# How to set up a recipe (bill of materials)

> Go to Recipes, click New recipe, choose the output item and how many units one batch makes, then add each component and its quantity per batch. Jogan shows the material cost and cost per unit, and production uses the recipe to consume components and add finished goods.

_Category: Getting started · Updated 2026-10-18 · Canonical: https://jogan.cloud/help/set-up-a-recipe_

A recipe (also called a bill of materials, or BOM) tells Jogan what goes into a product and how much. Once it exists, **Production** can turn components into finished goods with the stock and cost worked out, and the sales form can even produce on the spot when a product is short.

A recipe does not, by itself, deduct anything. Stock moves when you run production or record a sale. See [What happens when you record a sale](https://jogan.cloud/help/what-happens-when-you-record-a-sale).

## Before you start

Both the finished item and every component must already exist in **Items**. See [How to add your items](https://jogan.cloud/help/add-your-items).

## Steps

1. Open **Recipes** and click **New recipe**.
2. Choose the **Output item**, the thing this recipe makes.
3. Set **Units per batch**, how many units of the output one batch produces. For a cake recipe that makes one cake, enter 1. For a masala blend that makes 40 packets, enter 40.
4. Under **Components**, select a component item and enter the **quantity used per batch**, in that item's own unit. Add a line for each ingredient or part.
5. Save. The recipe's **Material cost** (per batch) and cost per unit appear in the list and update whenever a component's average cost changes.

## Rules

- One active recipe per output item.
- The output item cannot be one of its own components.
- Each component can appear only once in a recipe.
- Your plan limits how many items can have an active recipe. Changing an existing recipe never counts against it. See [The monthly sales limit](https://jogan.cloud/help/monthly-sales-limit).

## Quantities: per batch, in the item's unit

If flour is stocked in kilograms, enter 0.3 for 300 grams. If eggs are stocked in pieces, enter 12 for a dozen. Mismatched units are the most common cause of stock "draining" too fast or too slowly.

## Example

Output item *Mango pickle 500 g*, units per batch 20. Components: raw mango 6 kg, mustard oil 2 litre, salt 0.5 kg, spice mix 0.4 kg, glass jar 20 pcs. Jogan shows the batch material cost and divides by 20 for the cost of one jar.

## Changing a recipe

Click the pencil icon, adjust and save. Future production runs use the new recipe. Past runs and sales are history and do not change.

## Deleting a recipe

Only an Admin can delete. Deleting a recipe removes just the recipe; production runs and sales already made stay as history.

## Importing many recipes

If you have recipes in a spreadsheet, use **Recipes → Import**, one row per component line. See [How to import from Excel](https://jogan.cloud/help/import-from-excel).

## Next

[How to run production](https://jogan.cloud/help/run-production).