Supplier Ingredients

Every ingredient in your library can be linked to one or more suppliers, each with their own pack size, pricing, and product code. This supplier-ingredient relationship is what drives accurate costing in CostingBrik.

Assigning ingredients to suppliers

When you link an ingredient to a supplier, you are recording: "I can buy this ingredient from this supplier, in this pack size, at this price."

To assign an ingredient to a supplier:

1. Open the ingredient detail page.
2. Go to the Suppliers tab.
3. Click Add Supplier Link.
4. Select the supplier from the dropdown.
5. Fill in the supplier-specific details:

Field	Description	Example
Supplier product code	The code this supplier uses for this item	MF-FL-SBF16
Supplier product name	The name as it appears on the supplier's invoice	Strong Bread Flour 16kg
Pack size	The quantity per pack in the ingredient's base unit	16 kg
Pack price	The current price per pack (ex VAT)	£12.80

6. Click Save.

Brikly automatically calculates the cost per base unit from the pack size and price:

£12.80 / 16kg = £0.80 per kg

Pack sizes and pricing per supplier

Different suppliers often sell the same ingredient in different pack sizes and at different prices. CostingBrik tracks all of these independently.

Example - Unsalted Butter:

Supplier	Product name	Pack size	Pack price	Cost per kg
Metro Foods	Unsalted Butter Block	250g	£1.55	£6.20
Dairy Direct	Catering Butter Unsalted	2.5kg	£12.75	£5.10
Local Farm Shop	Artisan Unsalted Butter	500g	£4.20	£8.40

The cost per base unit lets you compare like for like, even when the pack sizes are completely different.

Check the pack size, not just the price

A £25 case might look expensive, but if it contains 10kg of product, it could be cheaper per unit than a £5 single-kilo bag. Always compare on the cost per base unit - Brikly calculates this for you automatically.

Multiple suppliers per ingredient

There is no limit to how many suppliers you can link to a single ingredient. Having multiple suppliers recorded is useful for:

• Price comparison - quickly see who offers the best price.
• Continuity - if your primary supplier is out of stock, you know who else carries the item.
• Negotiation - having competitor pricing gives you leverage when discussing terms.

How Brikly uses the price

When calculating recipe costs, Brikly needs to use one price per ingredient. By default, it uses the price from the preferred supplier (see below). If no preferred supplier is set, Brikly uses the most recently updated price.

Preferred supplier

You can mark one supplier as the preferred supplier for each ingredient. This tells Brikly: "This is the supplier I normally buy this ingredient from - use their price for recipe costing."

To set a preferred supplier:

1. Open the ingredient detail page.
2. Go to the Suppliers tab.
3. Find the supplier you want to set as preferred.
4. Click the Set as Preferred button (or toggle the preferred flag).

The preferred supplier is indicated with a highlighted badge on the ingredient's supplier list.

When to change your preferred supplier

Review your preferred suppliers when:

• A different supplier consistently offers a lower price.
• Your preferred supplier has delivery reliability issues.
• You consolidate orders to reduce the number of deliveries.
• A supplier discontinues a product.

Changing preferred supplier updates recipe costs

When you switch the preferred supplier for an ingredient, all recipes using that ingredient will be re-costed using the new supplier's price. This happens automatically - but be aware it may cause recipe costs and GP% figures to shift.

Keeping prices up to date

Supplier prices change regularly. There are several ways to keep your data current:

Automatic (recommended)

Process supplier invoices through Brikly. When an invoice is processed, the prices for each line item are compared against the current recorded price. If the price has changed, it is updated automatically.

Manual update

1. Open the ingredient.
2. Go to the Suppliers tab.
3. Click on the supplier link you want to update.
4. Edit the pack price.
5. Save.

The previous price is recorded in the price history, so you never lose the data.

Bulk update

If a supplier sends you a new price list, you can update multiple prices at once:

1. Go to CostingBrik > Suppliers.
2. Open the supplier profile.
3. Click Update Prices.
4. Edit prices inline across the supplier's ingredient list.
5. Save all changes.

Price review rhythm

Aim to update your prices at least every time you receive an invoice. If you are processing invoices through Brikly regularly, this happens automatically. For suppliers where you do not process invoices digitally, schedule a monthly manual review.