Let’s talk business over coffee.
Opening a café often begins with a spark of passion—a love for the aroma of freshly ground beans, the artistry of latte art, and the joy of watching a customer smile after savoring your brew. Romantic, isn’t it?
Yet, behind the charm lies the chaos of daily operations—long queues during rush hour, baristas mistakenly serving iced instead of hot drinks, and the eternal question: “How much does it really cost to produce a single cup of Iced Brown Sugar Latte?”
Running a café is unlike retail. We’re not selling finished goods off a shelf—we’re selling crafted beverages, each cup a blend of various raw ingredients. And therein lies the complexity.
In this article, we’ll trace the journey of a single cup of coffee through your café, from the moment it’s ordered to the moment it appears in your profit report. We’ll show how a tool like iReap POS can act as your café’s digital “head barista,” orchestrating the madness behind the scenes.
This is part of our in-depth discussion, the full picture of which can be found in the iReap POS Complete Guide.
At the Cash Register – Speed and Accuracy Reign Supreme
Problem:
Picture this: 8 AM rush. Customers on their way to work. The line grows. Someone orders: “One iced brown sugar latte, less sugar. And a hot cappuccino with oat milk.” Your new staff member panics, misclicks, and the queue begins to grumble.
iReap POS Solution:
The cashier interface must prioritize speed and eliminate human error.
- Visual Menu Layout: Organize your POS menu with clear categories (‘Coffee’, ‘Non-Coffee’, ‘Snacks’) and images for each item. It’s highly intuitive. Staff just tap on a picture—no need to scroll through long lists.
- Item Variants: A lifesaver for cafés. No need to create multiple items like “Hot Cappuccino”, “Iced Cappuccino”, or “Large Hot Cappuccino”. Just define one “Cappuccino” item, and add variants:
- Temperature: Hot (Rp 25,000), Iced (Rp 27,000)
- Size: Regular, Large (+Rp 3,000)
- Add-ons: Extra Shot (+Rp 5,000), Oat Milk (+Rp 7,000)
Everything is presented on one screen—tap, tap, done. The pricing adjusts automatically.
- Promo Bundles: Want to boost sales? Create bundles like “Breakfast Set” including 1 coffee + 1 croissant at a special price. The system handles the discount—no mental math for your cashier.
Behind the Bar – “Digital Recipes” & Controlling COGS
This is the heart of what sets F\&B apart from traditional retail. Here lies the line between profit and loss.
Problem:
What’s the actual cost of a cup of Iced Brown Sugar Latte? Manually: 20g coffee beans, 100ml milk, 15ml syrup, plus cup, lid, and straw.
If milk prices spike, how do you adjust selling prices? Without a system, it’s all guesswork.
iReap POS Recipe/Formula Feature:
This transforms guesswork into clear, calculable metrics.
- Input All Ingredients: Register every supply item in the system with purchase prices. For instance: ‘Gayo Arabica Beans’ (per gram), ‘UHT Full Cream Milk’ (per ml), ‘Liquid Brown Sugar’ (per ml). This follows the inventory principles discussed in our Stock Management Guide.
- Create Digital Recipes: Define your menu item, say “Iced Brown Sugar Latte”, and craft its formula:
- Gayo Arabica Beans: 20g
- Full Cream Milk: 100ml
- Brown Sugar Syrup: 15ml
- 16oz Plastic Cup: 1 unit
- Cup Lid: 1 unit
- Here’s the Magic: When this drink is sold, iReap POS doesn’t reduce the finished product stock—it deducts the exact ingredients based on your recipe. Your coffee bean stock drops 20g, milk drops 100ml, and so on.
- COGS Calculated Automatically: Based on ingredient purchase prices, the system totals the cost of one recipe. Result: You know, with precision, that the cost to produce one Iced Brown Sugar Latte is, say, Rp 8,750. This figure becomes your foundation for pricing and profit strategy.
This level of recipe management is a key difference between iReap POS Lite and Pro. For cafés serious about margin control, the Pro version often pays for itself quickly through cost efficiencies alone.
In the Manager’s Office – Reading Your Business Report Card
Problem:
After a full month of operations, it’s time for review. But what can you analyze without data? Which menu items are hits? Which are dead weight? What’s your real peak hour?
iReap POS Solution:
Every transaction is a valuable data point. Open the Reports menu and gain managerial clarity.
- Sales per Item Report: See precisely: 1,200 cups of ‘Iced Brown Sugar Latte’ sold this month vs. only 30 of ‘Avocado Coffee’. Now you can decide—revise, remove, or retain?
- Gross Profit Analysis: Popular doesn’t always mean profitable. Maybe croissants fly off the shelves, but margins are slim. Meanwhile, ‘Manual Brew V60’ may sell less, but yields higher profits. Gross profit reports per item reveal the truth.
- Hourly Sales Report: This is a goldmine for staffing. If sales plummet from 2–4 PM, maybe one barista suffices during that window—others can prep or rest.
Conclusion: Bridging Passion and Profit
Running a café is always a delicate balance of art and science. The art of crafting delightful beverages and warm ambience. The science of managing costs, efficiency, and performance.
iReap POS acts as a bridge between the two. It allows you and your baristas to focus on the artistry of coffee while handling the operational rigor—speedy transactions, precise cost controls, and insightful reporting.
Don’t let your *passion* for coffee be drowned in admin headaches. Use the right tools and build a café that’s not only stylish, but also sustainable and profitable.
Ready to Brew Coffee and Profit Together?
Give your café a smart operational backbone. Control your costs, accelerate your service, and understand your business through data.
CLICK HERE TO TRY iREAP POS AND RUN A MORE EFFICIENT CAFÉ!
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