Prep Station
For kitchen purchasing
Buy from the right vendor Approve, order, and receive without the spreadsheet
Prep Station keeps preferred suppliers, purchase orders, receiving, and invoice matching in one purchasing stack so catering kitchens stop reordering from memory.
No credit card required · PO approval workflow · Cancel anytime
PO202607-0004
Sysco Foods · Downtown kitchen
Order date
Jul 10, 2026
Expected delivery
Jul 15, 2026
| Vendor item | Qty | Unit cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-Purpose Flour, 50 lb | 4 cs | $24.50 | $98.00 |
| Heavy Cream, 1 qt | 12 cs | $12.60 | $151.20 |
| Chicken Thigh, bone-in | 40 lb | $4.20 | $168.00 |
| Olive Oil, extra virgin | 6 cs | $42.80 | $256.80 |
Why use Prep Station purchasing
01
Stop guessing the supplier
Preferred vendors and SKU catalogs keep costing and reorder suggestions on the right source.
02
Approve before you spend
Manager sign-off sits on the PO path so big orders do not leave the kitchen unchecked.
03
Pay what you received
Three-way matching catches overbilling before the invoice clears accounts payable.
No credit card for the live demo
Sample vendors, POs, and invoice match
Cancel anytime
Reordering from a group chat is not purchasing. Preferred vendors, approvals, and receiving belong in one record.
Catering volume eats margin when the wrong case size lands, invoices disagree with the dock, and recipe costs lag what you actually paid.
Take purchasing seriously
The PO is the system of record from cart to dock to AP—not a fax that dies in someone’s inbox.
Vendor directory
Suppliers with SKUs tied to ingredients
Keep Sysco, the produce house, and the protein specialist in one registry. Mark preferred vendors so costing and purchase suggestions do not drift to whoever emailed last.
- Lead times, contacts, and active vendor item counts on each supplier
- Bulk catalog import with AI-assisted ingredient creation from new SKUs
- Preferred star drives costing when an ingredient has multiple suppliers
Vendor Directory
Suppliers and purchasing terms · Downtown kitchen
-
Active
Sysco Foods
Broadline
- Items
- 186
- Lead time
- 2 days
- Minimum order
- $500
-
Active
Local Organic Farms
Produce
- Items
- 64
- Lead time
- 1 day
- Minimum order
- $150
-
Active
Prime Meat & Seafood
Protein
- Items
- 38
- Lead time
- 3 days
- Minimum order
- $250
PO lifecycle
Draft, approve, order, receive
Quick-start from low stock or build a full order. Print for the vendor, then receive lines as the truck arrives—partial or complete.
Canonical status path
- 1 Draft
- 2 Pending Approval
- 3 Approved
- 4 Ordered
- 5 Partially Received
- 6 Received
- 7 Cancelled
Purchase Orders
Ordering and receiving · Downtown kitchen
Total orders
18
Pending approval
2
To receive
3
Total value
$8.4k
| Vendor item | Qty | Unit cost | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-Purpose Flour, 50 lb | 4 cs | $24.50 | $98.00 |
| Heavy Cream, 1 qt | 12 cs | $12.60 | $151.20 |
| Chicken Thigh, bone-in | 40 lb | $4.20 | $168.00 |
| Olive Oil, extra virgin | 6 cs | $42.80 | $256.80 |
Walk a purchase order from cart to receiving in the live demo.
3-Way Match Status
Purchase order ↔ receiving ↔ invoice
PO202607-0004 · Sysco
INV202607-0118
PO
$1,142.00
Received
$1,142.00
Invoice
$1,142.00
PO202607-0003 · Prime Meat
INV202607-0122
PO
$864.50
Received
$864.50
Invoice
$891.20
Accounts payable
Catch the variance before you pay
Multi-stage invoice approval, OCR from a scanned bill, and three-way matching keep receiving honest. Vendor credits close short-ships and price disputes without a side spreadsheet.
- Invoice OCR drafts line items for review
- Processing rules auto-approve trusted vendors
- Paid invoice costs roll into recipe costing
From cart to dock
Purchasing that keeps the kitchen stocked
Pair with inventory and receiving so on-hand stock and par alerts drive the next order—not a whiteboard guess.
Purchasing that updates the plate cost
Invoice costs feed recipe costing. Multi-unit kitchens move stock with commissary transfers. See pricing for plans.
Questions purchasing teams ask
Straight answers about vendors, POs, receiving, and invoice match.
Can each ingredient have a preferred vendor?
Yes. Prep Station keeps a supplier registry with SKU catalogs, and costing plus PO suggestions use the preferred vendor per ingredient.
Do purchase orders need manager approval?
Yes. POs move through draft, pending approval, approved, ordered, and receiving states so a manager can sign off before the vendor gets the order.
Can we receive only part of a PO?
Yes. Partial receives update inventory as lines arrive. You can capture vendor lot numbers and dates on receipt when lot tracking is enabled.
How do vendor invoices connect to recipe cost?
When you process a vendor invoice, ingredient costs update downstream so recipe and plate costs reflect what you actually paid.
Does Prep Station catch invoice overbilling?
Yes. Three-way matching reconciles the purchase order, receiving, and invoice so variances and short-ships surface before you pay.
Can we build a PO from low stock?
Yes. Purchase mode on inventory lets staff add vendor items to a cart from what is short, then checkout into draft purchase orders—including offline on the storeroom floor.
Can we import a vendor price list?
Yes. Bulk-import a vendor catalog from a spreadsheet, then link SKUs to ingredients—with AI-assisted ingredient creation when a new SKU needs a library item.
Prep Station
Purchase like the margin depends on it
Prefer the right vendor, approve the PO, receive on the dock, and match the invoice before you pay.
No credit card required · Cancel anytime