Prep lists on the Recipe Kiosk

A prep list is your morning prep sheet on the tablet. Staff check what’s on the shelf, the tablet works out how many batches to make, and they work down the list in the order you set. You see who made what afterward.

What it is

Each list holds prep recipes (cold brew, sweet cream, berry compote) and short jobs that have no recipe (“Slice lemons”). Give a line a par and the tablet compares it with what’s on hand. Make as many lists as you need: a daily kitchen list, a Wednesday sauce list, a weekly one, one for the front counter. Prep lists run on the Recipe Kiosk, so you need a tablet paired first.

What it doesn’t do

Prep lists are separate from your inventory. Checking pars on the tablet doesn’t change your counts, your on-hand numbers, or your orders, and making a batch doesn’t take its ingredients off the shelf in ShelfCount. Count your stock the usual way under Counts.

Timed food-safety checks, like fridge temperatures every four hours, aren’t prep lists. Those live in the free scheduling app. See Kitchen checks and the kitchen screen.

Make your first list

Go to Settings → Recipe Kiosk and choose Make a prep list. Only admins and managers can. A short wizard walks you through it, and nothing is saved until you finish:

Name and days. Name the list, say who it’s for if you like (“Sauces · Maria”), and pick the days it shows on the tablet. Every day is picked to start with. On demand means no set days: the list sits under Other lists and staff open it when they need it.
Pick prep recipes. Search your prep recipes and add the ones on this list, or add a text line.
Order and pars. Drag the lines into the order the crew should make them. Put what runs out first at the top. Set a par for each line and add a note if it helps (“Use the older cream first”). Notes show on the tablet.
Turn it on. See what today’s list would show, then finish.

After that, open a list from Prep lists to change it. Edits save as you go. A list that has already run is archived instead of deleted, so its history stays.

Pars, batches and containers

Under How your crew counts it, pick one of three ways to set the par:

A unit, like 2 L or 48 fl oz. The list only offers units the recipe’s yield can be turned into. A recipe that makes exactly 1 each, like a cake pop, shows each (= 1 batch).
Batches, when your crew thinks in batches anyway.
Container, when they count bottles, tubs or pans. Name it and say how much one holds, for example 1 bottle = 750 mL. The tablet turns bottles into batches.

Don’t see your unit? Use batches, or set a container size. The tablet rounds up to the next quarter batch, so a shelf that’s 3.5 L short of a 3 L recipe reads “Make 1¼ batches.” If it can’t work out batches for a line (say the par is in pounds and the recipe makes liters), it says so on the line instead of guessing. Fix the par in Settings.

Always-do and text lines

Some prep happens every time, whatever is on the shelf. Turn on No par — always make and set Batches to make each time (1 unless you change it). Those lines skip the par check and go straight onto the list.

Text lines are for jobs without a recipe, like “Slice lemons” or “Fill the milk fridge”. Give one a par and a word for it (20 slices) and the tablet shows how many are short. Leave the par blank and it’s a plain do-it line. Text lines have no batches and no recipe card.

Running it on the tablet

Tap Today’s prep in the kiosk header. It shows the lists due today, with any others under Other lists.
Pick a list. Who’s prepping? asks for initials, like JM, so they show next to what gets made. The tablet remembers them for the day. Staff can skip this.
Par check. For each line, enter what’s on the shelf with the keypad, or tap None left, About half or Full. Lines you can’t check can be skipped.
Tap Build my list. The checklist reads top to bottom, like “Make 1¼ batches · short 2.5 L of 4 L”. Lines already at par go under Stocked.
Open recipe opens the recipe card already scaled to that many batches. Change the batches there if you made a different amount, then tap Mark done. You can also tap Done on the line itself.

Can’t make something? Tap Skip and pick a reason (Have enough, Missing ingredients, No time, Other) so you know why later.

Check pars again

Busy day and the shelf is low again by lunch? Choose Check pars again from the list’s menu. The crew re-counts the lines that aren’t done yet and the list works out new batches. Lines already done stay done.

The prep day runs from 4 am to 4 am, not midnight, so a crew finishing at 12:30 am is still on the same day’s list.

Two tablets, one list

Every paired tablet sees the same run of a list. If one person checks pars at the bar and another marks lines done in the kitchen, both tablets catch up within about 20 seconds. If two people tap the same line, the later tap wins.

Print

Tablet down or Wi-Fi out? Print next to any list on the Prep lists page gives you a paper copy in the same order, with the pars and a blank On hand column to fill in by hand.

History

History on the Prep lists page shows every run: the date, who prepped, how many lines were done, skipped or left open, and how many batches were made. Open a run to see each line with its on-hand count and skip reason.

Want to see it before you set up your own? The interactive demo has three lists ready. In Settings → Recipe Kiosk, tap Try it full screen, then Today’s prep.