Updated October 13, 2026.
Why price rises slip through
- They’re small. 8 cents on a litre of oat milk doesn’t stand out on a $1,400 invoice.
- The pack changes, not the price. A case of 40 instead of 48 at the same price is a 20% rise per unit.
- Invoices live in three places: an inbox, a clipboard in the kitchen and the supplier’s portal.
- Nobody owns it. The person receiving the delivery checks quantities, not prices.
- Fees creep. Fuel surcharges, delivery fees and container deposits change without a letter.
A weekly routine that works
- Get every invoice into one place. Forward emailed invoices to one address and photograph paper ones the day they arrive.
- Convert to a unit price. Price ÷ (packs x units per pack), in kg, L or each. A 4 x 4 L case of milk at $22.40 is $1.40 per litre.
- Compare with last time. For each item bought at least twice, compare the latest unit price with the earlier one. Flag anything up 3% or more.
- Rank by monthly impact. Change per unit x units you buy a month. A 25-cent rise on something you buy 400 of a month ($100) beats a $2 rise on something you buy 5 of ($10).
- Check the dishes. For the top rises, recost the recipes that use the item. See food cost percentage.
- Decide and act (below), and note the decision so you don’t revisit it next week.
Worked example
| Item | Before | Now | Change | Bought a month | Monthly impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oat milk | $3.20 / L | $3.52 / L | +10% | 240 L | +$76.80 |
| Avocados | $1.60 each | $2.00 each | +25% | 300 | +$120.00 |
| Butter | $9.80 / kg | $10.10 / kg | +3.1% | 40 kg | +$12.00 |
| Coffee cups (12 oz) | $0.11 each | $0.13 each | +18% | 3,000 | +$60.00 |
Together that’s about $269 a month, or about $3,226 a year, from four lines nobody would notice on an invoice. Avocados first, then oat milk, then cups. Butter can wait.
What to do about a rise
- Ask. Call the rep, quote the old price and ask whether it’s permanent. Sometimes it’s a mistake or a promo ending.
- Compare. Get a price from a second supplier for the top three items. Even if you don’t switch, you’ll know the market.
- Change the spec. A different case size, brand or grade can bring the unit price back.
- Change the recipe or the portion, if guests won’t notice.
- Change the price. Either keep your food cost %, or keep your margin in dollars with the smallest possible increase. On a latte with 0.2 L of oat milk, the rise above adds about 6 cents a serve; a 10-cent change on the oat option covers it.
Also check on every invoice
- Lines plus tax add up to the total.
- The same invoice number hasn’t been sent (or paid) before.
- What was delivered matches what you ordered: short or missing items get credited.
- GST and PST are charged only where they should be.
- Deposits and credits for returned containers come back.
How Tasti Desk helps
In Tasti Desk you forward supplier invoices to your location’s bills address or upload a photo, and it reads every line, including pack sizes, GST and PST, checks the total, catches duplicate invoices and compares the delivery with your order. The Prices tab compares each item per kg, litre or each against the last 6 months, shows rises of 3% or more ranked by monthly cost, and the menu shows what each rise does per serve, with Avo’s suggested price for you to confirm or dismiss.
Related features: Price rise alerts, Supplier bills, Recipes and food cost.