Welcome to FCMS

FCMS (Food Cost Management System) helps food businesses control inventory and costs — from buying ingredients and counting stock, to recipes, sales, and the reports that tell you where your money goes. This guide walks you through every feature, step by step, in plain language. No technical background needed.

It's written for brand-new users and new team members alike. Read it top to bottom the first time, or jump straight to the chapter you need from the menu on the left.

Tip

New to FCMS? Start with Essentials — concepts to learn first. A few core ideas (master items, measuring by the UOM per piece, the three inventory tools, revenue grouping) make everything else click — learn those, then dive into the feature chapters.

Web app and mobile app — one system

FCMS comes in two forms that share the same account and the same data:

The mobile app — a full point-of-sale and inventory app for phones and tablets. It works offline and syncs to the cloud automatically.
The web app — the same business, in your browser. Handy for back-office work: managing items, reviewing reports, and administering your team.

Almost everything works the same way in both. Where a step differs, you'll see a coloured note like these:

On mobile

Instructions that apply to the mobile app appear in a note like this.

On the web app

Instructions specific to the web app appear in a note like this.

You'll also see these along the way:

Tip

A shortcut or good-practice suggestion.

Heads up

Something to be careful about before you act.

Access

A reminder that a feature needs a particular permission — handy if a screen looks different for you than for a teammate.

The big picture

Here's the typical order things happen in, and the chapter that covers each:

Learn the essentials

Get the core concepts that everything builds on. See Essentials — concepts to learn first.

Create your account

Set up a branch

Each location you operate is a branch. See Set up your branch.

Invite your team

Add members and decide what each can do with roles. See Your team & roles.

Build your catalog

Add the items you buy and sell, grouped into categories. See Items & categories.

Track inventory

Record stock coming in and going out, and count what's on hand. See Recording stock.

Sell, then review

Ring up sales, then watch your costs and profit in reports.

Words you'll see a lot

Term	What it means
Branch	One location or outlet. Each branch has its own stock and sales.
Item	Anything you track — an ingredient, a product, or a finished dish.
Category	A group of items (e.g. "Beverages") used for reporting.
UOM	Unit of Measure — how an item is counted (kg, litre, piece…).
Batch	A group of entries (purchases, usage, a transfer) confirmed together.
Ending inventory	A physical stock count on a given date.
Yield	Producing a finished product from a recipe, using up ingredients.
Spoilage	Stock lost to waste, damage, or expiry.
Sync	Sending your data to the cloud so all devices stay up to date.
Role	A permission profile that decides what a team member can see and do.

Ready? Start with Create your account.