FoodTrak Update

I was in Las Vegas last week for the HFTP Annual Convention at Green Valley Ranch Resort. After my presentation, I was invited to dinner by Bill Schwartz, the founder and owner of System Concepts Inc. SCI is the developer of FoodTrak.

Bill invited me to a Version 4 Boot Camp in Scottsdale. The new version of FoodTrak is now web-based. There was always a web-based option but now all customers will enjoy this feature. The previous license fee for e-FoodTrak has been removed.

Operations with an ambitious wine list will find the recently added Wine Module a tremendous tool. This module has optional wine attribute data fields. Wines may be classified by brand, country, origin, region, sub-region, vineyard, vintage, type and varietal. In addition, a perpetual inventory report for wine is included in the new module.

Food Service Technology

Dear Joe Dunbar,
Thank you very much, for updating the latest tech & happenings in Hospitality world.

Regards,
Abraham

You are welcome Abraham. I am currently taking a look at a very improved product in the $1,000 range. Stay tuned for my review.

Food Cost Formula Question

Hello. I just read an article you wrote concerning food cost. I follow the same formula except for one change, I account for discounts. Should I not do this? Could it sway my food or beverage cost to a less accurate percentage? I would really appreciate your insight to this matter. Thank you

Lori
G.M.

Thanks for the question Lori. I prefer to run two calculations - with and without discounts - each period. Consistency is key.

If you run the numbers with and without discounts, you'll achieve several objectives: 1. You can gauge the impact of discounts on results. 2. I'm not sure the sales figure would have been possible if a discount wasn't offered but the fantasy number for sales (i.e. discounts included in sales and treated as a marketing expense) is always popular with the people trying to achieve a food cost close to ideal. 3. A sense of reality is available for folks trying to pay the bills. Netting discounts from your sales shows the true food cost.

If you would not have made the sales target without the discount, I would definitely focus on net sales. Use the second statistic for the production people. They have no control over sales discounts and follow standard portion sizes. They should know how close they came to the standard and they should also be made aware of the impact of discounts.