Matching Ingredients

Once the AI has extracted data from an invoice, the next step is ingredient matching - linking each line item on the invoice to an ingredient in your Brikly system. This is how invoice prices flow through to your recipes and dish costings.

Automatic ingredient matching

Brikly compares every extracted line item against your existing ingredient list. It looks at:

• Product name similarity - how closely the invoice description matches an ingredient name.
• Supplier history - whether this supplier has previously provided this ingredient.
• Previous matches - whether you have manually matched this description before.
• Unit of measure - to ensure the match makes practical sense (e.g. a kilogram item is not matched to a "per each" ingredient).

When the system finds a strong match, it links the line item to the ingredient automatically.

Confidence levels

Each suggested match is shown with a confidence indicator:

Level	Indicator	Meaning
High	Green	Strong match - very likely correct.
Medium	Amber	Probable match - review recommended.
Low	Red	Weak match - manual confirmation needed.
No match	Grey	No suitable ingredient found.

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High-confidence matches from established suppliers are confirmed automatically, so you only need to review the items that the system is less sure about.

Reviewing auto-matched items

On the matching screen, you will see each line item alongside its suggested ingredient match. For each item you can:

• Accept the match - confirm that the suggestion is correct.
• Unmatch - remove the match if the line item should not be linked to this ingredient. To choose a different ingredient, unmatch the line and then match it again.

Items that were auto-matched with high confidence appear pre-confirmed, but you can override them at any time.

What unmatching does to the price

Unmatching a line, matching it to a different item, or changing its description, brand or product code takes back the price that line recorded. Its price point comes off the item, and where the line set the supplier's current price, that price goes back to what it was before this invoice. If the line created that supplier entry, the price goes back to the newest invoice price still on file for the same pack, where there is one. However many times the line changed the price, it goes back to the price before the first change.

A newer price that still stands is left alone: a later invoice at the current price, another matched line at that price, or a price you typed since. Another line's price is never removed. The confirmation says when a supplier price was put back.

The size you confirmed on the line is kept, and so is a price you corrected on it, read the same way. Matching the line again records its price straight away, without asking for the size again.

Using StockBrik?

Matched line items also carry an Adds to stock toggle, on by default. Switch it off for a purchase that should not enter your stock levels - a case of the soft drinks you sell, bought for the staff fridge - while keeping its price history and accounting treatment. Skipped lines never touch stock either way. See How estimates work in the StockBrik docs.

Manually matching unmatched items

When no automatic match is found, the line item appears in an "unmatched" state. To match it manually:

1. Click the line item to open the ingredient search.
2. Type part of the ingredient name to filter your list.
3. Select the correct ingredient.
4. Confirm the match.

tip

Use the supplier's description as a clue. For example, if the invoice says "Beef Fillet 28 Day Aged 2.5kg", search for "beef fillet" in your ingredients.

Sample items are never matched

The sample ingredients and consumables from guided setup are never offered for matching, and Brikly never matches an invoice line to one by itself. Should one be chosen anyway, nothing is matched and Brikly says why: "That's a sample item, so it can't hold your invoice prices. Pick one of your own items, or clear the sample data from the Recipes page." See Clearing the sample.

New product, or one you already buy?

If you match a line to an ingredient that the supplier already sells you under a different product code, Brikly asks before recording it. The card on the line tells you which ingredient you matched it to and lists what that supplier already sells you as that ingredient, so you can choose:

• Same as existing - it is one of the products listed (for example the code was misread on the scan). The price is recorded against that product, and any other line on this invoice with the same code moves with it. A line whose size differs asks you to confirm its size first. If another invoice, or a price you typed, is already recorded against the new entry, Brikly asks you to review it on the ingredient page instead.
• New product - it is a different pack or size of the same ingredient. Check the pack details Brikly read from the invoice and record it.

If the ingredient is costed by weight or volume and the new product is sold by the item, Brikly asks roughly how many grams (or millilitres) one item is, so recipes using the ingredient keep an accurate cost.

If the match itself was wrong - say you matched Micro Coriander to Coriander - use Wrong ingredient? at the bottom of the card. Match a different item clears the match and opens the ingredient search, and Make it its own item clears it and opens Create. Brikly also forgets the wrong match, so it is not repeated on the next invoice. While the card is waiting for your answer, the line's usual Match and Create buttons are hidden so there is one clear next step.

Creating new ingredients from line items

If an invoice contains a product you have not added to Brikly yet, you can create a new ingredient directly from the matching screen:

1. Click Create New Ingredient on the unmatched line item.
2. Brikly pre-fills the name, unit, and price from the extracted data.
3. Review and adjust the details as needed (e.g. assign a category, set a preferred unit).
4. Save the new ingredient - it is automatically matched to the line item.

This keeps your ingredient list growing naturally as you process invoices, without needing to maintain it separately.

How manual matches improve future accuracy

Every match you make - whether confirming an auto-suggestion or matching manually - teaches Brikly's learning engine. The next time the same supplier sends an invoice with the same product description, the system will remember your choice and match it automatically.

Over the first few invoices from a supplier, you may need to match items by hand. After that, the system takes over. This progression is covered in detail in The Learning System.

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Matches are supplier-specific. If two different suppliers both sell "Semi-Skimmed Milk" but you track them as separate ingredients (e.g. different pack sizes), Brikly remembers the correct match for each supplier independently.

Matching consumables

Not every line item on an invoice is a food ingredient. Items you use up but do not cook with, like packaging, cleaning products, and disposables, can be matched to consumables instead. Reusable kit is handled differently again, see Equipment lines below.

How consumable matching works

When a line item is identified as a consumable, you will see two options:

• Match Consumable - search your existing consumable library for a match.
• Create Consumable - create a new consumable directly from the line item data.

Both buttons appear once the supplier has been confirmed for the invoice.

Matching to an existing consumable

1. Click Match Consumable on the unmatched line item.
2. A search modal opens showing your consumable library.
3. Suggested matches appear at the top, ranked by confidence:
   • Green - high confidence match.
   • Blue - good match based on learned patterns.
   • Amber - probable match, review recommended.
4. A Learned badge appears next to suggestions the system has seen before from the same supplier.
5. Select the correct consumable to confirm the match.

Unmatching a consumable line, re-matching it to a different consumable, or changing its description, brand or product code releases the old consumable first. The price point this line recorded against that consumable is removed, and where the line set its supplier price, that price is put back to what it was before this line priced it, so correcting a mis-match does not leave a price behind on the wrong item. A newer price that still stands is left alone. After a re-match, the confirmation names the consumable it was put back on. The change is listed under Supplier History on that consumable as Price put back (line unmatched), or Price put back (line matched elsewhere) after a re-match.

When the product code does not match

Suppliers often sell close siblings under separate codes: paper straws in two diameters, the same cup in two colours, a napkin in white and in kraft. Where a consumable line's description looks like a consumable you already buy from that supplier, but the product code on the line differs from the code saved against that supplier, Brikly leaves the line for you instead of matching it. It is held for review with a Different product code badge rather than the generic one, so you can see why it stopped. The same check runs when you switch a line to Consumable yourself with the three-way switch described under Correcting the classification, so a line whose code disagrees is left for review with that badge straight away rather than matched to the lookalike.

This is worth the extra step because a consumable keeps one record per supplier. Matching the line onto the lookalike would overwrite that record's pack details and cost rather than adding a second one, so a case price could land on a single-pack record with nothing on the page looking wrong. Use Match Consumable if it really is the same item, or Create Consumable if it is a different product.

Consumable lines carry no one-click suggestion chips, so matching is always through those two buttons.

Creating a new consumable from a line item

If the consumable does not exist in your library:

1. Click Create Consumable on the unmatched line item.
2. Brikly pre-fills the name from the invoice line description.
3. Select a category (you can create a new category inline by typing a name that does not exist yet).
4. Set the base unit - a list of ways to count the item (each, unit, pack, roll, box, bag, bottle, sheet, pair), defaulting to "each".
5. Enter How many items does this price buy?: the total number of individual items the invoice price pays for. Brikly suggests it from the line and shows the Cost per item as you change it. There is one count, so for a case of four packs of 50, enter 200.
6. Click Create Consumable - the consumable is created and automatically matched to the line item.

The supplier is set as the preferred supplier for the new consumable by default.

tip

The same learning system applies to consumable matches. After you match "8OZ T/A CUP x1000" to your "8oz takeaway cup" once, Brikly remembers and matches it automatically on future invoices.

Equipment lines

Some non-food lines are not consumables either. A pair of scissors, a set of tongs, a mop bucket, a pan, a chopping board: you buy them once and keep them, so they are never used up and never belong in a recipe. Brikly classifies these as Equipment.

An equipment line is set aside for you while the invoice is processed, and shows an Equipment (not stock) label. There is nothing to match, so no match or create buttons appear on it. The line stays on the invoice and goes across to your accounting platform with everything else, so it still needs an account code, but it never records a price, never joins your ingredient or consumable library, and never touches stock.

This is what makes a mixed order painless. A catering-supplies delivery with a case of cloths, a box of gloves, and one mop bucket needs no special handling: the cloths and gloves match as consumables, the mop bucket is set aside on its own line, and the invoice submits as normal.

Correcting the classification

Every line that is not yet matched or set aside carries a three-way switch: Ingredient, Consumable, Equipment. Use it whenever the AI has read a line wrongly.

• Switch a line to Equipment and Brikly sets it aside for you. If the line is holding a match that is still waiting on a supplier check, use Skip on the row to finish setting it aside.
• To bring a set-aside line back, click Enable on it, then set the switch to Ingredient or Consumable and match or create it as usual.

A line that is already matched cannot be switched to Equipment. Unmatch it first, then switch it.

tip

Refills are consumables, not equipment. Mop heads, cloths, gloves, bin liners, and disposable cutlery are all used up and reordered, so they belong in your consumable library where their cost can flow into a recipe.

Best practices

• Process invoices promptly - the sooner you match items, the sooner the system learns.
• Be consistent - always match to the same ingredient for the same product. Inconsistent matching slows down the learning process.
• Review before confirming - a quick glance at auto-matches catches the occasional mismatch before it affects your costings.