AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management User Guide
What Is AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin?
The AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin helps businesses manage branch stock requests, kitchen production planning, and inventory distribution across multiple outlets within AutoCount Accounting. With calculated stock requirements, weekday and holiday planning standards, centralized production plans, and approval workflows, businesses can coordinate kitchen operations more efficiently. For restaurant chains and food businesses looking for a central kitchen management system, this plugin reduces manual planning and improves coordination between branches and the central kitchen.
Why Use AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin?
Managing food production and stock distribution across multiple outlets can be challenging when branches rely on phone calls, spreadsheets, or manual stock requests.
The AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin helps businesses coordinate their daily kitchen operations through a structured planning workflow.
Simplify Branch Stock Requests
Calculate suggested stock request quantities based on planning standards, sales history settings, and current inventory information.
Improve Kitchen Production Planning
Consolidate stock requirements from multiple branches into one production plan for better preparation and coordination.
Reduce Repetitive Document Processing
Generate the required purchasing, assembly, and stock transfer documents from approved planning requirements.
Improve Multi-Outlet Coordination
Connect branch requests, kitchen approvals, production requirements, and stock distribution within a centralized workflow.
Key Features of AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin
Automated Branch Stock Calculations
Calculate suggested branch stock quantities using item planning standards, relevant sales history settings, and current stock information.
Weekday, Weekend & Holiday Planning
Maintain different item planning quantities for regular weekdays, weekends, and holidays to support changing outlet requirements.
Consolidated Kitchen Production Plan
View stock requests across multiple branches in one planning screen, including required quantities and supply information.
Approval & Document Generation
Approve branch requests and generate the necessary Purchase Requests, Stock Assembly Orders, and Stock Transfers through the supported workflow.
Who Should Use AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin?
Restaurant & Café Chains
Ideal for food businesses operating multiple outlets that regularly request ingredients or prepared products from a central kitchen.
Bakeries & Central Commissaries
Suitable for businesses producing food centrally before distributing finished products or ingredients to different branches.
Outlet & Branch Managers
Helps branch personnel calculate, review, and submit stock requests according to their outlet's daily requirements.
Kitchen Production & Purchasing Teams
Supports employees responsible for consolidating branch demand, preparing production requirements, and coordinating purchasing and stock transfers.
How AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin Works
A. Access Rights
Centralized Kitchen Management access rights determine which users can configure the planning setup, raise Branch Stock Requests, and approve requests through the Kitchen Production Plan.
- Open Access Rights and expand SL Plug-In > Centralized Kitchen Management.
- Assign Settings Show and Settings Open to users who need to view the setup; assign Modify Settings only to users who may save setup changes.
- Assign Maintain Item Standards to users who maintain weekday and weekend/holiday planning quantities.
- Assign Show and Open Branch Stock Requests to request users. Assign Create, Modify, Delete, and Can Cancel Branch Stock Request only where required.
- Assign Show and Open Kitchen Production Plan to central-kitchen users. Assign Approve Branch Stock Request only to authorised approvers.
- Save the access-right changes.
B. Configure Planning Defaults
Settings supplies the central planning defaults used when Branch Stock Requests are calculated.
- Open Centralized Kitchen Management > Settings.
- Select the HQ Location that represents the central kitchen stock location.
- Enter the Default Sales History Days value used for planning calculations.
- Select each day that should use weekend planning standards.
- Use Holiday Maintenance to add holiday dates and descriptions. A holiday takes precedence over a weekend.
- Click Save. Use Item Planning Standards to maintain item quantities.
C. Maintain Item Planning Standards
Item Planning Standards stores the item-level base quantities used by the Branch Stock Request calculation. Blank quantities use the applicable planning fallback.
- From Settings, click Item Planning Standards.
- Review each Item, Description, Base UOM, and Purchase / Production UOM.
- Enter Weekday Base Qty for ordinary planning days.
- Enter Weekend/Holiday Base Qty for the weekend days and holiday dates configured in Settings.
- Select suitable rows and use Range Set when the same quantities must be applied in bulk.
- Save the maintained standards.
D. Create and Submit a Branch Stock Request
A Branch Stock Request is the branch or location request that becomes the input to the central kitchen production and supply process.
- Open Centralized Kitchen Management > Branch Stock Requests and choose New.
- Enter the Document Date, Required Date, and Main Location / branch location.
- Click Calculate to load planned items and quantities.
- Review the item rows. The screen shows the day type, standard quantity, current stock, calculated quantity, and request quantities.
- When needed, change the Purchase / Production UOM or enter a non-negative Additional Qty; the request quantity is recalculated.
- Click Save Draft to retain an editable draft, or click Submit to send the request for approval.
- After submission, the request opens read-only. Authorised users may revise it when the workflow permits.
E. Approve and Process the Kitchen Production Plan
Kitchen Production Plan consolidates Branch Stock Requests by location and item. Confirming a request approves it and creates the required Purchase Request, Stock Assembly Order, and Stock Transfer documents.
- Open Centralized Kitchen Management > Kitchen Production Plan.
- Set the date or filters and select the required branch locations; use All when appropriate.
- Review the location totals and the item planning grid. It shows Planning Qty, Balance Qty, Calculated Qty, Stock Transfer Qty, Purchase Request Qty, Assembly Order Qty, Supply Status, and Linked Document No.
- Select the relevant Branch Stock Request(s) and confirm the processing action.
- Review the confirmation message and the generated linked documents.
- Continue the production and transfer workflow. A request remains in the plan until every approved line is transferred.
F. Review Requests, History, and Reports
Use the Branch Stock Requests window to find requests, inspect revisions, review immutable status and quantity history, and print management reports.
- Open Branch Stock Requests and filter by document number, document date, required date, main location, status, or submitted user as needed.
- Open a request to view its document details.
- Use Print and select the required output: Branch Stock Request Listing, Branch Stock Request Detail Listing, Outstanding Branch Stock Request Listing, or Outstanding Branch Stock Request Detail Listing.
- For outstanding reports, apply the report criteria before previewing or printing.
- Use Void / Cancel only when authorised. A cancelled request records the action in its history.
Benefits of AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin
More Consistent Branch Stock Planning
Use item standards, stock information, and relevant planning settings to prepare more consistent branch stock requests.
Better Production Coordination
Review consolidated requirements across multiple branches before preparing central kitchen production and supply activities.
Less Manual Administrative Work
Reduce repetitive purchasing, assembly, and stock transfer document preparation through the approved planning workflow.
Improved Accountability & Reporting
Maintain request statuses, approval controls, document references, and historical reports for more organized kitchen operations.
Conclusion
The AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin helps restaurant chains, bakeries, and multi-outlet food businesses manage branch stock requests, kitchen production planning, and inventory distribution more efficiently.
By combining calculated stock requirements, flexible planning standards, consolidated production plans, approval workflows, and linked purchasing and stock documents, businesses can reduce manual work and improve operational coordination.
For businesses looking for a central kitchen management system, this AutoCount plugin provides a structured approach to managing stock requests and supply planning across multiple locations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of business can benefit from a central kitchen management system?
Restaurant chains, café groups, bakeries, central commissaries, and other food businesses that prepare or distribute stock from a central kitchen to multiple branches can benefit from this plugin.
Can the plugin calculate branch stock requirements?
Yes. The Branch Stock Request function calculates suggested quantities using applicable planning standards, sales history settings, and current stock information.
Does the plugin support different planning quantities for weekdays and weekends?
Yes. Item Planning Standards allow businesses to maintain separate weekday and weekend/holiday base quantities.
Can businesses maintain special planning rules for public holidays?
Yes. The plugin supports Holiday Maintenance, allowing businesses to identify holiday dates that use the applicable weekend/holiday planning standards.
Can branch managers adjust calculated stock request quantities?
Yes. Users can review calculated quantities and enter additional quantities where necessary. The request quantity is recalculated accordingly.
Can the central kitchen review requests from multple branches in one place?
Yes. The Kitchen Production Plan consolidates Branch Stock Requests by location and item, providing a central view of the relevant production and supply requirements.
Streamline Your Central Kitchen Operations Today!
Managing multiple food outlets should not mean relying on spreadsheets, repeated phone calls, and manual stock request processing.
With the AutoCount Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin, your business can calculate branch stock requirements, consolidate kitchen production plans, manage approvals, and generate the necessary purchasing and stock documents more efficiently.
Whether you operate restaurants, cafés, bakeries, or central commissaries, this solution helps improve coordination between your branches and central kitchen.
Looking for a central kitchen management system that integrates with AutoCount Accounting?
Contact SL Software Solutions Sdn. Bhd. to discover how the Centralized Kitchen Management Plugin can support your daily kitchen planning and stock distribution operations.