Stock - Theoretical Stock Drilldown
Updated Thu 5 Nov 2026
Running the report
Report options
Choose your opening stock take
The stock take that starts the period. The list shows your posted stock takes from the last 120 days, newest first, each with its date, time and type in brackets, for example Mon 5 Oct 2026 at 22:30 (monthly). Only stock takes that are older than your latest posted stock take are offered, so the opening can never be the most recent one.
Choose your closing stock take
The stock take that ends the period, from the same posted stock takes, newest first. It must be later than the opening stock take. If it is not, the date line at the top of the report turns red and reads Invalid date range selected.
Search for a stock item
The stock item to analyse. Start typing to search. Items are listed alphabetically as the category, a dash, the item name and the item code in brackets. Archived items are not listed. The report always covers exactly one stock item.
The report at a glance
The two dates are the dates and times the opening and closing stock takes were counted, in your store's local time. Sales between those two moments are what the report analyses.
- Selected parameters: the two stock takes and the stock item you chose.
- The idea behind it: one line reminding you how theoretical usage and costing work.
- The usage breakdown: every menu item sold, its quantity, recipe quantity, usage and value, grouped by menu revision and by sit down or take away.
- Subtotals and total: the usage and value for sit down and for take away, then the total for the whole period.
The footer shows your brand and store, the report version and page number, who ran the report and when, and three small numbers at the bottom right: the opening stock take, the closing stock take and the stock item the report was run for.
The idea behind it
Theoretical stock usage is the stock your sales say you should have used. Every menu item has a recipe, so every sale uses a little of each stock item in that recipe. Add up all those little amounts for the period and you have the theoretical usage of the item.
The report shows that sum in full for one stock item. It also values the usage using your store's Weighted Average Cost (the average price your stock cost you, weighted by how much you bought at each price). The line under the column headings says so: It uses the store's Weighted Average Costs.
The same figure appears as Theoretical usage on the Stock variance report, where it is compared with the stock you actually used to give your stock losses.
Selected parameters
A panel under the header repeats what you chose, so a printed or exported copy is self-explanatory.
| Selected parameters | ||
|---|---|---|
| OPENING STOCK TAKE | CLOSING STOCK TAKE | STOCK ITEM |
| Mon 5 Oct 2026 at 22:30 | Mon 2 Nov 2026 at 22:30 | Cheese - Cheddar slices (CHD01) |
The usage breakdown
This is the heart of the report. It starts with the stock item and its unit of measure, then one block per menu revision, then a table for sit down and a table for take away.
| Cheddar slices - slices 1 | |||||
| Menu revision 412 from Mon 5 Oct 2026 at 22:30 until Mon 2 Nov 2026 at 22:30 2 | |||||
| Sit down 3 | |||||
| Menu item category | Menu item name | Qty sold 4 | xBase recipe + Sit down recipe 5 | =Theoretical stock usage in slices 6 | Theoretical WAC value 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Cheese Omelette (BF04) | 45.0 | 1.000 | 45.000 | 81.00 |
| Burgers | Cheeseburger (CB01) | 320.0 | 1.000 | 320.000 | 576.00 |
| Burgers | Double Cheeseburger (CB02) | 140.0 | 2.000 | 280.000 | 504.00 |
| Sit down subtotal: | 645.000 | 1 161.00 | |||
| Take away | |||||
| Burgers | Cheeseburger (CB01) | 410.0 | 1.000 | 410.000 | 738.00 |
| Burgers | Double Cheeseburger (CB02) | 185.0 | 2.000 | 370.000 | 666.00 |
| Kids | Kids Cheeseburger (KB01) | 90.0 | 0.500 | 45.000 | 81.00 |
| Take away subtotal: | 825.000 | 1 485.00 | |||
1 The stock item
The stock item you chose and its unit of measure. Everything below is about this one item.
2 Menu revision
A menu revision is a version of your menu and recipes. When a recipe or the menu changes, a new revision starts, and sales are costed with the recipe that applied at the time. Every revision that was in force during the period gets its own block, with the dates it ran. If your menu did not change, you see just one block.
3 Sit down or Take away
Some menu items use a little more or less stock depending on how they are served, for example an extra cheese slice on a sit down plate or none in a take away box. The report therefore splits every revision into Sit down and Take away, each with its own heading row and its own subtotal.
4 Qty sold
How many of that menu item were sold in the period, shown with one decimal place.
5 Base recipe + Sit down recipe (or Take away recipe)
How much of the stock item one portion uses: the quantity in the menu item's base recipe, plus anything its sit down (or take away) recipe adds. The column heading changes to Base recipe + Take away recipe in the take away table. In the example a Double Cheeseburger uses 2 slices and a Kids Cheeseburger uses half a slice.
6 Theoretical stock usage
Qty sold multiplied by the recipe quantity: 320 × 1 = 320 slices. The heading shows the unit of measure of the stock item.
7 Theoretical WAC value
What that usage is worth at your store's Weighted Average Cost. In the example one slice costs R 1.80, so 320 slices are worth R 576.00.
Rows are listed by menu item category, then menu item name. A menu item with a PLU code shows it in brackets after the name. Zeros that are only there to line the decimals up are shown in grey, so the real digits stand out.
- Grey digits
- Padding only. 45.000 with grey .000 is exactly 45.
Subtotals and total
Each sit down and take away table ends with a subtotal of its usage and value. After the last block, a total row adds everything up for the whole period.
| Sit down subtotal: | 645.000 | 1 161.00 |
| Take away subtotal: | 825.000 | 1 485.00 |
| Total theoretical stock usage of Cheddar slices: | 1 470.000 | 2 646.00 |
The total is the theoretical usage of the stock item for the period: 645 + 825 = 1 470 slices, worth 1 161.00 + 1 485.00 = 2 646.00. When you open the report from the Stock variance report, this is the figure you clicked.
Watch the video
A short walkthrough of the Theoretical stock drilldown report.
Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.
Frequently asked questions
Does the total match the Theoretical usage on the Stock variance report?
It is meant to. The Stock variance report shows the same theoretical usage figure and this report shows how it was built. For them to agree, use the same opening stock take, the same closing stock take and the same stock item. If the two still differ, contact AuraPOS support.
Why is the report empty, or why does it show "Invalid date range selected"?
The red message means the opening stock take is not earlier than the closing stock take. Pick an opening stock take that was counted before the closing one. If the dates are fine and nothing is listed, no menu item sold between the two stock takes uses this stock item in its recipe.
Why does the same menu item appear more than once?
A menu item appears once for every menu revision it was sold under, and once each for Sit down and Take away. Recipes can differ between revisions and between ways of serving, so each combination is shown on its own line.
Which cost is used for the value?
Your store's Weighted Average Cost, the average price you paid for the item weighted by quantity. The report always values theoretical usage this way, which is what the line under the column headings tells you.
Why can't I find my stock take in the lists?
Only posted stock takes from the last 120 days are listed, and archived ones are left out. The opening list also hides your most recent posted stock take, because an opening stock take has to be followed by a later closing one. Post the stock take first if it is still a draft.
Why are some digits grey?
Quantities are shown with fixed decimals so the decimal points line up down the page. Grey digits are only padding: 45.000 with a grey .000 means exactly 45.
Why does Qty sold show only one decimal place?
Quantities sold are shown to one decimal place. Whole quantities show as 45.0. The recipe quantity, the usage and the value use more decimals, so the usage is not rounded to one decimal.
Which time zone are the dates in?
Your store's own time. The stock take dates and times at the top and in the lists are the local date and time of the count.
Glossary
- Base recipe
- The stock a menu item always uses, whether it is served sit down or take away.
- Closing stock take
- The posted stock take that ends the period.
- Menu item category
- The menu category a menu item belongs to, for example Burgers.
- Menu revision
- A version of your menu and recipes. Sales are costed with the revision that applied when they were made.
- Opening stock take
- The posted stock take that starts the period.
- Qty sold
- How many of a menu item were sold in the period.
- Sit down and Take away
- The two ways an order is served. Each can add its own recipe on top of the base recipe, so they are shown separately.
- Stock item
- An ingredient or product you count and cost, for example Cheddar slices.
- Theoretical stock usage
- The stock your sales say you should have used: quantity sold multiplied by the recipe quantity, added up.
- Theoretical WAC value
- The Theoretical stock usage valued at your Weighted Average Cost.
- Unit of measure
- The unit a stock item is counted in, for example slices, kg or litres.
- Weighted Average Cost (WAC)
- The average price you paid for a stock item, weighted by how much you bought at each price.