What Are Materials in tSpoonLab?
In restaurant and hospitality operations, Materials are non-edible items used during food preparation or service processes.
They include stainless steel trays, vacuum bags, packaging, utensils, containers, and other support items that are part of daily operations but not ingredients.
tSpoonLab allows you to create, organize, and control all materials directly from the same interface where you manage ingredients and recipes — keeping your inventory and purchasing centralized and consistent across all cost centers.
How to Create a Material
This video explains how to create and manage non-food materials in tSpoonLab, step by step.
1. Access the Materials Section
Go to the Offer tab located in the top-left corner of the navigation bar.
Then, in the lower bar, select Products to access the full list of items managed in your account.
2. Create a New Material
Click on the three dots icon in the toolbar and select New Material.
A form will appear to enter all required information. Complete the following fields:
Field | Description |
Name | Main name of the material, e.g., Vacuum Bag, Tray, Packaging Box. |
Alternative Name | Optional secondary name. |
Unit of Measure | Define how the material is quantified (e.g., Unit, Box, Kg, Litre). |
Conversions | Configure unit conversions if necessary (e.g., 1 box = 12 units). |
Family | Assign the appropriate category (e.g., Packaging, Utensils, Kitchen Material). |
Include in Orders | Enabled by default — uncheck if you don’t want it to appear in purchase lists. |
Price Calculation | Choose how the cost is calculated: last purchase, average, fixed, or supplier price. Manual input is also possible. |
VAT | Define the applicable tax rate. |
Warehouse | Select where this material is physically stored. |
Min/Max Stock | Optional but useful for maintaining balanced inventory. |
Exclude from Label | Check this if you don’t want it to appear on printed labels. |
Barcode / Product Code | Optional — use for tracking or ERP synchronization. |
Once complete, click Accept to save the material to your tSpoonLab database.
3. Edit a Material
From the main Materials view, you can update all relevant data such as descriptions, suppliers, purchase formats, storage locations, and images.
To make any change, click the three dots next to the desired section and select Edit or Add.
Changes are saved automatically and sync across all connected cost centers.
4. Delete or Hide a Material
From the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner of the screen, you can manage additional actions:
Action | Description |
Edit | Modify any existing data. |
Delete | Permanently remove the material from your account. |
Hide Material | Hides the material from lists while keeping its data in the database. |
Copy | Duplicate the material with all details. |
Move to Product | Convert the material into a product if required. |
Move to Other Cost | Reclassify the material under “Other Costs”. |
Mark | Add a visual flag or alert symbol. |
Set as Key Product | Highlight this material as strategically important. |
Deactivate Material | Temporarily disable it for future use. |
Copy to Another Account | Transfer the material to another tSpoonLab account. |
Labels | Create and print identification labels. |
📢 Note:
You can update material information anytime.
All changes will automatically synchronize across accounts and cost centers, ensuring accurate and unified inventory management.