Stock - Theoretical Stock Usage

Shows how much of each stock item your sales say you should have used between two dates, worked out from what you sold and the recipe of each menu item. It does not need a stock take. For store managers, owners and anyone who buys or controls stock, it is a quick way to see what your sales have "consumed" so far.

Updated Thu 5 Nov 2026

Running the report

Open Reports and choose Theoretical Stock Usage under Stock.

Pick your Select your start date and end date, and tick Include archived items only if you want archived stock items listed too.

Run it. The report lists your stock items grouped by stock type, with the theoretical units used for each. Click an item name to open the Stock Item Audit report for that item.

Check a single daySet both dates to the same day to see what one trading day's sales used. Set the start date to the first day of the week and the end date to the last to see the whole week.

Today is not finishedIf the end date is today, only the sales made so far are counted, so the figures keep growing until the trading day ends.

Report options

Select your start date

The first trading day to include. The default is today.

end date

The last trading day to include. The whole of that trading day is counted. The default is today.

Include archived items

Archived stock items are left out unless you tick this. Ticked, items that have been archived are listed too, in their own group, so you can still see what they used in the period.

Not ticked (default): archived items are left out

Ticked: archived items are listed too

The report at a glance

BOB'S BURGERS | BOB'S BURGERS TIMES SQUARE

Theoretical stock usage report

Mon 02 Nov 2026 00:00 to Sun 08 Nov 2026 23:59

The line under the title is the period the figures cover, from the start of the first trading day to the end of the last. If your trading day does not end at midnight, a star (*) follows the dates and a note at the foot of every page explains your trading day. Under the title a Selected parameters panel repeats whether archived items are included or excluded. The logo and the Explain this report link under it open this help article.

The usage list: your stock items grouped by stock type, then by status, with the theoretical units used.
Which sales are counted: how your dates and trading day decide what is in the figures.

The usage list

One block per stock type (for example Ingredient). Inside it the items are grouped by their status, so archived items (when you ticked Include archived items) are kept apart from your active ones. Within a group the items are listed by category and then A to Z.

Category 1	Item name 2	Stock code 3	Theoretical units used 4	UoM 5
Ingredient
Active
Bakery	Burger buns	BUN01	640.000	each
Dairy	Cheddar slices	CHE01	14.250	kg
Meat	Beef patties	BEEF01	96.000	kg
Meat	Chicken fillets	CHK01	38.500	kg
Sauces	House burger sauce	SAU09	7.425	l
Archived
Dairy	Blue cheese crumbles	CHE07	0.600	kg

1 Category

The category the stock item belongs to, for example Meat or Dairy.

2 Item name

The stock item. Click the name to open the Stock Item Audit report for that item, to see where its stock has gone. Hold the mouse over the name to see the item's description.

3 Stock code

The item's stock code, when it has one.

4 Theoretical units used

How much of the item your sales say was used in the period: the quantity of each menu item sold multiplied by the amount of this stock item in its recipe, added up. In the example, 640 burger buns were used, which is 640 burgers sold. It is shown to three decimals. The pale grey zeros are deliberate: they keep the decimal points and the units, tens, hundreds and thousands lined up in a straight column.

5 UoM

The unit of measure the quantity is in, for example kg, l or each.

Archived itemsThe Archived group only appears when you ticked Include archived items. Without the tick, only the Active group is listed.

Active: Stock items that are in use.
Archived: Stock items that have been archived. Listed only when Include archived items is ticked.

Which sales are counted

The report counts sales by trading day, the same way your other reports do. A trading day starts at the time your store's trading day starts and runs for 24 hours. If your trading day ends at midnight, a trading day is simply a calendar day.

The figures cover the first trading day you picked, from its start, up to the end of the last trading day you picked. In the example in The report at a glance, the period runs from Monday 2 November to the end of Sunday 8 November.

A trading day that ends after midnightIf your trading day ends at 04:00, sales made between midnight and 04:00 count towards the previous trading day. The star after the dates and the note at the foot of the page remind you of this.

Only sales are used. Stock you bought, counted, wasted or moved between stores does not change this report. To compare theoretical usage with what you really used, open the Stock Variance report.

Frequently asked questions

What does "theoretical" mean?

It is what your sales say you should have used, worked out from the quantity of each menu item sold and its recipe. It is not a count of what is on your shelves. If the kitchen wastes, over-portions or loses stock, the real usage is higher than the theoretical figure.

Why is a stock item I expected not on the report?

An item only has a theoretical usage when it is in the recipe of a menu item that sold in the period, so stock that is not in any recipe, or whose menu items did not sell, will not show a figure. An archived item is also left out unless you tick Include archived items.

Why does a figure differ from the theoretical usage on the Stock Variance report?

The two reports cover different periods. This report uses the dates you pick, by trading day. Stock Variance uses the time between two stock takes. If the periods are not identical, the figures will not match.

Why is today's usage still changing?

The report only counts sales made so far. Run it again after more sales and the theoretical usage goes up. It is final once the trading day is over.

Why do the dates have a star after them?

Your trading day does not end at midnight. Sales made between midnight and the end of your trading day count towards the previous day, and the note at the foot of the page says so.

Why are some zeros pale grey?

They are deliberate. They keep the decimal points and the units, tens, hundreds and thousands lined up in a straight column, shaded lightly so the page does not look cluttered. They are not extra digits.

What happens when I click an item name?

The Stock Item Audit report opens for that stock item, so you can see where its stock has gone.

Why is the report empty?

There were no sales in the period you picked, or the menu items that sold have no recipes. Check the dates in the line under the title.

Glossary

Active: A stock item that is in use.
Archived item: A stock item that has been archived. It is only listed when Include archived items is ticked, in the Archived group.
Category: The group a stock item belongs to, for example Meat or Dairy.
Recipe: The stock items, and how much of each, that go into one menu item.
Stock code: The code you gave a stock item.
Stock type: The broad kind of stock, for example Ingredient. Each stock type has its own block on the report.
Theoretical units used: The quantity of a stock item your sales say was used: quantity sold multiplied by the recipe amount, added up.
Trading day: The business day your store reports on. It starts when your trading day starts and runs for 24 hours, so sales made after midnight can belong to the previous day.
UoM: Unit of measure, for example kg, l or each.