A supplier price tracker is a log of what you paid for each item on each delivery, turned into a price per unit (per pound, per carton, per each) so deliveries of different pack sizes compare. From that you can see the change since the last delivery, the change since you started tracking, and, the number that matters, what the rises cost you a month at the amount you use. In the example below, butter up 8.3%, flour up 6.7% and coconut cream up 6.7% over three months add $102.60 a month to the cost of making things, $1,231 a year, without a single invoice looking alarming. Below is how to set up the log, the formulas, how to read it, and a free template.
The short version
- Log every delivery: date, supplier, item, pack size, pack price.
- Price per unit = pack price ÷ pack size, so different packs compare.
- Change since last delivery = this price per unit ÷ last one − 1.
- Cost of the change a month = (latest − first price per unit) × what you use a month.
- Flag rises over a threshold, say 3%, and ask about them.
- Push the new prices into your recipe costs and prices.
- TaroStack logs prices from every delivery and reports price creep per supplier. More below.
The log
| Date | Supplier | Item | Pack size | Pack price | Price per unit | Change since last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 4 | Island Dairy Supply | Butter | 36 lb | $129.60 | $3.60 | |
| Sep 3 | Island Dairy Supply | Butter | 36 lb | $133.20 | $3.70 | +2.8% |
| Oct 2 | Island Dairy Supply | Butter | 36 lb | $140.40 | $3.90 | +5.4% |
| Aug 6 | Valley Mill | Bread flour | 50 lb | $52.50 | $1.05 | |
| Sep 5 | Valley Mill | Bread flour | 50 lb | $54.00 | $1.08 | +2.9% |
| Oct 4 | Valley Mill | Bread flour | 50 lb | $56.00 | $1.12 | +3.7% |
Windward Roots, the made-up taro business I use in these examples, logged butter, flour and coconut cream for three months. No single delivery jumped much; the trend did. The suppliers here are made up too.
The formulas
Price per unit = pack price ÷ pack size
Change since last = this price per unit ÷ last price per unit − 1
Change since first = latest price per unit ÷ first price per unit − 1
Cost of the change = (latest − first price per unit) × units used a month
In a spreadsheet, keep the log sorted by item and then date, so "the last delivery of this item" is the row above. The template does that and flags any rise over 3% in red.
What the rises cost
| Item | First | Latest | Change | Used a month | Cost a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butter | $3.60/lb | $3.90/lb | +8.3% | 120 lb | $36.00 |
| Bread flour | $1.05/lb | $1.12/lb | +6.7% | 780 lb | $54.60 |
| Coconut cream | $4.50/carton | $4.80/carton | +6.7% | 40 cartons | $12.00 |
| Total | $102.60 |
Flour's rise is the smallest per pound and the biggest in dollars, because of how much is used. That's why the "used a month" column matters more than the percentage: a 20% rise on vanilla you barely use costs less than 3% on flour. $102.60 a month is $1,231 a year straight off the margin unless prices follow. How a price change works through a recipe is in steps in recipe costing, and how it shows up in a month's food cost is in food cost variance formula.
What to do with it
| Finding | Action |
|---|---|
| A rise over your threshold | Ask the supplier why, and whether it's temporary |
| A steady creep on a big-volume item | Get a second quote; negotiate a fixed price for a season |
| Several items up together | Recost recipes and review your prices |
| One supplier rising faster than others | Compare, and move some volume |
| A price that went up and came back | Note it; it may be seasonal |
Raising your own prices is easier with the numbers: a customer letter that says what went up, and by how much, lands better than one that doesn't. How to set a price from a cost is in markup vs margin.
Get the template
Download the supplier price tracking template. The Deliveries sheet works out the price per unit and the change since the last delivery, with rises over 3% in red; the Summary sheet shows each item's first and latest price, the change, and what it costs a month at what you use. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A price log only works if every delivery gets typed in, in the right units, and on a busy week it doesn't. The log also sits apart from the recipes, so even a perfect log doesn't change what your products cost until someone recosts them by hand. And freight isn't in the invoice price, so the "price" being tracked isn't quite what the item costs.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack logs every price from the deliveries you're already receiving, and carries it into every product.
Prices come from receiving. Each delivery is received at the price on the order, carried from the supplier's price list, with freight and other charges spread across what arrived, so the price per unit is the landed price. Units convert, so a 36 lb case and a 50 lb bag both become a price per pound.
Price creep, per supplier. A buying-costs and price-creep report per supplier shows what you're paying over time and who's been nudging prices up, so the butter's three small steps show up as one trend.
And costs follow. Stock is costed in FIFO layers or moving average, recipes and sub-recipes carry ingredient costs into every product, and margins are reported per product on actual cost. When flour goes up, the bread's margin moves the same month, and recipe truth shows whether a cost rise is price or a recipe using more than it should.
| The job | Price log | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Record each price | Typed after each delivery | From receiving, automatically |
| Freight | Not in the price | Spread into the landed cost |
| Spot creep | Sort and compare | Price creep report, per supplier |
| Recost products | By hand | Margins on actual cost, every month |
Receiving, supplier price lists, landed costs and the price-creep report are on every plan, from $49 a month; recipes and margins per product on actual cost are on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card, and your supplier price lists import from a spreadsheet or a photo of the list. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.