What is the Yield Performance dashboard?
Yield Performance compares what the system thinks you should have in stock (theoretical) against what's actually there at the last stock count (actual). The gap between the two — variance — is the stock that's unaccounted for. This dashboard tells you how big that gap is, which products drive it, where in the kitchen it's happening, and which products keep offending.
Why it matters
Invisible loss is the hardest kind to fix. Recipes assume exact portions; real kitchens over-portion, spill, trim, and occasionally have theft. Yield Performance converts all of that into a value you can see, measure, and reduce. Every 1% of shrinkage on ฿500,000 of monthly ingredient spend is ฿5,000 you keep.
The six key metrics
Stat | What it means |
Products Counted | How many distinct ingredients have been physically counted at least once in the period. |
% Products Counted | Coverage — the share of your full ingredient list that's been counted. Low coverage means the variance numbers only describe part of your kitchen. |
Theoretical Value | The total value of stock the system expected to find, across the most recent count per product. |
Actual Value | The total value actually counted. |
Total Value Gap | Sum of absolute variance × latest price. The total size of the mismatch — counts both shortages and surpluses. |
Shrinkage Rate | Shortage value as a percentage of theoretical stock value. Only counts products that came up short. This is the one number to watch monthly. |
Charts and tables
Yield Performance table
The main breakdown — one row per product, comparing theoretical vs. counted stock at the most recent count. Large negative variances mean more stock was used or lost than the system expected. Large positives usually mean an earlier count was wrong or a goods receipt wasn't logged.
Variance Over Time
Stacked bar chart, one bar per count date. Shortages go below the zero line (negative, red) and surpluses go above (positive, green). Keeps both sides visible instead of netting them out — a kitchen with ฿3,000 shortage AND ฿3,000 surplus isn't a well-run kitchen with zero net variance; it's a kitchen with ฿6,000 of reconciliation problems.
Variance by Area
Variance broken down by where you count — Fridge, Freezer, Dry Store, Bar, etc. Shows theoretical vs. counted value and shrinkage per area. The biggest loss area is usually where to focus first — it's often one specific fridge or prep station.
Repeat Offenders
Scatter plot of products by count frequency (x-axis) vs. average variance % (y-axis). Bubble size = total value impact. Products in the top-right are counted often AND consistently short by large amounts — those are the biggest opportunities. Products that only appeared once might just be a bad count.
Variance % by Product Over Counts
Line chart showing variance % for each product across consecutive counts. X-axis goes backward: 0 is the latest count, -1 is the previous, and so on. Reveals whether a product is consistently off (systematic — wrong recipe or portion) or erratically off (random — counting or portioning inconsistency).
How it's calculated
💡 Variance = Actual stock counted − Theoretical stock expected
Variance Value = Variance × Latest unit price
Shrinkage Rate = Total shortage value ÷ Total theoretical value
Theoretical stock is built from a running ledger: goods received in, plus production outputs, minus order usage (recipe quantity × units sold), minus logged waste and consumption. Actual is whatever the team counted.
Worked example
You count chicken breast:
Theoretical: 8.0 kg at ฿220/kg
Actual (counted): 6.5 kg
Variance: −1.5 kg (shortage)
Variance Value: 1.5 × 220 = −฿330
If this product is counted weekly and the variance is −฿300 every time, that's a recurring ฿1,200/month loss on a single SKU — worth investigating recipes, portioning, or waste logging for.
Action steps
Raise % Products Counted first. You can't fix what you haven't measured. Aim for 100% monthly coverage of high-value products; quarterly for tail items.
Target the top 3 Repeat Offenders. These are your systemic losses — the highest ROI to fix.
Large shortage on one product? Check: (1) recipe accuracy — is the quantity used realistic? (2) portioning discipline — are cooks following portions? (3) waste logging — is waste being written off to the right reason?
Large surplus on one product? Usually a missed goods receipt, a duplicate deduction, or a counting error. Reconcile with recent GRs.
Variance concentrated in one Area? Spot-count that area weekly until the variance stabilizes. If it's the bar, check pour sizes. If it's a fridge, check portioning.
Trend line on Variance Over Time drifting wider? Something changed — new staff, new supplier, new recipe version. Investigate.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a good Shrinkage Rate?
Under 2% of theoretical value is excellent for most operations. 2–5% is typical. Above 5% consistently signals a real problem — usually portioning discipline or unlogged waste.
Why do some products show a positive variance (surplus)?
The most common causes are (1) a goods receipt that wasn't logged, (2) an earlier count that missed stock, or (3) a recipe that overstates ingredient usage. All three are worth fixing — surpluses distort your Ordering suggestions downward.
Why does my variance change so much between counts?
Two common reasons: (1) counts aren't happening on consistent dates, so the theoretical baseline drifts, or (2) people count differently. Set a fixed weekly cadence and a written counting method per area.
Is the variance value including waste already logged?
Yes — logged waste is deducted from theoretical stock before the comparison. So variance here is unlogged loss, on top of whatever the Waste dashboard already shows.
What should I do if a product shows in Repeat Offenders but I can't find the cause?
Run a portion audit — weigh 20 orders of any dish that uses the ingredient and compare the average to the recipe. Recipes often drift from reality over time, especially for high-turnover staff-made items.