Automated Poster Ingredient Cost Variance Alerts
Every Monday, WebRun compares each recipe's theoretical ingredient cost in Poster against the actual supplier invoices in Xero, and posts Slack a flag for any dish whose real cost has drifted from its menu price.
How do I catch ingredient cost variance before it hurts margin?
Every Monday, WebRun compares each recipe's theoretical ingredient cost in Poster against the real supplier invoices recorded in Xero that week. Any dish whose actual cost has drifted past your threshold gets flagged in Slack, so rising ingredient prices show up before they quietly erode your margin.
- Cost drift is flagged within a week of the invoice, not a quarter later
- Every recipe is checked against real supplier prices, not last year's cost card
- Margin erosion gets caught while it's still a few cents, not a crisis
Built for cafe owners · kitchen managers · restaurant bookkeepers · menu pricing managers
What does WebRun do on every run?
The exact actions WebRun takes, in order - in plain language, so you can adjust anything.
-
WebRun signs in and gets to work
Opens
joinposter.comin a real browser with your saved login - no setup, no API keys. -
1
Poster - read each recipe's theoretical cost
joinposter.com
WebRun opens Poster to read each recipe's theoretical cost. - Open Poster's Menu and pull the theoretical ingredient cost for every recipe
- Note the menu price and target cost percentage for each dish
- Flag any recipe whose ingredients changed this week
Done when Every recipe's theoretical cost has been pulled for the week.
-
2
Xero - check actual supplier invoices
xero.com
WebRun opens Xero to check actual supplier invoices. - Open Xero and pull this week's supplier bills for the same ingredients
- Calculate the actual cost per recipe using the invoiced prices
- Compare actual cost to Poster's theoretical cost for each dish
Done when Actual ingredient cost has been compared to theoretical cost for every recipe.
-
3
Slack - flag drifted dish costs
slack.com
WebRun opens Slack to flag drifted dish costs. - Post any dish whose actual cost drifted past your threshold
- Show the theoretical cost, the actual cost, and the gap
- Sort the list with the worst drift first
Done when You have this week's cost variance flags in Slack.
How is each run configured?
Secure by default
Connect once, stays signed in
WebRun signs in once and keeps each session in a persistent environment, so every run picks up right where it left off.
Every action is checked against this policy before it runs.
Questions, answered
Will it change my menu prices?
No. WebRun only flags the variance in Slack. It never edits a menu price or recipe in Poster. Any price change stays your decision.
What counts as a cost variance?
It's the gap between each recipe's theoretical ingredient cost in Poster and what you were actually invoiced in Xero that week, flagged whenever it crosses the threshold you set.
What if a supplier invoice is late or missing?
That ingredient is skipped for the week rather than guessed at. It's included again once the invoice appears in Xero.
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