A recipe is the repeatable definition of how you make a product: the ingredients and quantities (its bill of materials), the steps, and the equipment involved. It is both a set of instructions and a costing model — the place where "what goes into this" becomes "what does this cost to make."
Because each ingredient in a recipe carries its current purchase cost, the recipe totals up a per-unit cost automatically and keeps it current as your supply prices move. That number is the foundation of sound pricing: it tells you the floor below which a sale loses money, and it feeds your COGS when you produce and sell.
Recipes drive production runs. When you make a batch, the run follows the recipe to know what to deduct and what to create, so a well-built recipe pays off every single time you produce. Recipes can also nest, with subassemblies appearing as ingredients in a larger recipe.
Related terms
Bill of Materials (BOM)
A complete list of ingredients, components, and quantities needed to produce a finished good. In Ardent Seller, this is represented through recipes and their ingredient lists.
Production Run
A recorded instance of producing goods using a recipe. Deducts ingredients from inventory, adds finished goods to stock, and tracks batch/lot numbers for traceability.
Ingredient
A raw material or component purchased from vendors and used in recipes to produce finished goods. Examples: flour, beads, essential oils, fabric.
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold)
The total cost of materials, labor, and overhead directly tied to producing the goods you sell. Tracked automatically through purchases, recipes, and production runs.
Subassembly
A component that is produced from raw materials and then used as an input in another recipe or assembly process. Allows multi-level bills of materials.