Getting Started with Inventory
This article explains what the Inventory module does, how it's organized, and how to switch it on for a location. Read this first — the rest of the guide assumes you understand these basics.
What Inventory does for you
- Depletes stock automatically as items sell — no end-of-day data entry.
- Marks dishes unavailable ("86") automatically when an ingredient runs low, across the POS and online ordering.
- Tells you your true food cost per dish, category, and day.
- Suggests what to reorder based on how much you have versus how much you want to keep on hand.
- Reads your invoices for you with Nexy, so receiving is a quick review instead of manual typing.
How Inventory is organized: Enterprise vs. Venue
Inventory has two levels. Understanding the difference saves a lot of duplicate work.
| Level | What lives here | Set up… |
|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Your shared catalog: units, categories, storage locations, vendors, items, and standard recipes. | Once — every location inherits it. |
| Venue | The day-to-day data for one location: on-hand stock, counts, waste, purchase orders, invoices, and any recipe overrides. | Per location. |
Use the context switcher at the top of the portal to choose Enterprise or a specific venue.
- Catalog screens (Units, Categories, Storage Locations, Vendors, Items, Recipes) work in either context.
- Operational screens (Stock levels, Counts, Waste, Purchase Orders, Invoices) require a venue to be selected.
Tip: Set your catalog up once at the Enterprise level so every location shares the same items and recipes. Only override at the venue level when a location genuinely does something differently.
Turning Inventory on
- Switch context to the venue you want to enable.
- Go to Inventory → Settings.
- Turn on Enable Inventory.
- While you're here, review the other preferences:
- Depletion — whether stock draws down from sales.
- Blind counts — hide expected quantities during counting.
- Manager PIN — require a manager PIN to approve waste.
- Alerts — schedule low-stock, variance, and maintenance email digests.
-
Invoice email address — your location's dedicated address for emailed invoices (
yourshortcode@nxorders.com).
The recommended setup order
Follow this sequence and each step builds on the last:
- Units of Measure — how you measure things.
- Categories & Storage Locations — how you organize things.
- Vendors — who you buy from.
- Inventory Items — your ingredients.
- Recipes — what goes into each dish.
- Tracking & Auto-86 — switch on the automation.
- Counting — establish your starting quantities.
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