Bulk Ingredient Import
Get your ingredient library set up in minutes, not days
Upload a spreadsheet of your ingredients with their names, units and costs, and MenuCost imports them all at once. No manual entry, no starting from scratch.
- No card needed
- Excel template provided
- Preview before anything imports
| Ingredient | Price / pack | Status |
|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | SAR 45.00 / 25 kg | Waiting |
| Whole milk | SAR 6.50 / 1 l | Waiting |
| Chicken breast | SAR 28.00 / 1 kg | Waiting |
| Shrimp, peeled | SAR 62.00 / 1 kilo | Waiting |
| Cheddar cheese, block | SAR 38.00 / 1 kg | Waiting |
| Paper cup, 12 oz | SAR 30.00 / 100 | Waiting |
Example import of a 94-row ingredient list.
Why this matters
Building your ingredient library shouldn't take a week
Before you can cost a single recipe, your ingredients need to be in the system. A café or bakery often has 80 to 150 of them. Most businesses already have that data somewhere: an ordering spreadsheet, a supplier price list, a purchasing tracker.
Typing 100 ingredients by hand
The work that delays getting started.
A café importing 94 ingredients
1 duplicate skipped. Recipes started the same day.
Use the data you already have. Copy it into the template, upload it, and your library is ready. What would take days of typing takes minutes.
Illustrative example.
Upload, review, confirm. Your library is ready.
Prepare your Excel file
Download MenuCost's import template and copy in your data from Google Sheets, Excel, a supplier price list or a purchasing tracker.
Upload the file
In your ingredient library, choose import and upload the file. MenuCost reads it straight away and shows how many rows it found.
Review the preview
Every row is colour-coded: ready to import, flagged for a fixable issue, or a duplicate. Nothing is added until you approve.
Confirm the import
Confirm, and MenuCost adds the approved rows to your library at once, with a summary of what was added and what was skipped.
Re-import to update prices
When supplier prices change, update your spreadsheet and re-import it. Rows are matched by ingredient name, and every recipe using an updated ingredient recalculates.
What changes when you don't enter ingredients one by one
A full library from day one
Start costing recipes right away instead of building up over weeks.
Your existing data carries over
The spreadsheet you already keep for ordering becomes your library.
Prices updated across recipes
Update ingredient costs and every recipe using them recalculates.
Problems caught first
The preview shows issues before they become bad data in your library.
What file format does MenuCost accept?
An Excel file (.xlsx). Any spreadsheet app can export to it. In Google Sheets, use File, Download, Microsoft Excel.
What if an ingredient already exists in my library?
MenuCost checks for duplicates by matching ingredient names exactly. A duplicate shows up in the preview, so you can decide what to do with it before anything is imported.
Can I import costs in a different currency?
The import uses your account's currency for every cost. If you buy some items in another currency, such as USD from an international supplier, convert them first. MenuCost doesn't convert currencies during import.
Is there a limit on how many ingredients I can import?
No hard limit. Very large files, over 1,000 rows, may take a little longer at the preview step. For a large multi-site operation, you can split the import into several files by category.
What happens to my recipes if I re-import updated costs?
When an ingredient's cost changes, every recipe using it recalculates its cost per serving automatically. The recipe itself doesn't change, only the cost input. You'll see the new numbers in each recipe and in your menu cost reports.
Works hand in hand with
Build your ingredient library, not one row at a time
Set up your library and start costing on day one.
- No card needed
- Set up in minutes
- Unlimited recipes