paid by card, and the guest did not hunt for cash. At night close that amount sat apart from the cash drawer, so it did not mix into till variance.
See. Tip, POS, Order and pay
Digital transformation is moving the menu, the order, payment and reports off the notebook and onto a screen. When the paper menu and the notebook till go away, the same line reaches the kitchen and the till, and nobody types it twice.
Example. Paper menus and a notebook till went away, and the order ran through QR and the POS. Kitchen and till saw the same line, so the waiter did not copy the ticket by hand.
A discount is an amount taken off the check. If the reason and the permission are not written, night close-out will not tie to the documents and that line will not show on the Z report.
Example. The manager gave the discount with permission and the staff reason was written. The line showed on the Z report, so cash close did not treat that discount as missing cash.
Discount rate is the discount amount as a share of sales. If happy hour is not posted here, average spend looks as if it fell, even though the price was cut on purpose.
Example. The staff discount rate rose because an unauthorised discount had been pressed. Once happy hour was posted on its own, the drop in average spend could be read from the discount line.
See. Discount, Happy hour, Comp rate
The dish pit is the wash corner where dirty plates and glass collect. The bus tub lands there. If that corner jams, the pass runs out of clean plates and the room cannot serve.
Example. The dish pit overflowed and dirty tubs sat in the corner. No clean cloche was left on the pass, so the grill could not leave for the table.
See. Bus tub, Hood dishwasher, Busser
A display case is where pastry, borek or a sandwich sits in the guest's sight. If FIFO is skipped the front item goes stale. An empty case leaves ticket size on the drink only.
Example. When the morning case was full, a dessert left with the second coffee. If the case had been empty, the order would have stayed on the drink.
See. FIFO, Ticket size, Stock
A dog item is a menu line that holds neither sales nor contribution. It takes a slot on the card and still leaves waste and stock load. Dropping it or folding it into another dish is cleaner.
Example. Two mezze sold little and left no contribution. They left the menu so stock was no longer tied to those lines.
A double is two shots in one pour. Without a jigger the measure becomes a free pour and drink cost drifts from the recipe.
Example. The double whisky was measured in a jigger, with the second shot poured on its own. On the earlier glass poured by eye the measure had run long, and beverage cost on that line had sat above the recipe.
Draft is a drink pulled from a keg. When the keg dies the tap foams, and if there is no spare keg in the cold room that line comes off the menu.
Example. When the draft tap started to foam, it was clear the keg was done. There was no spare keg in the cold room, so the line was taken off the menu for a while.
The drip tray is the tray under the espresso machine that catches drips. Skip emptying it and the group head stays wet and the shot glass slides, because the water pooled underneath runs onto the bench.
Example. The drip tray overflowed and the portafilter dripped on the bench. After the barista emptied and dried the tray, the next shot glass sat still.
See. Cimbali, Group head, Bar mat
A dripper is the funnel that sits over a pour-over brew, and a V60 is one shape of that funnel. Without a server under it, the bed fills and the brew runs onto the bench.
Example. The dripper was left without a server and the brew ran onto the bench. Once a coffee server sat underneath, the brew filled the vessel and the bed did not overflow.
See. V60, Coffee server, Pour-over
Dry storage is the back-of-house shelf for dry goods such as flour, oil and tins. The walk-in cooler takes wet product. Skip FIFO in dry storage and the front sack sits too long, and the flour mites.
Example. Oil tins sat on the dry-storage floor. The count missed what was on the shelf, so the stock figure slipped.
See. BOH, Walk-in cooler, FIFO
Dynamic pricing is changing the price by hour, day or empty seats. A cheaper weekday afternoon coffee can fill a quiet room, while the evening price can stay put because demand is already there at that hour.
Example. Weekday afternoon coffee was cut and empty seats started to fill. The evening price was left alone, because the room was already busy in that slice.
See. Menu engineering, AOV, RevPASH
An e-invoice is cut for businesses and an e-archive invoice is cut for end customers. They are accounting documents, and they do not replace the floor check or the e-adisyon.
Example. The corporate meal closed on an e-invoice and the accounting document went to GİB. The floor check stayed separate; the table ticket was not used as the invoice.
See. E-receipt, Integration, VAT
An e-adisyon is the table's fiscal ticket issued electronically. The record goes to Turkey's Revenue Administration, and it can land on the guest's phone when the table closes. It is not an e-invoice; it is the electronic form of the floor slip.
Example. When the table closed the e-adisyon landed on the guest's phone and no paper slip was asked for. Accounts still cut a separate e-invoice that evening for the corporate meal, so the two documents did not mix.
Espresso is a short, dense cup pulled under pressure from fine coffee. Latte and cappuccino run from that shot, so if the grinder slips the milk drinks carry the same fault.
Example. When the espresso shot ran long the barista coarsened the grinder. The next lattes ran from that shot, so the milk cups settled as well.
See. Cafe latte, Cappuccino, Barista
Expo is the person on the pass who gathers plates and hands them to the waiter. Without expo, meze and the main can leave together and a cold plate mixes with a hot one.
Example. Expo held the two grill plates until the meze was done and did not pass dessert. The waiter took the plates together, so the table kept the course order.
An extraction hood is the canopy that pulls smoke off the range and grill. If it stops, smoke reaches the room and the hot kitchen cannot keep the hobs on.
Example. The hood filter was clogged and grill smoke reached the room. The hot station was stopped and the grill was not fired until the filter was changed.
See. Range, Grill, Hot station
F&B is short for food and beverage. Hotels, restaurants, cafes and catering sit under that roof. The POS carries the same line.
Example. Hotel F&B saw breakfast and the dinner restaurant on the same report. The kitchens were separate, but sales still sat in one F&B column.
See. Restaurant, Catering, POS
A feedback loop is taking what the guest said and putting it into next week's prep or service. If the survey sits in a drawer, the loop never closes and the complaint comes back.
Example. The survey showed slow service, so mise en place changed the next week and meze was prepped ahead. That complaint dropped on the following survey, which meant the loop had closed.
See. KPI, Churn, Mise en place
FIFO means using the ingredient that entered the store first. If new milk goes in front, the date on the back is missed and that product goes to waste.
Example. New milk went in front, the date on the back box passed, and those litres were written as waste. The next day FIFO put the older box in front, so the date was not missed before service.
See. Stock, Waste, Raw material
The filter basket is the perforated metal cup inside the portafilter. A blind basket has no holes and is for cleaning, and if the brewing basket loses dose the espresso flow changes.
Example. A double basket went on a single shot and the espresso ran long and thin. Back on the right basket the dose held and the shot time matched the recipe.
See. Portafilter, Blind basket, Espresso
Filter coffee is medium-ground coffee brewed with hot water through a filter, and it sits lighter than espresso. If the airpot is empty, the lunch queue waits on a fresh brew.
Example. Lunch filter ran out in the airpot and the queue turned back to the grinder. Once the barista filled the airpot with a fresh brew, the line moved without piling onto the espresso machine.
See. Airpot, Espresso, Brew methods
Fine dining is a dining room that runs on booking, cover charge and a long table time. Tables turn slowly, so you do not read its revenue per seat like a lunch set menu.
Example. The fine-dining table sat for close to two hours and a second party was not seated on that same chair early. Revenue per seat was not read like a lunch diner; cover and menu price were read against the long sit.
See. Cover charge, Mise en place, A la carte
A fine strainer is a fine mesh used as a second strain. A Hawthorne holds the big ice, while a fine strainer keeps pulp out of the glass.
Example. The sour went through a Hawthorne first, then a fine strainer, and no pulp sat in the glass. The earlier glass strained only through a Hawthorne had still held pulp.
See. Strainer, Hawthorne strainer, Shaker
Fire is the call that tells the kitchen to cook that plate now. Hold keeps that plate waiting, while fire opens the grill or the range for that ticket. The Turkish word fire for waste is a different entry.
Example. The meze was done and expo fired the main, so the grill started cooking at that moment. That call is not a waste record; once hold lifted, the plate moved toward the pass.
A fiscal cash register is the device that issues the legal receipt and talks to the tax authority. The POS closes the table. The register cuts the legal slip. TSM and GMP3 are the paths that carry that total to this device.
Example. The POS closed the table and the fiscal cash register cut the legal slip. The tax record dropped from the device. A screen slip alone was not enough.
See. ÖKC, New-generation ÖKC, GİB
A flat-top is a professional plate that cooks on a smooth steel sheet, while a grill leaves bars. Eggs and toast run on the flat-top because a liquid batter does not fall between bars.
Example. Brunch eggs stayed on the flat-top and the grill was kept for meat. Egg would break up on the bars, so the two pieces of kit were given separate jobs.
See. Grill, Range, Hot station
FOH is the dining room, the bar and everything the guest sees. The kitchen and stores (BOH) make the plate. The waiter, the till and the bar meet the guest here.
Example. The FOH waiter station was empty, so napkins and presenters were fetched from the kitchen. Trays piled on the pass, and the floor line was tied to the kitchen door.
See. BOH, Waiter station, Pass
Food cost is the ingredient share of food sales: food cost divided by food sales, times 100. When the recipe or waste slips, that percentage rises, because more ingredient has gone against the same sales.
Example. When the steak portion ran above the recipe, food cost rose while sales stayed flat. Once gram weight went back on the scale, the percentage moved toward the recipe again and the line stayed on the menu.
See. COGS, Beverage cost, Prime cost
A franchise is a contract that lets another operator run the brand. Menu and standards come from the centre, so the branch cannot change the price on its own.
Example. The new franchise branch took the central menu and could not change the lunch price from its own till. When the campaign dropped from the centre panel, it opened on every branch at once.
See. Multi-branch management, Ritapos, SKU
Free pour is pouring spirit without a jigger. When the measure is left to the eye, every cocktail becomes its own cost and the recipe does not hold.
Example. Gin was free-poured overnight and par level did not hold in the morning. Once the jigger came back to the well the recipe sat again and beverage cost moved toward the weekday figure.
See. Pour, Jigger, Beverage cost
A freezer is the cabinet that holds product below freezing. A blast freezer pulls the temperature down fast, while a freezer keeps that cold and is not the day-of-service bench.
Example. The ice cream stayed in the freezer and never went onto the open display fridge. At service only what was needed came out, so melt was not written as waste.
See. Blast freezer, Walk-in cooler, Undercounter refrigerator
A French press is coarse coffee steeped in water and pressed through a mesh, so the cup is heavy-bodied. If it waits a long time at the table, the next guest takes that table late.
Example. The French press was left to steep at the table and the next party waited on that seat. When the brew finished on the bar and went out in a carafe, the table freed earlier.
See. AeroPress, Brew methods, Filter coffee
French service is food finished onto the plate at the table from a tray or gueridon, and it is slower than American service. The table sits longer, but the dish is completed in front of the guest.
Example. The fish was finished as French service at the table and the next table waited on that show. In American service the plate would have been completed in the kitchen; here the time sat on the floor.
See. American service, Service, Fine dining
A garnish tray is the well that holds lemon, olive and mint at the bar. If the garnish that went in first is not used first, the mint wilts and the drink waits.
Example. Mint wilted in the garnish tray and the mojito waited for that reason. Once FIFO put fresh mint in front, the call drink did not stop on garnish.
See. Citrus press, Speed rail, FIFO
A ghost kitchen is a kitchen with no dining room that only cooks for delivery, and the brand shows in the app. There is no table at the door, and more than one brand can leave the same range.
Example. The ghost kitchen sent two brands out of the same range and there was no chair at the door. The order reached the kitchen from the app; no dining-room check was opened.
GİB is Turkey's Revenue Administration. E-invoice, e-archive, e-adisyon and fiscal-register records go there, and if the slip does not post, night close-out is short on the legal document.
Example. When the fiscal slip did not reach GİB, the night Z report was argued. After the link was fixed the record posted to the authority and cash close finished on the legal side.
A glasswasher is a washer built for bar glass. A hood dishwasher takes plates and fogs the glass. Glass leaves the glasswasher clear.
Example. Pint glasses sat in the glasswasher; draft was not 86'd. The queue waited at the bar because clean glass did not come back in time.
Gluten is the protein in wheat, barley and rye. If the menu has no gluten-free line for a sensitive guest, the waiter speaks from memory and the risk stays at the table.
Example. There was no gluten-free bread in stock, so the allergen forced a change of order. With no line on the menu, the waiter could not answer without asking the kitchen.
See. Allergen, Allergen labeling, QR menu
GMP3 is the open check total in Ritapos going to the fiscal register over a wired link. Self-service and the counter use this instead of wireless TSM, and when payment finishes the slip is cut and the order closes. GMP3 here is not Good Manufacturing Practice.
Example. On the counter line GMP3 sent the total to Inpos over the wired link; it did not go out to the table. When the slip cut, the table closed and the GİB record ran from the fiscal register.
A GN pan is the standard-size container in a professional kitchen. Saladette and bain-marie take the same GN size, and a wrong size leaves a gap on the display or the bench.
Example. The 1/3 GN pan did not sit in the saladette well and prep scattered on the bench. Once the right size went in, the display closed and the sauce sat in the bain-marie in the same pan family.
See. Saladette, Bain-marie, Prep
A gooseneck kettle is a kettle with a thin neck for a controlled pour. A plain kettle fills fast, while a gooseneck pours without breaking the V60 bed.
Example. Without a gooseneck the V60 overflowed from a plain kettle and the bed broke up. Once the thin-neck kettle arrived the pour slowed and the brew stayed in the dripper.
A grill is the kit that cooks meat on bars or cast iron, while a flat-top is a smooth plate. Grill marks carry the menu photo, which is why steak stays on the bars.
Example. The grill did not come up and the steak sat on hold; the flat-top was left for eggs. The meat wanted bar marks, so it was not cooked on the smooth plate.
A grinder is the machine that mills beans to espresso or filter size. The hopper feeds it from above, and if the setting slips both the short shot and the filter brew run wrong because both depend on the same grind.
Example. The grinder ran hot after lunch and the grind went finer, so the espresso started running long. The barista closed the hopper, pulled the setting back, and the next cups settled.
Gross margin is gross profit as a share of sales. Gross profit is the lira left on the table. Margin is a percentage, so if you plate a larger portion you put more ingredient into the same price and the percentage falls.
Example. We grew the grill portion and left the selling price the same. Gross profit in lira was still there, but the percentage shrank because more meat went into the same price.
See. Gross profit, Food cost, Portion
Gross profit is what remains after you take COGS off sales. Rent and wages are not in it yet. Menu contribution shows here; net profit is what is left after those costs come off.
Example. Lunch gross profit fell because the steak cost more to make that day. Rent had not changed; what the menu left after ingredient cost was smaller.
See. COGS, Gross margin, Contribution margin
The group head is where the portafilter locks onto the espresso machine. This word does not mean a party of guests or a booking. If the group is cold, the first shot will not run clean and the barista does not pull before the machine is hot.
Example. The second group stayed cold and the barista pulled from one group. After that head was heated with a blind basket, both groups opened for shots. A booked party was not what this word meant.
See. Cimbali, Portafilter, Blind basket
HACCP is a food-safety plan that controls hazards at critical points. Fridge temperature is written morning and night, and it is not left to memory.
Example. Fridge temperature was signed morning and night in the HACCP log. When the lunch reading was skipped, the same fridge looked off at the next check, so the gap in the log was filled.
Happy hour is cutting the drink or coffee price in a quiet hour, and like dynamic pricing it fills seats. If the discount is written without permission, night close-out will not tie to the documents.
Example. Happy hour in the late afternoon filled the empty bar. Average spend stayed below lunch because the price had been cut on purpose. Once the discount was written with permission, night close saw that line.
See. Dynamic pricing, Discount, RevPASH
A Hawthorne strainer is a spring cocktail strainer that sits on a Boston tin. A fine strainer takes the pulp on the second pass.
Example. The Hawthorne spring popped off and the strainer would not sit on the tin, so they moved to a cobbler. A fine strainer still took the pulp on the second pass.
See. Strainer, Boston shaker, Fine strainer
Hold is the call that waits on cooking a plate. Fire lifts that wait, and if the hold is forgotten a cold plate reaches the pass.
Example. The grill sat on hold and fired when the table finished the meze. If hold had not lifted, the meat would have left cold with the meze.
A hood dishwasher is a professional washer that runs when the hood comes down. An undercounter unit fits the bench, while a hood machine washes plates in a rack and takes a higher volume.
Example. The hood washer did not heat and the dirty rack sat on the pass. The undercounter machine could not take lunch volume on its own, so the chef waited for the hood to come up to temperature.
See. Undercounter dishwasher, Rack, Pre-rinse
Hookah is tobacco drawn through a water bowl that keeps a table for a long sitting. Table turnover falls. It wants its own menu and its own waste: coal and hose.
Example. The hookah table sat three hours. The next table could not take a walk-in because that sitting still held the seats.
See. Table turnover rate, RevPASH, Waste
The hopper is the bean bin on top of the grinder. Empty it and the grinder sucks air, so the shot comes out salty or thin.
Example. When the hopper ran out the barista added beans and dumped the first shot. That airy cup did not go to a guest; the next pull ran with a full hopper.
The host is the person who greets, seats and holds the waitlist. Seat the wrong table and the waiter walk grows, so reservations and walk-ins collide.
Example. The host sat the large booking in the garden and the inside room stayed empty. The waiter walked between garden and dining room, and the walk-in never saw the empty table inside.
See. Reservation, Waitlist, Table management
The hot station is the hot line that holds the range, grill and fryer. The cold station is the saladette. If a ticket drops on the wrong line, the pass waits and the plate cools.
Example. The hot-station grill filled. Expo asked the cold station for meze and split the ticket so it would not sit on the wrong line.
See. Cold station, Range, Station
A house account is a balance the guest leaves without paying at the table; it sits on a room number, a named ledger or a night account. At morning close-out that line is not cash in the drawer. You collect it later, and if you count it as cash the till will not balance.
Example. Drinks from the table went onto the room as a house account. The guest left, and reception closed the balance in the morning.
See. On account, Current account, No payment
An ice bucket holds ice at the table or the bar. A wine bucket chills the bottle. An ice bucket fills the glass with a scoop; if it melts you cannot fill the glass and last-call drinks do not go out.
Example. The ice bucket melted and the scoop ran empty. At last call the glasses could not be filled, so the closing drinks did not go out.
See. Ice scoop, Wine bucket, Bar station
An ice scoop is the scoop that lifts ice from the bucket. Scoop with a glass and broken glass can stay in the well, which is why food safety wants a scoop.
Example. There was no ice scoop, ice was taken with a glass, and the bar was stopped. Once a scoop was put in place the well opened again and the glass-break risk left the bucket.
See. Ice bucket, HACCP, Bar station
Industrial here means a high-volume kitchen and meal line for a factory, hospital or office. A cafe bar goes cup by cup, while an industrial range turns out many plates through production recipes and FIFO.
Example. The factory canteen sent set plates from an industrial kettle, with portions weighed to the production recipe. There was no cup-by-cup cafe rhythm here; the line ran from the kettle to the service display.
See. Production recipe, Catering, FIFO
Integration is the POS talking to a delivery app, a fiscal register or the books. When a delivery order reaches the kitchen, the till does not type the same line again.
Example. The Getir order reached the kitchen through the integration and the cashier did not key the line again. The fiscal register cut the slip when payment finished, and the POS and the delivery app carried the same record.
Inventory turnover is how many times stock is sold and replaced. Slow turns bring spoilage. Fast turns raise the 86 risk, because an order may not arrive before the item runs out.
Example. Fish inventory turnover was slow and the fillet waiting in the crate spoiled. They cut the order size and brought it more often.
Inventur is counting real stock in the store and writing it down, and it does the same job as a stock count. Skip it and the screen stock parts from what is on the shelf, so the cost figure drifts.
Example. Month-end inventur found flour short of the POS record; the sack was not on the shelf. Once the count was written, waste and cost were read from that short, and close-out was not done from memory.
See. Stock count, Stock, Waste
A jigger is a steel cup that measures 30 or 45 millilitres at the bar. If you pour by eye, every cocktail leaves at a different amount, the recipe does not hold and drink cost cannot be controlled.
Example. Once the jigger came back to the well the gin recipe sat and each glass left at the same millilitres. On the night it sat in the drawer, beverage cost had run above the recipe.
A jug is the wide vessel that brings water and drinks to the table. A milk pitcher steams milk. A carafe has a narrow neck. This jug cuts floor walks, so you do not return to the bar for every glass.
Example. The table asked for a second round before the water jug was empty. The waiter brought a full jug instead of a carafe and did not walk back to the bar.
See. Carafe, Milk pitcher, Tray
A KDS is a kitchen display system: the order sits on a screen in the kitchen instead of on a paper chit. The chef sees which plate is waiting. The rush ticket does not vanish, and tickets do not pile up on the pass.
Example. Two grill tickets stayed red on the KDS. The chef split the range and sent the waiting plates in order.
A kebab house is a meat venue built around the grill, with portions that leave fast. Lunch can turn in minutes. At night the grill slows, so the table pace is not the same as a lokanta.
Example. The kebab house turned lunch portions in minutes. When the grill slowed at night, the same tables sat longer.
See. Lokanta, Tradesmen's diner, Restaurant
A keg is the barrel that holds draft. If there is no spare keg in the cold room, the tap is 86'd and that beer cannot be sold.
Example. The second keg never reached the cold room. Draft was 86'd and that beer could not be sold.
A kettle is the heater that brings brew water to temperature. An airpot keeps filter coffee hot. A kettle boils fresh water for V60 and tea.
Example. The kettle could not hold 90 degrees. The V60 turned bitter because the brew water had boiled too hard.
See. Gooseneck kettle, Scale, V60
A kitchen printer drops the order as a paper chit on the range or the bar. With no KDS that chit is the only record. When the printer goes quiet, the kitchen does not see the order.
Example. When the bar printer ran out of paper the cocktail ticket stayed at the till. The bar did not see the order, so the drink was late.
See. Rush ticket, KDS, Order management
A knock box is the bin where the spent puck is knocked from the portafilter. Knock it on the bench and the group gets wet, and the basket can dent.
Example. The knock box filled up. When the barista knocked the puck into the sink, the group got wet.
See. Portafilter, Filter basket, Cimbali
KOT is short for kitchen order ticket, the slip that goes to the kitchen. When that slip vanishes the grill does not see the order. A KDS keeps the same line on a screen.
Example. The KOT jammed in the printer. Expo asked for a rush ticket because the grill never saw the slip.
See. Ticket, KDS, Kitchen printer
A KPI is one of the few numbers you watch to judge the room. In a restaurant, average check, table turnover and churn usually sit side by side on the weekly board.
Example. Average check and table turnover sit side by side on the weekly KPI board. Churn is read on the third line of the same week.
See. AOV, Table turnover rate, Churn
Labor cost is wages and overtime as a share of sales. Prime cost adds this to ingredient cost. An extra shift on the same tables lifts the percentage.
Example. A wet lunch lifted labour cost. The room was empty but the shift still stood at full crew.
See. Prime cost, Sales per labor hour, Shift
Last call is the last order taken at the bar before close. Miss it and a bar tab runs into the night, and the shift cannot finish close-out on time.
Example. Last call went out at 00:30. Two open bar tabs closed then, so close-out was not delayed.
See. Bar tab, Happy hour, Shift
Latte art is pouring steamed milk on espresso so a pattern sits in the cup. Photos can sell the drink. If every cup takes a long extra pour, the lunch line slows.
Example. When latte art ran long on every cup, the barista switched back to plain foam. The lunch line started moving again.
See. Cafe latte, Barista, Cappuccino
A locomotive item is the dish everyone wants, yet gram weight or price leaves little contribution. You do not kill the sales. You put cost or price back on the table.
Example. Tea sold a lot but left little contribution. Gram weight and price were reviewed. Sales were not cut.
See. Plowhorse, Menu engineering, Food cost
A lokanta is a neighbourhood eating house built on daily home cooking and set plates. A restaurant often opens on bookings. A lokanta can set lunch with a few dishes and close in the evening.
Example. The lokanta set lunch with three dishes. It closed in the evening, so there was no reservation book.
See. Tradesmen's diner, Restaurant, Set menu
A loyalty program leaves points, a treat or a private offer for the guest who comes back. A card left at home does nothing. An app on the phone shows the same offer at the table and catches churn there.
Example. When you tie the fifth coffee to the loyalty program, the till drops that cup as free. The guest still sees it on the phone even if the plastic card is at home.
Marketplace commission is the share a delivery app such as Getir or Trendyol Yemek takes from an order. The advertised rate is not the whole cut. Box and payment fees are why the same pide leaves more on the house QR channel.
Example. After marketplace commission the same pide left more on the house QR channel. The boxed marketplace line still carried the app cut.
A meal voucher is a meal paid with a company card or coupon. It needs its own tender at the till. Counted as cash, till variance and the VAT split break.
Example. Lunch meal vouchers were posted as cash. The drawer did not hold that cash, so till variance swelled.
See. Partial payment, Cash close, VAT
Menu engineering sorts each dish by how much it sells and how much contribution it leaves. Stars stay at the top, a plowhorse gets a cost or price talk, and a weak line that does not sell leaves the card.
Example. The star dish moved up on the menu. The dog dish left because it neither sold nor left contribution.
See. Food cost, Star product, Plowhorse
Menu mix is one item's share of total sales. Popularity looks at how often it sells. Menu mix turns that share into a percentage.
Example. The grill took the largest share of menu mix. It sold often with low contribution, so it was marked as a plowhorse.
See. Popularity, Menu engineering, Plowhorse
A milk pitcher is the jug used to steam milk. A service pitcher carries water. If this pitcher does not fit the steam wand, latte art slips.
Example. The small pitcher ran out. Foam collapsed in the large jug because the steam wand did not sit in that jug.
See. Steam wand, Latte art, Jug
Mise en place is putting ingredients, tools and stations in place before service. Once the door opens nobody hunts for salt. The pace of the shift is set in that prep.
Example. The door stayed shut until mise en place was done. Salt, boards and stations were in place.
A mixer is soda, tonic or juice mixed with a spirit. When that stock runs out, even a call drink falls back to the well because there is nothing to mix with.
Example. Tonic ran out. The gin had no mixer, so the bartender asked the guest to switch to soda.
See. Well drink, Shot, Par level
Mobile ordering is the waiter writing the order on a tablet at the table. The run back to the till stops. The kitchen sees the same line and the queue in the room shortens.
Example. The garden order reached the kitchen on mobile ordering. The waiter did not join the till queue. They wrote it on the tablet.
A mocha is espresso, chocolate and milk in one cup. The sauce adds its own stock line and cost. If it mixes with latte on the menu, the recipe slips.
Example. When mocha sauce ran out the barista had to switch the drink to a latte. The recipe had no chocolate left, so the drink changed.
See. Cafe latte, Espresso, SKU
A modifier is a line note such as rare, no onion or extra cheese. Skip it and the kitchen sends the house plate, and a return follows.
Example. The no-onion modifier was missed. The plate left as the house version and came back.
A moka pot is a stovetop pot that pushes coffee through under pressure. It is not an espresso-machine shot. A moka pot runs at home and on a small bar.
Example. When the espresso machine dropped, a moka pot kept four tables going. The cup was stovetop coffee, not a machine shot.
See. Cimbali, Espresso, Brew methods
A muddler is the stick that crushes mint and fruit in the shaker. A citrus press takes juice. A muddler puts oil and pulp into the drink.
Example. The muddler went missing. The mojito left without crushed mint, so the aroma never went into the drink.
See. Shaker, Citrus press, Garnish tray
Multi-branch management is running menu, price and campaign work for more than one site from one panel. A franchise is the brand and the contract. With multi-branch you change the lunch menu in three rooms at once instead of texting each till.
Example. The lunch menu on three sites changed at once from the central panel. Nobody texted each till; the price landed in all three rooms together.
See. Franchise, Ritapos, Stock management
Multi-currency display shows the price in euro or dollar next to lira. At a tourist table the guest orders without stopping to convert. The waiter does not have to do the rate maths at the seat.
Example. With lira and euro side by side the visitor did not stall the order. The waiter did not convert at the table, and the choice went on the check at once.
See. QR menu, Dynamic pricing
Multi-tenant means one software product hosting many venues in separate accounts. One branch's stock does not leak into another's report. That is how a franchise can run from one panel.
Example. On the multi-tenant account the three branch menus stayed apart. One branch's stock did not leak into another's report.
A napkin holder is the stand that holds napkins on the table. If the waiter station has no spare, service drops to the kitchen every round.
Example. The napkin holder sat empty. A napkin was stuffed in the check presenter because the table stand was not filled.
Neat is spirit served with no ice and no mixer. On the rocks wants ice. Neat leaves a single shot at room temperature.
Example. The whisky was ordered neat. The bartender did not put it in a rocks glass. It went out with no ice and no mixer.
See. On the rocks, Shot, Pour
A new-generation ÖKC is a fiscal POS that talks to GİB and takes card payment on the same device. An older ÖKC mostly only cut a legal slip. On the new generation, payment is tied to the fiscal record on devices such as Inpos, Ingenico, PAX, Pavo or Paycell. Ritapos keeps the check open until the slip is cut; the counter path is GMP3 and the table path is TSM.
Example. When the new-generation ÖKC cut the slip at the table over TSM, the open check closed. The total did not stay on the POS screen alone.
NFC and contactless payment is paying by tapping a card or phone on the device. A small amount may skip the PIN. The queue moves one step.
Example. The coffee closed on NFC. No PIN was asked, and the queue moved one step.
No payment means the order closes but no cash or card hits the till. A complimentary plate, a later collection or the leftover after a partial payment lands on this line. Close-out does not treat it as collected.
Example. The complimentary dessert closed as no payment. Cash on the Z report did not rise because nothing was collected.
See. Partial payment, On account, Cash close
A no-show is a booked table that the guest never reaches. The booking still sits on the book so a walk-in is refused, and that hour loses both turnover and RevPASH.
Example. Friday no-shows left two tables empty. Walk-ins were refused because the booking still sat on the book.
See. Reservation, Table management, RevPASH
A non-slip tray is a service tray with a rubber face that holds drinkware in place. A plain metal tray slides. The rubber surface keeps glasses from slipping on the walk to the floor.
Example. There was no non-slip tray, so three glasses slid off as they left the pass.
See. Tray, FOH, Ice bucket
Occupancy is filled seats as a share of the seats you have. Two rooms can post the same sales, and if one filled lunch while the other left empty hours, this ratio shows that gap.
Example. Lunch occupancy stayed low, many tables sat empty, and sales still recovered in the evening. Looking at RevPASH showed how the empty hour had pulled revenue per seat down.
Offline mode is the tablet keeping the order on the device when the line is down. When the link returns, the record writes to the cloud. With no offline mode the room goes back to paper.
Example. When the line dropped, offline checks kept moving. When the link returned in the evening, the records synced.
See. Uptime, Cloud-based system, POS
On account means leaving the table without settling now. The amount sits on the guest or the current account. At night close-out that line is not cash.
Example. The manager's table closed on account. The amount did not enter the drawer and hit the current account the next day.
On the rocks is spirit poured over ice. Neat takes no ice. A rocks glass chills the shot. The pour stays the same.
Example. The whisky arrived on the rocks. The guest who wanted neat sent it back because they had not asked for ice.
On-prem means the software lives on a computer in the venue, not in an online account. The floor can keep working when the internet drops. Seeing sales from home or adding a branch stays tied to that box.
Example. The on-prem till could not be opened from home. The night report stayed on the computer in the branch.
See. Cloud-based system, Uptime, POS
An open authorization holds an amount on the card limit without taking the money yet. When the check is final you capture it or you void the line. Unlike a house account, the funds sit blocked on the card and are not written to a ledger to bill later.
Example. Breakfast took an open authorization; nothing left the card yet. At checkout the real amount was captured and the leftover hold dropped.
See. POS, Void, House account
An open check is a bill that has not been collected yet; orders go onto that record while the guest is still sitting. An open table is the seat that holds it. Until the check closes, close-out does not treat that amount as cash in the drawer.
Example. Three open checks were still sitting in the garden; the guests had not paid. Close-out waited and did not count those lines as cash.
See. Open table, Check, Cash close
An open table is a seat whose check has not closed yet; the adisyon runs on that place. The open check is the money on the record, the open table is the seat in the room. Close it by mistake and a guest at the door thinks the seat is free.
Example. Two open tables were still in the garden with checks running. The host sat the walk-in inside instead of showing a busy seat as free.
See. Open check, Table management, Walk-in
Opening stock is the stock on the first day of the count period. Cost of goods sold runs from this balance, so if you skip the write-up, month-end variance is guesswork.
Example. Monday opening stock was counted and written down. Month-end cost of goods sold ran from that opening, so the gap between purchases and closing stock could be read.
See. COGS, Closing stock, Stock count
An opportunity product is a line that leaves good contribution but barely sells. A photo, a waiter suggestion or a new place on the menu is how the room notices it.
Example. The steak left good contribution but sold little, sitting on a lower menu row. After a waiter suggestion and a photo were added, orders started to rise and the line stayed an opportunity item.
Order and pay is the guest at the table scanning a QR code, placing the order and closing payment on their own phone. The waiter does not have to return to every table. The queue thins in the room, not only at the till.
Example. With order and pay the table closed without waiting for a waiter. Order and payment finished on the phone.
Order conversion rate is the share of visits to an ordering page that end in a paid order. A simpler QR menu lifts this rate. Read it next to cart abandonment. As one rises the other should fall.
Example. When the QR menu checkout steps were shortened, order conversion rate rose. Cart abandonment fell in the same week.
See. Cart abandonment, AOV, QR menu
Order management is following an order from the table to the kitchen and back to service. A grill-hold line stays red. Voids, rush tickets and bill splits run on this line.
Example. In order management the grill-hold line stayed red. The pass did not send that plate until the waiter fired the course.
See. Rush ticket, Check, Table management
ÖKC is the official short name for Turkey's payment recording device; on the floor people usually say yazarkasa. That device cuts the legal receipt and the record goes to the Revenue Administration. The POS runs the order and the table. The legal slip comes from the ÖKC.
Example. The check closed on the POS but the legal slip was not cut on the ÖKC, so the GİB record was missing at night close.
A paid in is cash put in the drawer that is not a sale. If the owner's change is not split from the opening float, nobody owns the till variance.
Example. The owner posted the change as a paid in and the opening float stayed clean. Evening variance was read from that in, not as if it had been added to sales cash.
See. Till opening, Paid out, Till variance
A paid out is cash leaving the drawer that is not a sale. Skip the write-up for the baker and the drawer sits short of what the POS expects.
Example. The baker was paid as a paid out and the reason and amount were written. The drawer matched the POS, because that cash did not sit as missing sales.
See. Paid in, Till variance, Cash drawer
Par level is the target stock that should sit on the bar or in the store. Fall below it and the reorder point should fire. Shelves are filled before an 86 is written.
Example. Gin sat under par. It was 86'd at night because the spare bottle had not arrived.
See. Reorder point, Stock, 86
Partial payment closes one check with cash, card or a meal card split across the same ticket. When two people share the bill the till sees both methods on one table. The leftover line does not sit open.
Example. Half the check closed on card and half on cash as a partial payment. The till saw both tenders on one ticket.
See. No payment, POS, Cash close
The pass is the kitchen bench where finished plates go to the waiter. Expo stands there. When the pass jams, plates wait and the room eats cold food.
Example. Six plates sat on the pass. The busser could not keep up, and the grills started to cool.
Permission is who on the POS may press discount, void or comp. If the busser sees the same key, close-out is argued every night.
Example. Void permission stayed with the cashier. The busser could not delete the line and night till variance did not open.
A placemat is a single-guest paper or cloth mat under the plate. American service is plated food leaving the kitchen for the table. Changing the mat does not change how the food is served.
Example. We changed the placemat because it was stained. The plate was still filled in the kitchen; plated service stayed the same.
See. American service, Condiment set, Tray
A planetary mixer is the professional mixer that whips cream and smaller dough. A spiral mixer kneads kilos. A planetary turns the bowl to whip a smaller batch.
Example. The planetary belt snapped. Pastry cream prep stopped because the bowl no longer turned.
See. Spiral mixer, Prep, Bain-marie
A plowhorse is the line everyone wants, yet gram weight or price leaves little contribution. You do not kill the sales; you put cost or price back on the table.
Example. Tea sold a lot but left little contribution, so gram weight and price were reviewed rather than cutting sales. Once the pot dose was tightened, contribution recovered.
Popularity is how often an item sells. Menu mix turns the share into a percentage. Together they split stars from dogs in menu engineering.
Example. Soup was popular with low contribution. In menu engineering it sat as a plowhorse.
See. Menu mix, Menu engineering, Star product
A portafilter is the handled filter that holds the basket. It locks into the group. If the tamp slips, the shot channels.
Example. The portafilter ran hot. The barista swapped to a cool handle and did not pull the shot from the hot one.
See. Filter basket, Group head, Tamper
A portion is the fixed amount that leaves on a plate or in a glass. If the gram weight slips, food cost rises and the guest sees a different plate every time.
Example. When the grill portion moved from 180 to 220 grams, contribution fell. The plate grew and the ingredient share rose.
Portion cost is the ingredient cost of one plate from the recipe. Recipe cost shows the batch. Portion cost shows the slice that leaves for the table.
Example. Grill portion cost was held at 180 grams. At 220 grams, contribution fell because the ingredient slice grew.
A POS is the point of sale where the order is taken and payment is processed. When a QR menu talks to the POS, the till does not type the same ticket twice.
Example. When the QR order landed on the POS the cashier did not type it again. The same ticket sat on the menu and at the till.
A pour is the standard spirit measure. The jigger locks it. Free pour makes every glass its own cost.
Example. The pour stayed at 45 ml. The double became its own SKU, so it did not mix with the single shot.
Pour-over is slowly pouring hot water over ground coffee and letting it drip. Each cup takes longer. At a lunch queue a filter airpot is faster.
Example. Pour-over stopped at lunch. The barista moved to the airpot filter because each cup was taking too long.
See. V60, Dripper, Brew methods
A pourer is the spout that sits in the bottle neck for a controlled pour. Free pour runs from the bare bottle. A pourer feeds the jigger cleanly.
Example. The pourer clogged. The well drink dripped into the jigger and the measured pour was lost.
See. Jigger, Speed rail, Free pour
A pre-rinse is the spray that knocks food off a plate before the washer. Without it the hood machine clogs and the rack spins for nothing.
Example. The pre-rinse hose burst. The bus tub sat in the sink because plates could not be cleared before the machine.
Prep is production done before service. Mise en place sets the bench, while prep puts sauce or cut product into the store as a semi-finished batch.
Example. Morning prep finished the sauce and lunch mise en place went up fast with that sauce. Setting the bench was a separate job: production ran in the pot, the layout ran on the station.
A price level is a different price on the same product for breakfast, late night or the hotel. If it is not tied to the daypart, the lunch price stays up on the screen at night.
Example. The hotel price level moved breakfast onto the room account and the dining-room price stayed separate. Once it was tied to the daypart, the night menu did not carry the lunch price.
See. Daypart, SKU, Dynamic pricing
Prime cost is food, drink and labour as a share of sales. Food cost shows the kitchen. Prime cost adds payroll so you see what the room actually carries.
Example. Weekend overtime lifted prime cost. Food cost stayed flat because the ingredient share had not changed.
A production recipe is the list of raw materials that make a produced item in the store. When a kilo of rice is cooked, raw rice and oil fall and cooked-rice stock rises. A sales recipe sends a portion to the table. A production recipe writes the intermediate item into the store.
Example. The one-kilo rice production recipe dropped raw rice and oil. Cooked-rice stock rose and lunch portions left from that stock.
See. Sub-recipe, Recipe, Stock management
A puzzle item leaves good contribution but barely sells. A photo, a waiter suggestion or a new place on the menu is how the room notices it.
Example. The steak left good contribution but sold little. A waiter suggestion and a photo were added so the room noticed the line.
A puzzle product leaves good contribution but barely sells. A bargain line is cheap and turns fast. If the puzzle dish hides on the menu the room never orders it; a photo or a waiter suggestion is how guests notice it.
Example. The steak left good contribution but sold little. A photo went on the menu and the waiter started offering it, so the room finally noticed the line.
A QR menu is the guest at the table scanning a QR code and opening the menu on their phone. You can take a sold-out dessert off that screen. You do not wait on a printer for the wall board.
Example. The sold-out dessert left the QR menu. The printed board stayed as it was. Nobody waited on a printer.
See. Order and pay, Allergen labeling, Contactless experience
A rack is the basket that carries plates or glass into the washer. Put plates in a glass rack and stems crush, and that wash cycle is wasted.
Example. Plates went in a glass rack and two stems crushed. That hood cycle was wasted; the glass needed its own basket.
See. Hood dishwasher, Glasswasher, Bus tub
A range is the professional block that holds hobs, oven and grill. Hot stations tie to it. Without a hood, smoke reaches the dining room.
Example. A range ring stayed off. The sauce station could not sit on the hob, so it moved to the bain-marie.
See. Extraction hood, Grill, Hot station
Raw material is the ingredient that enters the kitchen before it becomes a portion. The recipe draws from this line, and counts and production run from this stock.
Example. Rice as a raw material became cooked rice through the production recipe and the sack came off stock. When portions sold, what left was read from the raw-material line and from the finished rice.
A recipe is the gram and cost breakdown of one portion. When olive oil rises, food cost and stock both run from that line.
Example. When olive oil in the recipe rose, portion cost moved. Food cost was recalculated from that line.
Recipe cost is the cost of every raw line in a recipe. Portion cost is sliced from here. If an ingredient rises and the menu price lags, contribution slips.
Example. The olive oil rise lifted recipe cost. The salad price stayed put, so contribution slipped.
See. Recipe, Portion cost, Raw material
A refund is giving collected money back to the guest. A void clears a line that has not closed, while a refund breaks a closed check and wants permission.
Example. The cold soup was refunded after it had been collected and the amount went back to the card. The line was not cleared as a void, because the check had already closed.
See. Void, Permission, Cash close
Reorder point is the stock level that should trigger an order. It is the floor under par. Miss it and you write 86.
Example. Flour sat under reorder point and the order was late. Morning dough was pulled and bread was 86'd.
A reservation is holding a table for a given time. When the 20:00 booking arrives the next table can open for a walk-in. A no-show locks that slot empty.
Example. The 20:00 reservation arrived. The next table opened for a walk-in because that slot was no longer held.
A restaurant is a dining room that takes table orders and a check, often with a wider menu than a lokanta. Ritapos is the software name. The restaurant is the room.
Example. The restaurant opened on bookings. The lokanta watched the queue and did not keep a reservation book.
See. Lokanta, Fine dining, Ritapos
Revenue per table is sales divided by the number of tables. RevPASH looks at seat-hours. Revenue per table shows what that table left.
Example. Window tables posted high revenue per table. Garden tables left less on the same day.
RevPASH is revenue per available seat and hour. High turnover can still waste a seat. Lunch full and late evening empty is what RevPASH is built to show.
Example. Lunch RevPASH was high. Late evening seats sat empty, so revenue per hour fell.
See. Turnover, Table turnover rate, KPI
The project name for the mobile loyalty app built for your brand.
Example. Points and the push message went out from the Rewarita app.
See. Loyalty program, Churn, Ritapos
An advanced venue-management product that cafes and restaurants use, built so they can stop switching POS software.
Example. Checks, stock and QR ran from the same Ritapos account.
A rush ticket, or marş, is the kitchen slip that fires a course in order, and is also used to rush or reprint a missed plate. When the grill misses a dish or courses mix, the floor does not shout. The ticket goes out and the kitchen sends the second portion from that record.
Example. When the grill missed the plate, a rush ticket was sent. The kitchen sent the second portion from that slip. The floor did not shout.
See. KDS, Kitchen printer, Order management
A saladette is a refrigerated prep bench with GN pans. The cold station runs from here. If the lid stays up, the greens in the pans warm and spoilage starts.
Example. The saladette lid was left up overnight. By morning the greens in the GN pans had warmed and spoiled, so lunch salad came off the menu.
See. GN pan, Cold station, Spoilage
A salamander is a top-heat broiler. Gratin, a cheese finish and toast complete here. Forget a plate and the pass sees a burn, so the line has to send it again.
Example. The gratin was left in the salamander and the edge burned. Expo sent the plate back and the kitchen had to fire a clean one.
See. Pass, Expo, Hot station
Sales per labor hour is turnover divided by hours worked. Put an extra cashier on the same tables and sales per person fall, so labour costs more for the same till total.
Example. Two cashiers watched the same lunch queue and split the till. Hours worked went up, sales per person fell, and labour cost more for that same total.
See. Labor cost, Turnover, Shift
A scale weighs coffee and water in grams. A jigger measures spirits in millilitres. This scale locks the V60 and espresso ratio. If it is off calibration the bed drowns or the shot runs short.
Example. The scale was off calibration, so the V60 bed took too much water and drowned. The barista zeroed the scale and weighed the dose again.
A self-order kiosk is a standing screen where the guest orders instead of at the counter. When the lunch queue moves to the kiosk, the till only takes payment and handover, and the writing of the order sits on the screen.
Example. The lunch queue moved to the self-order kiosk. The cashier was no longer taking the order, only taking payment and handing over trays.
See. Order and pay, QR menu, POS
Self-service means the guest picks up the order at the counter and takes it to the table. The waiter walk shortens. The queue gathers at the till or kiosk. There is no table service.
Example. At lunch self-service the trays lined up after the till. Waiters were not walking tables, so the queue grew at the counter.
Service is how prepared food reaches the table. American service plates in the kitchen. If waiter and busser do not move that plate, the table waits. Service charge is a money line on the check. Do not mix it with this word.
Example. The kitchen lined desserts on the pass, but service slowed and the plates sat. The table sent the cooled desserts back.
See. American service, Waiter, Busser
A service charge is a percent or flat service line on the check. Cover charge is bread and water. Mix it with tip and close-out cannot tell who owns the money.
Example. The service charge sat on its own line on the check. The tip stayed on the card, so night close-out did not mix the two.
See. Cover charge, Tip, Check
A service trolley carries plates, cloches or a dirty tub. A tray goes in the hand. A trolley shortens the floor walk. If it blocks the pass exit, expo cannot send plates.
Example. The trolley carrying dirty tubs was parked in the pass exit. Expo could not send plates to the room until a waiter pulled the trolley clear.
Serving tongs lift bread, salad or ice without a hand. The HACCP no-touch rule runs from here. Without them the garnish tray and bread basket get handled.
Example. The tongs were sitting in the dish pit. The waiter filled the bread basket by hand and the kitchen flagged the hand contact.
See. Bread basket, HACCP, Ice scoop
Tabldot is a fixed-price meal with a short list of choices. Unlike a la carte the guest decides quickly. A tradesmen's diner can turn lunch on a few soups and mains. A set menu uses the same idea at dinner in a wider room.
Example. The tradesmen's diner set the lunch tabldot with three soups and two mains. The lunch queue moved without a long decision and tables turned quickly.
See. A la carte, Tradesmen's diner, Lokanta
A set menu binds several plates at one price. Tabldot locks a tradesmen's lunch plan. A set menu does the same at dinner, so average check can be guessed in advance.
Example. When they bound three plates into a set menu, guests decided faster. Ticket size did not swing that night and the kitchen knew the portion ahead.
See. Set menu, AOV, Daily special
A shaker is the tin that shakes a cocktail on ice. Boston and cobbler are types of it. Without one, the well drink stays on mixer only and shaken drinks do not go out.
Example. No clean shaker was left at last call. The bartender stopped sending shaken drinks and moved to stirred recipes.
See. Boston shaker, Cobbler shaker, Jigger
A shift is the stretch of time a crew opens and closes the till. Skip the handoff and nobody owns the till variance. Permissions also sit on that shift's user.
Example. The evening shift did not count the till opening. The variance sat until morning and nobody could say which crew owned it.
See. Till opening, Cash close, Permission
A shot is a single measure of spirit, usually 30 or 45 millilitres. A double is two shots. A jigger keeps that amount steady. Free-pouring makes every glass a different cost.
Example. The shot left a 30 millilitre jigger. The same spirit had been leaving every glass at a different pour.
A shot glass is a small glass used to catch espresso or hold a single measure. The scale takes grams. The shot glass shows colour and channelling. A bar shot is the measure itself, not the glass.
Example. A pale channel line showed in the espresso shot glass. The barista tamped again and the second pull ran even.
Siftah is the first sale of the day. The till opens on that ticket. When siftah is late the room feels empty. The first ticket simply has not closed yet.
Example. The morning coffee was siftah. The first line on the X report was that ticket, and the till counted as open from that moment.
See. Ticket, Cash close, X report
A SKU is the stock code of each distinct item you sell. If small and large latte share one SKU, the count slips. Menu engineering then treats two sizes as one line.
Example. When small and large latte became separate SKUs, the count held. The week before, one code had made large-size milk look short.
See. Stock count, Stock, Recipe
A slicer is the machine that cuts cold cuts and meat to an even thickness, so slice thickness is locked on the blade. Cut by eye and the portion slips, so ingredient spend rises against the plates that actually sold.
Example. Pastrami went through the slicer at the recipe thickness and the portion held on the scale. On the earlier plates cut by hand the gram weight had slipped, so ingredient spend had looked high against portions sold.
An SME is a small or medium-sized business. A one-room cafe and a lokanta with a few branches both sit under that roof. POS, the fiscal register and GİB work use the same words.
Example. The one-room SME ran the fiscal register and the POS on the same counter.
The sous-chef is the kitchen lead under the head chef. When the head chef is out they hold the pass. Mise en place and the pace of the shift stay with them.
Example. On the chef's day off the sous-chef held the pass. Prep did not fray and tickets still left in order through the evening.
See. Mise en place, HACCP, Waiter
Sous-vide is the method and the circulator that cooks vacuum bags in a low water bath. A combi oven gives the crust. Sous-vide holds the meat from the inside. If the vacuum fails, water enters the bag and the product spoils.
Example. The meat sat in sous-vide at 56 degrees. The grill only set the crust because the inside temperature had already finished in the bag.
See. Vacuum sealer, Combi oven, Grill
A speed rail is the rack that holds well bottles in front of the bartender. The back bar stores the call brand. The speed rail speeds the pour. Empty it and the well drink comes from behind, so service slows.
Example. Gin was missing from the speed rail. The well drink came from the back bar and the happy-hour queue grew by a round.
See. Back bar, Pourer, Well drink
Spend per head is total sales divided by cover count. Average check looks at the table. Spend per head looks at the seat: how much each guest left.
Example. Sales stayed the same while cover count rose. Spend per head fell for that reason.
See. Cover count, Average, Revenue per table
A spiral mixer is a mixer that kneads dough on a spiral hook, while a planetary mixer whips cream. If the dough mixer stops, morning bread or pide does not make the meal.
Example. The spiral mixer stopped and pide did not make lunch. The planetary mixer stayed on cream; dough could not be kneaded on that hook.
See. Planetary mixer, Prep, 86
Spoilage is stock thrown because the date or the cold chain was missed. Trim waste is what you lose while cutting and portioning. Spoilage is the milk left in the fridge that has to go in the bin.
Example. Three litres of milk spoiled because they sat forgotten in the fridge. FIFO had not been held, so dated stock went in the bin; that was not trim waste.
A staff meal is the plate the crew eats on shift, not posted as a sale. Mixed into comps or voids, food cost rises as if it were waste, and the sales total at close-out misleads.
Example. The lunch staff meal went on its own SKU. The comp report stayed clean. It did not look like a sale.
A star product is a line that both sells well and still leaves contribution. It stays in a visible place on the menu. Hide it and another line will not carry that sales easily.
Example. Cheesecake sold well and still left contribution, so it stayed at the top of the menu. A weak meze did not take its place.
A station is a production point such as grill, hot, cold or pastry. When the ticket hits the wrong station, the pass waits, because the plate is not made there.
Example. The pastry ticket sat on the grill and expo waited on the pass. Once the ticket moved to pastry, the plate reached the pass and the grill went back to the meat that was waiting.
See. Hot station, Cold station, Bar station
The steam wand is the steam pipe that stretches milk. The pitcher goes on it. Skip wiping the wand and milk burns, so the next latte smells scorched.
Example. The steam wand was blocked and the cappuccino had no foam. The barista cleared and wiped the wand, and the next milk stretched cleanly.
See. Milk pitcher, Cimbali, Cappuccino
Stock is the raw material and sellable product sitting in the store and under the counter. If you do not count it, the POS number is not the tin on the shelf. Stock management watches that number. Stock itself is the goods.
Example. Evening POS showed milk short. The morning count corrected the tin on the shelf and the screen stock sat on the real amount.
A stock count is counting what is really in the store, by hand or barcode, and correcting POS stock. A weekly count catches waste. Milk left to memory misses lunch.
Example. Sunday stock count found the oil tin two litres short of the POS. The gap went to waste and the next order was corrected.
Stock management is watching ingredients and items through buying, counts and recipes. The milk alert drops before lunch. You do not wait until the tin is empty. Reorder point does that job.
Example. The milk alert in stock management dropped before lunch. The order went in the same day and lunch lattes were not 86'd.
See. Raw material, Stock count, SKU
A stock transfer is moving goods between a branch and a store. Skip the write-up and one room shows waste while the other shows extra stock. That is why the count will not hold.
Example. Oil transferred from the warehouse to the branch was written on the POS. Both sides held at the evening count and no missing line opened.
A strainer keeps ice out of a shaken drink. Hawthorne has a spring. A cobbler carries its own strainer. A fine strainer catches pulp on a second pass.
Example. With no strainer the Boston shaker poured ice into the glass. The drink watered down and the guest sent it back.
A strong product is a line that both sells well and still leaves contribution. It stays in a visible place on the menu, and if you hide it another line will not carry that sales easily.
Example. Cheesecake sold well and still left contribution, so it stayed at the top of the menu. When it was moved down the list, orders started to fall and the line was put back where it could be seen.
A sub-recipe is a shared mix used in more than one dish: sauce, rice or salad sit in one place. The main recipe is each dish's own list. Change the gram weight on the sub-recipe and every dish that uses it updates together.
Example. We made the tomato sauce a sub-recipe and attached Adana and Iskender to it. The salt change went in once and both dishes updated together.
Table management is seeing empty, seated and reserved tables as they change. When two fours join, the waiting party sits. A paper plan does not keep that pace.
Example. Table management joined two fours. The waiting party sat there. Nobody had to chase a paper plan.
See. Table merge, Table transfer, No-show
Table merge joins two or more tables onto one check. When a large party arrives, separate tickets scatter. The merged table closes one bill.
Example. Two four-tops were merged. The party closed on one check, so separate tickets did not scatter.
Table transfer moves an open order to another table. When the guest leaves the sun, items are not typed again. Transfer to the wrong table and the check vanishes.
Example. The garden table moved inside. The check stayed the same. Items were not typed again.
See. Table merge, Table management, Check
Table turnover rate is how many different parties a table serves in a given time. A lunch menu can fill the same table more often in a day. Fine dining in the evening slows that same table again.
Example. The lunch menu doubled table turnover. Fine dining in the evening slowed the same tables again.
See. RevPASH, Table merge, Table management
Takeaway is food bought to eat away from the venue. It leaves through the same door as paket servis. Box cost and the counter queue sit apart from dining-room sales.
Example. The morning takeaway coffee queue finished before the tables. Box and lid cost sat on that line and did not mix into dining-room sales.
See. Takeout and delivery, Self-service, Marketplace commission
Takeout and delivery is food leaving in a box, not for the dining room. Getir and house QR share the same kitchen. The box and the commission eat contribution.
Example. Lunch takeout filled the range. The dining room stayed empty because the kitchen was on boxed orders.
A tamper is the tool that compresses ground coffee in the basket. Without a mat the bench scratches. If the tamp slips, the shot channels and espresso runs bitter or thin.
Example. The tamper slipped and channelling showed in the shot glass. The barista reset the dose, tamped level, and the second pull sat.
See. Tamping mat, Portafilter, Espresso
A tamping mat is the rubber pad the portafilter sits on while you tamp. Without it the handle and the bench chew each other and the dose slips.
Example. When the tamping mat went missing the barista tamped on the sink. The portafilter slipped, the dose broke, and the shot ran long.
See. Tamper, Portafilter, Scale
Tea brewing is letting the leaf give its flavour in hot water. In Turkey the double teapot and the thin-waisted glass are how that cup sells cheap. If the leaf weight slips, the taste goes off and the cost of that glass no longer fits the price.
Example. When brew time on the thin-waisted glass ran long, the queue waited at the bar. With the leaf weight held, the second pot still fitted the price and the taste did not go off.
See. Plowhorse, Brew methods, Portion
Tender is the payment movement that closes the check. Tender type is cash or card. Tender is the act of taking that line. An open check does not close until tender finishes.
Example. Tender finished on card and the open check closed. No cash hit the drawer and the night report filled the card column.
See. Tender type, Partial payment, Open check
Tender type is the kind of collection: cash, card or meal voucher. Post it on the wrong type and till variance and the GİB split break.
Example. The meal voucher was posted as cash tender. Till variance appeared because the collection type was wrong.
See. Tender, Meal voucher, Partial payment
Theoretical cost is the cost the recipes say you should have. Actual cost reads the count. The gap is variance. If the portion has slipped, theoretical stays low and actual runs high.
Example. Theoretical cost was low and actual cost was high. The portion looked as if it had slipped, so the recipe grams were weighed again.
See. Actual cost, Variance, Recipe
A ticket is the slip that carries the table's order to the kitchen and the till. Adisyon is the same record on the floor. If the ticket goes missing, the grill goes quiet until a rush ticket is sent.
Example. When the kitchen ticket went missing the grill did not see that table. The waiter sent a rush ticket and the right slip dropped again.
See. Check, Rush ticket, Ticket size
Ticket size is the average amount on a closed check. AOV looks at one order. Ticket size looks at what the table left. A dessert or wine prompt lifts both.
Example. Lunch ticket size stayed low because tables did not leave the set menu. Evening wine sales lifted what each table left.
Till opening is the cash counted into the drawer at the start of a shift. Skip the opening count and nobody owns the evening variance, because change also runs from that float.
Example. The shift started without a written till opening and the evening drawer came up short of the POS. With no opening float, nobody could split the gap between change and sales.
See. Till variance, Shift, Cash close
Till variance is the gap between cash in the drawer and cash the POS expects. If opening float, tips and comps are not split out, the gap grows every night and close-out will not lock.
Example. Till variance came up short because cash tips had not been signed off. Once tips were written apart from the drawer, the POS expected cash and the count moved toward each other.
See. Till opening, Tip, Cash close
A tip is extra money the guest leaves for service; it is not part of the dish price. If cash tips never hit the drawer, morning close-out will not balance. If a card tip has no line of its own, the waiter's share vanishes from the report.
Example. The card tip sat on its own line in the till report. Cash tips went into the sign-off book, and the drawer matched the book in the morning.
See. Digital tipping, Cash close, Waiter
A tradesmen's diner is a neighbourhood room built for lunch, set plates and a fast line. A fine-dining table sits a long time, while a tradesmen's diner closes the kitchen after lunch.
Example. The tradesmen's diner queued at lunch and the set plates turned quickly. The kitchen closed after lunch; there was no evening booking list as in fine dining.
See. Lokanta, Set menu, Kebab house
A tray is the flat that carries plates and glass through the room. A non-slip tray holds drinks. A plain tray slides leaving the pass and a cloche can slip underneath.
Example. The tray filled on the pass and the flat surface slipped. A cloche went underneath. The waiter did not drop a plate, but service paused.
See. Non-slip tray, Pass, Cloche
TSM is the open check total in Ritapos going to the fiscal device over a wireless link. Payment is taken at the table. When the slip cuts, the record reaches GİB and the order closes. TSM is not a generic card terminal. GMP3 is the wired counter path. TSM is the wireless tableside path, used with a fiscal POS such as Inpos.
Example. The card was taken at the garden table over TSM. The waiter did not walk back to the till. The open check went to the fiscal device and the table closed when the slip cut.
Turn time is the span from sit-down until the table is ready again. Table turnover counts parties. Turn time shows how long that party sat.
Example. Brunch turn time passed two hours. The evening booking waited at the door because the host could not free the table early.
See. Table turnover rate, RevPASH, No-show
Turnover is total sales in the period you pick. It is not profit on its own. A Saturday with high ingredient cost can still look large on turnover, while little is left in the till after the food is paid for.
Example. Saturday turnover rose; more sales hit the till. Steak cost more to make that same day, so the bigger turnover did not stay as profit.
See. RevPASH, Food cost, Contribution margin
Underbar is the ice, shaker and wash section under the bar top. The back bar is behind you. Underbar keeps the hands down. The speed rail holds bottles in front.
Example. Underbar ice ran out and the shaker wash filled. The speed rail still had bottles, but the pour slowed because there was no ice.
See. Back bar, Bar station, Ice bucket
An undercounter dishwasher sits under the bench. A hood machine serves a full room. An undercounter unit turns glass and plates at the bar and in a small kitchen.
Example. The bar's undercounter washer did not come up to heat. Glasswashing fell behind and evening stems were wiped by hand.
See. Hood dishwasher, Glasswasher, Undercounter refrigerator
An undercounter refrigerator sits under the bench. An upright stacks GN pans. This unit keeps milk and garnish in reach. An undercounter dishwasher washes ware. Do not mix it with this fridge.
Example. The undercounter fridge warmed and milk went into the pitcher lukewarm. Cappuccino foam would not hold, so the barista moved spare milk to the upright.
An upright refrigerator is a tall professional fridge. An undercounter unit fits a tight bench, while an upright stacks GN pans on the shelves.
Example. Prep GN pans went into the upright on FIFO, with the new box at the back. The door stayed shut through the shift, so shelf temperature held at the morning log value.
See. Undercounter refrigerator, GN pan, FIFO
Upselling steers the guest to a larger size, a better plate or an extra. Cross-selling adds something beside it. Upselling grows the same line.
Example. The waiter moved the medium latte to a large. The same line grew and AOV rose. Nothing extra was added beside it.
See. Cross-selling, AOV, Ticket size
Upselling steers the guest to a larger size or a higher plate. Cross-selling puts ayran or dessert beside it. When the waiter says that at the table, AOV rises without a campaign.
Example. The waiter moved the medium to a large and offered ayran beside it. The same line grew and a new item dropped as well.
See. AOV, Menu engineering, Order management
Uptime is how long the system stays up without a break. When the POS or tablet drops, orders cannot be written on screen, the room goes back to paper and that evening's record falls apart.
Example. The system dropped at lunch, the tablet went quiet and the waiter had to write the order on paper.
See. On-prem, POS, Cloud-based system
A V60 is a dripper that comes from the Hario V60 cone and is used for pour-over. Pour-over is the method. V60 is the kit most rooms mean when they say it.
Example. When the V60 queue grew the barista stopped brewing cup by cup. They opened the airpot filter and did not switch to Chemex.
See. Pour-over, Dripper, Gooseneck kettle
A vacuum sealer packs product with the air out. Sous-vide needs that bag. If the seal fails, spoilage and waste hit the same night.
Example. The vacuum seal failed and the meat bag stayed open. The product went into the walk-in cooler unsealed and spoilage was written that evening.
See. Sous-vide, Walk-in cooler, Spoilage
Variable costs are the expenses that rise with each order: ingredients, boxes, app commission and card charges. Rent stays put, but the delivery hour grows these lines because every box and every commission arrives with a new order.
Example. Boxes and app commission posted as variable costs in the delivery hour, while rent stayed the same. By close those lines sat higher than the lunch room, because every outbound order had created its own expense.
Variance is the gap between theoretical and actual stock or cost. Till variance looks at the drawer. This variance looks at the kitchen count.
Example. Meat variance was a kilo short. The portion looked as if it had moved to 220 grams while the recipe still sat at 180.
VAT is the tax inside or on top of the selling price. Drink and food can sit at different rates. Mix them on the slip and the tax split at close-out breaks.
Example. Drink VAT sat on a separate line from food. At close-out the two rates could be read without mixing.
See. Fiscal cash register, E-receipt, E-invoice and e-archive
A void cancels a written line or a whole check. A void without permission creates a till gap. The wrong grill plate is cleared and the right one goes out on a rush ticket.
Example. The wrong grill plate was voided. The right one went out on a rush ticket and the till did not keep the cancelled line in sales.
See. Discount, Rush ticket, Cash close
Void rate is voided amount as a share of sales. A high percentage means a permission leak or a wrong KOT. A void is one cancel. The rate is those cancels as a share of sales.
Example. Evening void rate rose. The grill KOT had been sent twice and the duplicate slips were voided, so the rate swelled.
VUK is Turkey's Tax Procedure Law (Vergi Usul Kanunu). Slip, invoice and e-adisyon duties come from its notifications. VUK 507 ties secure mobile payment at the table to the electronic document.
Example. Under VUK 507 the card collection at the table was tied to the fiscal document. Payment had to drop from the cash register. A POS-only record was not enough.
The waiter is the person who takes the order, serves the table and closes the check. The busser clears plates, while the waiter stays the voice the guest hears.
Example. The waiter took the order on a tablet and the kitchen ticket printed on its own. While the busser cleared empty plates, the check conversation stayed with the waiter.
See. Busser, Waiter call, Order management
A waiter call is a button, QR or light the table uses to call a waiter. When the water runs out you see that table without walking the whole room.
Example. When the water ran out the waiter-call light came on and the table was seen without a full walk. The waiter came back with a carafe, so the next tables did not wait with a raised hand.
See. Waiter, QR menu, Table management
A waiter station is the dining-room corner for napkins, condiments and the check presenter. Empty it and the waiter runs to the kitchen while the table waits.
Example. The waiter station ran out of presenters and the check went wrapped in a napkin. Once the station was restocked, later checks closed on the floor and the waiter did not walk back to the kitchen door.
See. FOH, Check presenter, Condiment set
A waitlist is the guests written down at the door when the room is full. A reservation is a seat taken in advance. If walk-ins live only in someone's head, a table frees up and the party at the door leaves without seeing it.
Example. An eight-top left and the four on the waitlist were already written down. The host sat them, and the party at the door did not walk away.
See. Walk-in, Reservation, No-show
A walk-in is a party that arrives with no booking. If the host seats them at the first empty table, that table may still be held for a reservation or a late guest. A walk-in cooler is a different entry.
Example. A walk-in two-top sat at the window and the 20:00 booking had to move to the garden.
See. Walk-in cooler, Reservation, Host
A walk-in cooler is a cold store you step into. A walk-in guest is a party with no booking. This walk-in is the back-of-house fridge. Do not use the guest word for the cold room.
Example. The walk-in cooler door stayed open and the meat and milk inside warmed. Closing stock looked melted on the period-end count.
Waste is product lost in chopping, spoilage or a wrong portion. It never becomes a sale, so ingredient spend stays in the books and food cost looks high against the plates that actually left. The kitchen call to fire a ticket is a different entry.
Example. Chopped salad spoiled before it reached a plate and the evening count did not match the store. That loss was not written as a sale, so it was posted as waste and was not confused with the kitchen fire call.
A weak product is a line that holds neither sales nor contribution. It takes a slot on the menu and still leaves waste and stock load. Dropping it or folding it into another dish is cleaner.
Example. Two mezze sold little and left no contribution, so they left the menu. Stock and waste from those lines dropped.
See. Dog product, Menu engineering, Food cost
A well drink is built from the house spirit on the well. A call drink names the brand. A well drink keeps cost down and comes from the bottle on the speed rail.
Example. Happy hour moved to the well drink. Call gin stayed on the menu and the house spirit was poured from the speed rail.
See. Call drink, Pour, Happy hour
A wine bucket keeps an opened bottle cold in ice and water. An ice bucket is for filling glasses. A wine bucket usually sits beside the table on a stand.
Example. When the white wine reached the table it sat on the bucket stand. The ice melted into water, the bottle warmed, and the waiter refreshed the bucket.
See. Ice bucket, Bucket stand, Decanter
A wine cabinet holds bottles at a set temperature. A wine bucket chills at the table. The cabinet keeps stock without spoiling it. Unlike a beer bottle cooler, it holds separate degrees for red and white.
Example. The red sat in the wine cabinet at 18 degrees and reached the table too warm. It should have stayed in the cabinet rather than going into a bucket.
See. Wine bucket, Bottle cooler, Decanter
An X report is an interim fiscal report that does not lock the day. You take it at the shift change. Z waits until night. X does not close the day.
Example. An X report was taken at the shift change. Z waited until night, so the lunch crew handed over without locking the till day.
Yield is the share of a raw item that becomes usable product. After skin and bone leave the salmon, fewer kilos reach the plate. The same purchase makes fewer portions and each plate costs more.
Example. Salmon yield came in low, so the same box made fewer portions and plate cost rose.
See. Waste, Portion cost, Raw material
A Z report is the fiscal report that locks the day on the cash register. After it runs at night you cannot write a new slip for that day. The device opens a new day in the morning. X is the interim report and does not close the day.
Example. The Z report ran at night. In the morning the device opened a new day and no slip could be cut for the previous day.
It is the safest and most common standard for food-contact surfaces: 18 percent chromium and 8 to 10 percent nickel. It is used on pots, cutlery, sinks and kitchen tools.
Example. The soup pot and sink were 304. The brine tank was specified as 316.
See. 316 stainless, 430 stainless, Industrial
The extra molybdenum gives high resistance to acid and salt. Industrial kitchens, seafood and brine work prefer it.
Example. The mussel bench was 316 and the salt did not pit the sink.
See. 304 stainless, 430 stainless, Industrial
It has no nickel (18 percent chromium, 0 percent nickel) and is a magnetic, lower-cost grade. It is usually used on lower-risk decorative kitchen accessories or on the outer faces of cheaper goods.
Example. The display frame was 430. The food sink stayed 304.
See. 304 stainless, 316 stainless, Industrial
86 means the item is off sale right now: you ran out, or the kitchen pulled it. The waiter stops offering it and the kitchen screen does not print that line. A fire command starts cooking; 86 does the opposite and takes the dish off the menu.
Example. Baklava was 86'd because it had run out. The waiter moved the dessert to kadaif, so nobody sat waiting for an empty plate.
No matching entry.
Yes. A one-room cafe still closes a till and still needs to know which dish is carrying the room. AOV, table turnover and churn help you decide without digging through a notebook.
Turnover is what hit the till. RevPASH divides that by empty seats and empty hours. Two rooms can post the same sales while one filled lunch and the other sat on a late table.
No. A single dining room still runs recipes, waste and a cash close. The words stay the same when you grow. You just watch more rooms.
Yes. It stays open in the browser. No account or licence is required.
Staff who have worked in different venues may not be using the trade's standards the right way. This glossary was built so terms and ideas are used correctly, and so the same language becomes the standard inside your room. That way the language you use in the venue matches the trade's standards, and therefore matches Ritapos.
