As hospitality industry players continue to face cost pressures, purchasing specialist Lynx Purchasing has released a new, fully updated version of its pioneering GP Calculator App.
Gross profit, or GP, is an essential calculation that tells operators the menu price they must charge for a dish based on the cost of the ingredients. The original Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator App, launched in 2013, has been downloaded over 20,000 times on Apple and Android devices, attracting everyone from senior chefs to catering students.
Rachel Dobson, CEO of Lynx Purchasing, said: “Our app was the first GP app to launch in the UK market and now we often speak to new customers who tell us they know our company name because they were told to download the app when they started university!
“However, time and technology never stand still, and a decade in the app’s ‘back office’ needed a complete rebuild to meet the latest demands of app platforms.
The new app includes all the original GP app functions, but with faster functionality. It allows users to manage their menu costs using one of three calculations:
? By entering the price of the ingredients and the target percentage GP, users get the correct price to bill from the menu;
? Entering the menu price and the required margin gives the ingredients a target cost price;
? Entering the cost of the food ingredients and the selling price gives a reading of the gross profit obtained.
The revamped app also gives users direct access to Lynx’s popular shopping market forecast, as well as special reports and news from Lynx’s shopping experts. Published four times a year, the market forecast combines official inflation and price data with unique insights from the various hospitality food and drink suppliers Lynx works with.
Russell Clark, head chef at Cat & Wickets Pub Group, said: “I have used the original Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator for many years and in many different roles in the industry and have always recommended it to other chefs and colleagues.
“In a competitive market, cost control is essential. I use GP Calculator to set prices for the main menu, and the chefs also use it to plan specials.
“For a company like ours, which buys a lot of fresh ingredients and prepares food from scratch, finding the right doctor can be particularly challenging. The entire Cat & Wickets kitchen team has the updated Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator app on their mobile devices, so the calculations we need are available at the touch of a button.
Dobson adds: “The tourism market has never been more challenging, as evidenced by the continued high closure rates. Factors such as business rates and energy costs cannot be controlled by individual operators, and the whole industry is looking to the incoming government to deliver on election campaign promises to support hospitality.”
“However, purchasing and menu planning are areas where operators can really influence the bottom line. Using GP Calculator adds another essential level of discipline to ensure margins are maintained. Even when operators have to work for a lower GP to stay competitive, using the app they have full visibility into the cost impact.
The new app has been developed by Scarborough-based software company Askew Brook. “As a proud Yorkshire-based company, we wanted to work with a local application specialist for the relaunch, rather than outsourcing the work overseas,” says Dobson. “Askew Brook has done a fantastic job in understanding our requirements and ensuring that the GP Calculator app is fit for purpose for a new generation of hospitality professionals.”
The Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator app is available for free download from the Apple and Google Play stores. Anyone using the original app should receive an update notification when they open it on their phone or tablet.