Managing Units

Getting units right is essential for accurate costing. CostingBrik uses a two-layer unit system: base units (how you use ingredients in recipes) and pack sizes (how you buy them from suppliers). Brikly handles the conversion between the two automatically.

Unit of measure concepts

There are three fundamental unit types in CostingBrik:

Weight

Used for most solid ingredients. Common weight units:

Unit	Abbreviation	Typical use
Grams	g	Small quantities - spices, baking powder
Kilograms	kg	Bulk ingredients - flour, sugar, meat

Volume

Used for liquids and some pourable ingredients. Common volume units:

Unit	Abbreviation	Typical use
Millilitres	ml	Extracts, small liquid measures
Litres	l	Milk, cream, oils, sauces

Each (count)

Used for items bought and used individually:

Unit	Abbreviation	Typical use
Each	ea	Eggs, avocados, bread rolls, lemons

Pack sizes vs base units

This is one of the most important concepts in CostingBrik.

• Base unit - the unit you measure in when building a recipe. For example, you add 500g of flour to a bread recipe.
• Pack size - the unit your supplier sells the ingredient in. For example, you buy flour in 16kg sacks.

Brikly calculates the cost per base unit automatically:

Cost per base unit = Pack price / Pack size (in base units)

Example:

• You buy a 16kg sack of strong bread flour for £12.80.
• Base unit = kg.
• Cost per kg = £12.80 / 16 = £0.80 per kg.
• Your recipe calls for 0.5kg of flour, so the flour cost in that recipe = £0.40.

Why this matters

If you enter a pack size incorrectly - say you record a 16kg sack as a 1kg pack - your recipe costs will be 16 times too high. Always double-check pack sizes when setting up supplier ingredients.

Converting between units

Brikly handles standard metric conversions automatically:

• 1 kg = 1,000 g
• 1 litre = 1,000 ml

When a recipe calls for 250g of butter and your base unit is kg, Brikly converts 250g to 0.25kg for the cost calculation. You do not need to do this manually.

Weight-to-volume conversions (density)

Some ingredients cross the weight/volume boundary — for example, honey is often sold by weight but measured by volume in recipes, or milk is bought in litres but a recipe calls for grams. Brikly can handle these cross-category conversions automatically using density.

Setting up density

When you create or edit an ingredient, you will see a Density field (measured in kg per litre). This tells Brikly how to convert between weight and volume for that specific ingredient.

• Density = 1.0 means 1 litre weighs exactly 1 kg (like water).
• Density > 1.0 means the ingredient is heavier than water (e.g. honey at 1.42 kg/L).
• Density < 1.0 means the ingredient is lighter than water (e.g. olive oil at 0.92 kg/L).

Brikly suggests densities automatically for common ingredients. When you type an ingredient name that matches one in the built-in database, the density field is pre-filled for you.

Built-in densities

Brikly includes density values for commonly used hospitality ingredients:

Ingredient	Density (kg/L)
Whole milk	1.03
Double cream	0.994
Olive oil	0.92
Vegetable oil	0.91
Honey	1.42
Golden syrup	1.39
Maple syrup	1.37
Soy sauce	1.10
Coconut milk	0.97
Yoghurt	1.036
Condensed milk	1.28

You can override the suggested value or enter your own for any ingredient not in the list.

How it works in recipes

Once density is set on an ingredient, you can mix weight and volume units freely in your recipes:

Example — Honey bought by weight, used by volume:

• You buy honey in 1 kg jars for £6.50. Base unit is grams.
• Your recipe calls for 50 ml of honey.
• Honey's density is 1.42 kg/L, so 50 ml = 71 g.
• Cost: 71 g × (£6.50 / 1,000 g) = £0.46.

Example — Milk bought by volume, portioned by weight:

• You buy whole milk in 2 L bottles for £1.80. Base unit is ml.
• Your recipe calls for 200 g of milk.
• Milk's density is 1.03 kg/L, so 200 g = 194 ml.
• Cost: 194 ml × (£1.80 / 2,000 ml) = £0.17.

Brikly performs these conversions automatically — you just enter the quantity in whatever unit the recipe calls for.

When to set density

You only need to set density when an ingredient is bought in one unit category (weight or volume) but used in the other. If you buy flour by weight and use it by weight, density is not needed.

Common hospitality units

Here are the units most frequently used across cafes, bakeries, and restaurants:

Ingredient type	Recommended base unit	Common pack sizes
Flour, sugar, grains	kg	1kg, 1.5kg, 16kg, 25kg
Butter, cheese	g or kg	250g block, 1kg, 2.5kg
Milk, cream	litres	1l, 2l, 5l, 10l
Cooking oil	litres	1l, 2l, 5l, 20l drum
Eggs	each	Dozen (12), tray (30)
Herbs (fresh)	g	Bunch (approx. 30g), 100g
Spices (dried)	g	50g, 100g, 500g, 1kg
Meat portions	g or kg	Per kg, or per each (e.g. chicken breast)
Tinned goods	each or g	400g tin, 2.5kg tin

Packs and cases

When a supplier sells items in cases (e.g. a case of 12 x 400g tins of tomatoes), you should record the pack size as the total contents. For example, if a case contains 12 tins at 400g each, and you use tomatoes by the gram, the pack size is 4,800g (12 x 400g). This way, the cost per gram is calculated correctly from the case price.

Changing an ingredient's base unit

You can change an ingredient's base unit at any time by editing the ingredient record. Be aware that:

• Existing recipe quantities will not be automatically converted. If you change flour from grams to kg, a recipe that previously called for "500" (grams) will now read as "500" (kg) - which is clearly wrong.
• After changing a base unit, review and update the quantities in any recipes that use that ingredient.

For this reason, it is best to set the right base unit when you first create the ingredient.