Articles on: Recipe Costings

Create menu recipe costings and connect them to your POS

A menu recipe costing lets you calculate the cost, profit and margin of a full menu: for example, a tasting menu, a set menu or a POS combo with several options.


Before creating the menu, you need to have the recipe costings for the dishes that make it up. A menu is not built directly from products: it is built from dishes that already have their ingredients and costs configured.


Before you start


  1. Create the recipe costing for each dish in the menu. For example: Caesar salad, House burger, Brownie.
  2. Check that each dish has its ingredients, quantities and waste configured correctly.
  3. If you are going to connect it to the POS, make sure the menu or combo already exists in your POS and that the integration is synced.


💡 Preparations are not added directly to a menu. If you use a preparation, add it inside the recipe costing of the corresponding dish.


Menu types


In haddock you can create two types of menu:


Tasting menu


Use it when the customer does not choose between options. The menu includes a fixed sequence of dishes.


Example:


  • Appetizer
  • Starter
  • Main course
  • Dessert


In this case, haddock adds up the cost of all included dishes to calculate the total cost of the menu.


Options menu


Use it when the customer chooses one option in each course.


Example:


  • First course: salad, soup or croquettes
  • Second course: rice, fish or burger
  • Third course: fruit, cake or ice cream


In this case, haddock calculates the average cost of the options in each course and adds those average costs together to estimate the menu cost.


Create the menu recipe costing


  1. Go to Recipes from the side navigation bar.
  2. Click New recipe costing.
  3. Select Menu.
  4. Enter the menu name.
  5. Choose the menu type:
    • Tasting menu if all dishes are predefined.
    • Options menu if the customer chooses between several options in each course.
  7. If you choose Options menu, enter the number of courses: starter, main course, dessert, etc.
  8. Enter the selling price and VAT. If you connect the menu to your POS, the price may come from the POS.
  9. Click Create menu.


If you do not see the Menu option when creating a new recipe costing, contact support so we can check whether this feature is active for your account.


Add dishes to the menu


Once the menu is created:


  1. Open the menu profile.
  2. Click Add dish.
  3. Search for and select the dish you want to include.
  4. Enter the serving size:
    • Use 100% if the menu consumes a full serving of the dish.
    • Use 50% if it consumes half a serving.
    • Use another percentage if the dish is served in a different quantity within the menu.
  6. If it is an options menu, select the course that dish belongs to.
  7. If that option has a surcharge, enter the price surcharge.
  8. Save the changes.


Repeat the process for all the dishes in the menu.


Connect the menu to your POS


If your POS sends menus or combos to haddock, you can connect the POS menu to the menu recipe costing.


  1. Go to the POS items list.
  2. Search for the menu or combo you want to connect.
  3. Click Connect menu.
  4. Select the corresponding menu recipe costing in haddock.
  5. Save the connection.


When the POS menu is connected:


  • haddock can import the selling price and VAT from the POS menu.
  • Menu sales are used to calculate consumption, cost and margin.
  • If the items included in the POS combo are already connected to dish recipe costings, haddock can add those dishes to the menu automatically.


💡 If haddock adds dishes automatically from the POS combo, check that they are in the correct course and that the serving size matches what is actually served in the menu.


Important notes about POS combos


For the cost to be accurate, each option or component in the combo must be connected correctly:


  • The POS menu/combo must be connected to the menu recipe costing.
  • The child dishes or items in the combo must be connected to their dish recipe costings.
  • If your POS does not send menus or combos, you will need to create the menu manually in haddock and connect the available sales item by item.


Some POS systems do not expose menus or combos through the integration. If the option to connect a menu does not appear, check your POS documentation or contact support.


Practical example


You have a Set menu with 3 courses:


  • First course: salad or soup
  • Second course: chicken or fish
  • Dessert: fruit or brownie


In haddock:


  1. Create the menu as an Options menu with 3 courses.
  2. Add Salad and Soup to the first course.
  3. Add Chicken and Fish to the second course.
  4. Add Fruit and Brownie to the third course.
  5. Adjust the serving size for each dish.
  6. Connect the menu to the corresponding POS combo.


haddock will calculate the average cost of each course and add them together to estimate the total cost of the menu.


Frequently asked questions


Can I create a menu with preparations?


Not directly. A menu is made up of dishes. If you need to use a preparation, add it as an ingredient inside the dish.


Can I mix manual dishes and dishes synced from the POS?


Yes. You can add dishes manually and also connect dishes that come from the POS. The important thing is that each dish has its recipe costing configured correctly.


Why does the menu price not match the one I entered in haddock?


If the menu is connected to the POS, the selling price and VAT may come from the POS. Check the menu connection and the price configured in your POS.


What should I do if I update a menu in the POS and it does not appear in haddock?


Use Refresh sales and choose the period you need. Then wait for the sync to update. If it still does not appear, contact support.

Updated on: 18/06/2026

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