Inventory
Par Level Management and Reorder Points
How to set a par level for each item in Wox, base it on real usage instead of habit, and turn a low-stock alert into an order placed before the supplier's cut-off.
Every kitchen already has par levels. They live in the head chef's memory: never let the sulguni drop below two blocks, four sacks of flour by Friday. That works until the chef is on leave, the menu changes, or a second location opens and nobody else knows the numbers.
Writing the number down in Wox turns it into something the whole team can see and the system can watch. This guide covers how par levels work in Wox, how to calculate them from usage, and how to keep them honest as the restaurant changes.
What a par level means in Wox
In Wox, an item's par level is its alert point: the quantity at which the item counts as low. When stock in a storage falls to or below that number, the item is marked as low in the inventory list and the organization's owners receive a low-stock alert in the app and as a push notification on the Wox mobile app.
The alert fires once, when stock crosses the line, not with every sale recorded below it. If an evening of khachapuri takes the sulguni from three blocks to one, you get one alert, not twenty.
Calculate the number from usage
A par level has to cover two things: what you use while waiting for the next delivery, and a buffer for the day that goes differently. The arithmetic is short.
Take four weeks of usage for the item and divide it by the number of trading days to get average daily use. Multiply that by the lead time, the number of days between placing an order and having it on the shelf. Then add a safety buffer: a day or two of use for perishables, more for products a supplier often runs short of.
An example. A Tbilisi restaurant used 84 kilograms of sulguni over the last 28 days, three kilograms a day. The cheese supplier delivers the day after an order, so lead time is one day. With a two-day buffer, the par level is 3 × (1 + 2) = 9 kilograms. When the cold room reaches 9, it is time to call.
Usage comes from your own records. If menu items have recipes, Wox deducts the ingredients with every sale, and waste entries and approved counts complete the picture. The inventory guide and the recipe costing guide explain how those pieces connect. Without recipes, compare two counts and add what was received in between.
Setting par levels step by step
- 1Choose the twenty to thirty items that matter most: the highest spend, the fastest moving, and the ones that stop service when they run out.
- 2Pull four weeks of usage for each item from counts, recipe deductions and waste.
- 3Confirm the lead time with each supplier, including delivery days and the daily order cut-off.
- 4Calculate the par level as average daily use multiplied by the lead time plus the buffer days.
- 5In Wox, open Inventory, then Items, open the item and enter the number as its alert point. You can also click the alert point in the inventory list to edit it in place.
- 6Make sure the owner accounts that receive low-stock alerts have notifications turned on in the Wox mobile app.
- 7Agree who acts on a low-stock alert and by what time, so the order goes out before the supplier's cut-off.
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From alert to order
An alert only helps if it reaches someone with time to act. Decide in advance that whoever sees the alert at the morning check places the order the same day. If the fish supplier's cut-off is 14:00 for next-morning delivery, an alert read at 08:00 is useful. The same alert noticed at 18:00 means a day without fish.
Wox also has a fuller stock target setup, with a reorder quantity and a preferred supplier for each item, which belongs to the purchasing module. Ordering from suppliers inside the web app is not switched on yet, so for now the alert point does the work, and the order goes to the supplier the way it does today: by phone, by message or through the sales rep.
A par level is not a forecast. It is an agreement about when someone picks up the phone.
Let Wox Analyst check your numbers
Once a few weeks of data are in, Wox Analyst can review your par levels. Ask which items ran out last month, or which par levels look too high or too low. It reads recent stockouts and waste: an item that hit zero with a low alert point, or none at all, should probably go up, and an item that is often thrown away while sitting at a high par level should probably come down.
When you ask it to adjust them, it shows the proposed change for each item. Nothing is saved until you confirm. Wox Analyst is included on paid plans, not on Free.
Keep par levels current
Par levels drift because the restaurant drifts. A summer menu with more grilled vegetables, a Batumi season that doubles covers, a supplier who moves from daily delivery to three days a week: each one changes the right number.
- 1Once a month, list the items that ran out and the items that were wasted in quantity.
- 2Recalculate those items from the latest four weeks of usage.
- 3Update their alert points, or ask Wox Analyst to propose updates and confirm the ones that make sense.
- 4After any menu or supplier change, review the affected items the same week instead of waiting for the monthly check.
Common mistakes
- Setting par levels from gut feel. Start from at least four weeks of usage and adjust with experience.
- Setting every item on day one. Begin with the items that cost the most or stop service, and add the rest gradually.
- Missing lead time changes. A supplier who stops delivering on Sundays changes the par level of everything you buy from them.
- Forgetting that items are shared across locations. In a group, one alert point applies wherever the item is stocked. If branches trade very differently, set it around the location where running out costs most, and watch the others through regular counts.
Par levels are one part of a wider stock routine. Waste tracking tells you when a number is too high, and notifications and alerts covers who hears about what.
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a par level and a reorder point?
Many kitchens use par for the quantity they want on the shelf and reorder point for the level that triggers an order. In Wox the alert point plays the reorder point role: it is the number that marks an item as low and sends the alert.
Who receives low-stock alerts?
The organization's owners, in the app and as push notifications on the Wox mobile app. Items at or below their alert point are also marked as low in the inventory list for everyone with access.
How often should par levels be reviewed?
Monthly for your most important items, and whenever the menu, the season or a supplier's delivery schedule changes.
Can Wox suggest par levels?
Yes. Wox Analyst reviews recent stockouts and waste and proposes new alert points, which apply only after you confirm. Wox Analyst is not included on the Free plan.
Does Wox place orders automatically when stock is low?
No. Wox marks the item as low and sends an alert, and your team places the order with the supplier.
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Background reading
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