Small Food Producers
Your complete playbook for managing a small food production business
Jams, sauces, spice blends, meal prep, and pet treats
Food production demands careful tracking of allergens, nutrition data, batch/lot numbers, and expiration awareness. This playbook covers setting up ingredients with allergen flags, building recipes that calculate per-unit nutrition labels, running production with full lot traceability, and performing the stocktakes and reports needed for food safety compliance.
Getting Started
One-time setup tasks to configure Ardent Seller for food production.
1. Set up your production facility
Rename your default location to "Kitchen", "Production Facility", or your business name. If you have separate areas for prep, production, and cold storage, add each as a location.
2. Add ingredients with allergen and nutrition data
Add every ingredient you use: fruits, spices, sugars, preservatives, proteins, etc. For each ingredient, set the unit, cost, and flag any allergens (milk, eggs, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, sesame). If you have nutrition data, link the ingredient to a food database entry for automatic nutrition calculations.
3. Add packaging materials
Add jars, bottles, pouches, labels, lids, shrink bands, and shipping boxes. Include these in your recipes so packaging costs are reflected in your per-unit cost.
4. Add equipment
Register your production equipment: commercial mixers, dehydrators, canning equipment, scales, thermometers. Track usage hours and maintenance schedules, especially for equipment that requires calibration.
5. Set up your finished products
Create entries for each product you sell: 8oz jam jars, spice blend pouches, sauce bottles, etc. Add variants for different flavors or sizes. The nutrition label will be auto-generated from recipe ingredients.
6. Add vendors and customers
Add your ingredient suppliers (farms, wholesalers, co-ops) and your customers (stores, farmers market regulars, wholesale buyers).
Day-to-Day Operations
Regular tasks for producing food products with full traceability.
Create recipes with nutrition and allergen tracking
Build a recipe for each product. Add ingredients with precise quantities, and Ardent Seller calculates the per-unit nutrition facts (calories, fat, sodium, etc.) and compiles the allergen list. Add step-by-step instructions with temperatures and timings.
Purchase ingredients with lot tracking
When you receive a shipment of ingredients, record the purchase with the vendor, quantities, costs, and lot/batch numbers from the supplier. This lot information flows through to production for full traceability.
Run production batches
When you produce a batch of jam or spice blend, record a production run. Select the recipe, set the batch size, and assign your own lot number (e.g., "SB-2024-0315-A"). Ingredient lots are linked to the finished product lot for traceability.
Record sales
Record sales to stores, market customers, or online buyers. Select the customer, add products with quantities and prices, and note the lot numbers of the products sold for traceability.
Check ingredient stock before production
Before starting a production run, verify you have enough of every ingredient. The replenish workflow flags items below their replenish points and helps you build purchase orders to your suppliers.
Transfer stock between areas
Move finished goods from your production area to cold storage or to your market booth inventory. Transfers keep both locations accurate.
Periodic Reviews
Weekly or monthly tasks for food safety compliance and business health.
Perform a stocktake
Count all ingredients and finished goods. The guided stocktake highlights variances between expected and actual quantities and creates adjustment transactions. Especially important for perishable ingredients.
Run traceability reports
Generate a traceability report that traces every finished product lot back through production to the ingredient lots used. This is your primary tool for food safety audits and recall preparedness.
Review allergen compliance
Periodically review your product recipes to ensure allergen data is accurate and up to date. Check that new ingredients have been properly flagged and that nutrition labels reflect current formulations.
Review equipment maintenance
Check which equipment is due for maintenance, calibration, or replacement. Well-maintained equipment is critical for food safety and consistent product quality.
Review inventory valuation
Check the value of ingredients and finished goods on hand. For perishable items, this helps you identify stock that should be used soon or written off.
End-of-period closeout
At month or quarter end, reconcile your inventory, review financials, and generate summary reports for your records and any regulatory requirements.