Skip to main content
The Alerts tab is where managers spot problems before service. It lists every ingredient that has fallen below its minimum stock level, grouped by severity, with the menu items each ingredient affects .
Low Stock Alerts tab grouped by severity with menu-item impact

​
Who this is for

  • Manager — reviews before every shift, restocks as needed.
  • Owner / Admin — reviews weekly, adjusts min/max levels if the same ingredients keep appearing.

​
Severity levels

Ingredients are sorted with Out of stock first, then Critical, then Low. Within each band they’re ordered by the number of menu items impacted, descending.

​
What each row shows

  • Ingredient name and category
  • Current stock + minimum stock
  • Impacted menu items — a chip list of every menu item whose recipe uses this ingredient
  • Restock button — opens the Restock modal in one tap
Tap a menu-item chip to jump to its recipe.

​
Restock from the Alerts tab

1

Tap Restock on the alert row

Opens the Restock modal prefilled with the ingredient.
2

Enter quantity, unit cost, reference

Same flow as restocking from the Stock tab.
3

Confirm

On save, DishInk:
  1. Adds the quantity to current_stock.
  2. Writes a restock row to the Adjustments log.
  3. Re-evaluates menu availability — every impacted item is re-checked against Min Servings Before Block.
  4. Auto-expires any On restock overrides for the impacted items (see Overrides).
  5. Removes the ingredient from the Alerts tab if it now exceeds its minimum.

​
Bulk restock

For deliveries that touch many ingredients, tap Bulk Restock at the top of the Alerts tab. Tick every ingredient you’re receiving today and enter quantities in a single form. Reference number is applied to all rows.

​
Tuning your alerts

If the same ingredients appear in Alerts every day, your min stock is too low — increase it to at least two days of usage. If ingredients never appear, your min stock is too high — decrease it so alerts stay meaningful.
A useful rule of thumb: min_stock = average daily usage × supplier lead-time in days × 1.3 safety buffer.

​
Tips & best practices

Check Alerts once before service starts and once after service ends. The morning check tells you what to expedite; the evening check tells you what’s on tomorrow’s order.
If a critical ingredient goes to zero mid-service, take the affected menu items off the menu (Menu Management → Availability) rather than relying only on auto-unavailability. Waiters see the change instantly and don’t waste time explaining substitutes.

​
Common mistakes

  • Ignoring the amber band — Low means the day’s service will finish stock. Waiting until Critical is too late.
  • Restocking without a reference number — see Stock Levels. Alerts is a shortcut, not an excuse to skip reconciliation.
  • Setting a min_stock of 1 on high-turnover items — the alert fires too late.
Last modified on July 20, 2026