The problem with "we always keep a bit extra, just in case"
Almost every kitchen has an unwritten rule for stock: "we always keep a bit extra of that, just in case." The problem is that "a bit extra" isn't a minimum stock level — it's a guess. And guesses work fine until they don't: either you run out of a key ingredient mid-service on a busy Saturday, or you end up with a walk-in full of products that expire before they're used.
Par level (minimum stock) is the threshold below which a product needs reordering, and it's calculated — not guessed. Done right, it keeps just enough stock to never stop you mid-service, and not a gram more.
The basic formula
Par level = (Average daily consumption × Days of coverage) + Safety stock
Where:
- Average daily consumption: how much of that product you typically use on a normal service day.
- Days of coverage: how many days the stock needs to last before the next reorder — depends on how often you order from that supplier and how long delivery takes (lead time).
- Safety stock: a buffer to absorb a busier-than-expected day, a delivery delay, or an estimation error — usually 1-2 days of average consumption.
A worked example: canned tomatoes for a pizzeria
A pizzeria uses an average of 8kg of canned tomatoes a day. It orders from the supplier twice a week, and delivery arrives the day after ordering (1-day lead time). Between two orders, up to 3-4 days can pass, plus the 1-day lead time.
Days of coverage = 4 (maximum gap between deliveries) + 1 (lead time) = 5
Safety stock = 1 day of consumption = 8kg
Par level = (8 × 5) + 8 = 48kg
When tomato stock drops below 48kg, it's time to reorder — not before (capital tied up for nothing), not after (risk of running out mid-week).
Not every product should have the same par level
This is the most common mistake: applying the same coverage logic to the entire stockroom. In reality, par level depends on three variables that change from product to product:
Perishability. Fresh herbs or fish have at most 1-2 days of coverage, regardless of how much you consume: keeping more just means throwing it out before it's used. A dry or canned product can carry weeks of coverage with no risk.
Criticality. An ingredient used in half the menu (flour, oil, mozzarella) deserves a wider safety margin: running out blocks service, not just one dish. A niche ingredient used in a single seasonal dish can carry a minimal par level.
Supplier reliability. A supplier who delivers on time every time allows a lower safety stock. A supplier with frequent delays or high minimum order quantities (say, you have to order a full case, not by the kilo) needs to be compensated with a higher par level, because the margin for error on reordering is wider.
The cost of getting it wrong in either direction
Par level too low: stockouts mid-service, dishes pulled from the menu at the last minute, urgent last-minute orders often pricier than the normal price list, unhappy customers.
Par level too high: capital tied up in stock instead of in the till, higher expiry risk (more waste), more storage space needed, and a less obvious effect: an overstuffed stockroom makes physical counts harder and makes it easier to lose track of what's about to expire.
Neither direction is the "safe" one — they're both a cost, just of a different nature.
When to recalculate par level
Par level isn't a fixed number: it needs revisiting whenever one of the variables that determines it changes.
- Menu change or seasonality: a new dish using much more of an existing ingredient changes average daily consumption, and with it the par level.
- Supplier or delivery condition change: a new supplier with a different lead time or delivery frequency changes the days of coverage you need.
- Sales trend: if a dish is consistently selling more (or less) than when you first calculated the par level, average daily consumption isn't what it used to be.
A practical rule: if a product regularly triggers low-stock alerts despite timely reorders, the par level is too low. If a product never drops below the threshold despite being used regularly, it's probably too high.
How BiteBase manages minimum stock
For every product in your stockroom you can set a minimum stock threshold specific to that location: when stock drops below it, an alert goes to the team, instead of finding out empty-handed at the prep counter. The threshold isn't global across the whole catalog — every product has its own, consistent with the fact that the right par level changes ingredient by ingredient.
When you set (or raise) a minimum threshold and current stock is already below that level, BiteBase immediately evaluates whether to generate a reorder proposal, instead of waiting for the next check cycle — so a correct par level today doesn't stay theoretical until the next manual review.
Frequently asked questions
Does par level need to be calculated for every single product? In theory yes, in practice it's best to start with the 15-20 products that weigh the most on spend (by value) or matter most to the menu, and expand from there. Applying the same generic coverage to hundreds of different items is less useful than having an accurate par level on the products that actually matter.
How do I estimate average daily consumption without historical data? Start from a reasoned estimate (how many portions a day of a dish, how much ingredient per portion) and correct it after the first few weeks by observing actual consumption. A par level set today isn't final — it's a starting point to refine.
Should safety stock be the same for every product? No. A perishable or menu-critical product deserves proportionally higher safety stock than a dry, secondary product, even at the same average consumption.