Pack size
Also called: pack · case pack
Pack size is the units-per-case and size-per-unit of a purchased item — 6 × 3 L, 4 × 5 lb, 24 × 12 oz. It is the conversion factor between the invoice and the recipe, and a change to it moves every plate cost that touches the item.
Storing pack size with each item is what makes automated recosting possible at all. Without it an invoice line reading "$68.40" cannot be turned into a cost per litre, which means it cannot be turned into a plate cost.
Worked example · A pack-size change nobody announced
- Mayonnaise, previous pack
- 4 × 1 gal, $52.80
- Previous unit price
- $13.20/gal
- New pack
- 4 × 3.5 qt, $52.80
- New unit price
- $15.09/gal
- Effective increase
- +14.3%
The case price never moved. Every dish using mayonnaise got more expensive and nothing on the invoice said so.
What to record per item
| Field | Example | Why it's needed |
|---|---|---|
| Units per case | 4 | Half of the conversion factor |
| Size per unit | 1 gal | The other half |
| Recipe unit | fl oz | What the recipe actually measures in |
| Conversion | 1 case = 512 fl oz | The number that turns an invoice into a plate cost |
| Last verified | date | Pack changes are silent — this is how you catch them |
The last row is the one people skip and the one that matters. A pack size recorded once at setup and never re-verified will eventually be wrong, and every plate cost downstream of it will be wrong by the same ratio.
The guide that works it through
Recipe Costing, Step by Step
How to cost a recipe properly: yield-adjusted ingredient costs, sub-recipes, the Q factor, and a full worked example from invoice to plate cost to menu price.
Related terms
Case price vs. unit price
Suppliers quote cases; recipes need units. Comparing vendors on case price alone hides which one is actually cheaper.
Price creep
Small, frequent supplier price increases that individually look ignorable and collectively remove several points of margin a year.
Invoice reconciliation
Checking that what you ordered, what arrived, and what you were billed are the same three things.