초록 ▼

A system and method for managing financial data for a store that enables management to track and monitor the actual cost of items sold in each store of an enterprise. The system tracks the number, type and cost of each case received at a store within an enterprise and calculates a cost for each item

A system and method for managing financial data for a store that enables management to track and monitor the actual cost of items sold in each store of an enterprise. The system tracks the number, type and cost of each case received at a store within an enterprise and calculates a cost for each item capable of being produced using the components of the cases. The system receives information regarding items sold by the store and retrieves a cost for the items sold. The system may use the cost and retail sales information to generate financial data. The system may also be used to determine the costs associated with the store inventory.

대표청구항 ▼

What is claimed: 1. A method for managing financial data, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a case at a store, where the case includes one or more components capable of being used to produce a variable number or type of items; (b) receiving case code information identifying the nature of compo

What is claimed: 1. A method for managing financial data, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a case at a store, where the case includes one or more components capable of being used to produce a variable number or type of items; (b) receiving case code information identifying the nature of components in the case and case cost information; (c) receiving case composition information for the received case, where the case composition information identifies one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the components of the case; (d) calculating an item cost for each of the one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the components of the case, wherein the calculating uses the case composition information and the case cost information; (e) storing the item cost in a store cost database and a division cost database; (f) producing a food item using a food preparation operation by processing one or more components of the case; (g) placing the food item on display for consumer purchase; (h) identifying the food item by scanning a bar code associated with the food item, the food item being separate from the one or more components of the case and being identified separately from any of the one or more components; (i) associating the item cost with the identified food item, the step of associating the item cost with the identified item comprising looking first in the store cost database for the item cost calculated in step (d) and if the item cost calculated in step (d) is not in the store cost database then looking in the division cost database for the item cost calculated in step (d), the division cost database being associated with a number of stores, while the store cost database being associated with only the store; and (j) generating financial data using the item cost for the identified food item. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the store cost database is an ordered, sequential file. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the divisional cost database is an ordered, sequential file. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the case composition information is received from an item information database. 5. The method of claim 1, further including the step of receiving item information for the identified food item, where the item information includes text description of the identified item. 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the store inventory includes the identified food item. 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified food item is sold by the store, the food item being located on display, separate from the one or more components, for customer purchase when being identified. 8. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the components is capable of being divided to produce a plurality of variably-sized items of a plurality of types of items. 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the components are capable of being divided into one or more groups of components to produce one or more items of a plurality of types of items. 10. The method of claim 1, wherein one of the components is capable of being divided to produce a plurality of variably-sized items of a single type of item. 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the components are capable of being combined with components of an additional case to produce one or more items. 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the case code information is a universal product code. 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the bar code is a universal product code. 14. The method of claim 1, further including the steps of receiving a default cost for the identified food item and determining the item cost associated with the identified food item based upon the default cost. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the default cost is a percentage of a retail price for the item. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the default cost is a fixed amount. 17. The method of claim 1, further including the step of receiving retail sales information for the identified food item. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of generating financial data includes calculating a margin for the identified food item, wherein the calculating uses the item cost and the retail sales information. 19. The method of claim 18, further including the step of comparing the margin to a predetermined range of values. 20. The method of claim 19, further including the step of replacing the item cost with an override item cost, if the margin is outside of the predetermined range of values. 21. The method of claim 1, further including the step of replacing the item cost with a corrected item cost, where the corrected item cost is determined by an operator. 22. A method for managing financial data, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a case at a store, where the case is a module and includes multiple component types, each component type including a variable number or type of items; (b) receiving case code information identifying the component types in the case and case cost information; (c) retrieving case composition information for the received case from an item information database using the case code information, where the case composition information identifies one or more types of items capable of being produced using the component types of the case, the case composition information including information regarding division of case cost among the different component types contained within the case; (d) calculating an item cost for each of the one or more types of items capable of being produced using the component types, wherein the calculating uses the case composition information including division of case cost information and the case cost information, (e) storing the item cost in a cost database; (f) identifying an item produced in a food preparation operation using one or more component types of one or more cases received at the store by entering a code associated with the item; (g) retrieving item information for the identified item from the item information database, where item information includes a text description of the identified item; (h) retrieving an item cost for the identified item, wherein retrieving item cost comprises receiving a default cost for the identified item and determining the item cost associated with the identified item based upon the default cost, wherein the default cost is a percentage of a retail price for the item; (i) associating the item cost determined in step (h) with the identified item; and (j) generating financial data using the item cost associated with the identified item in step (i). 23. A system for managing financial data, comprising: an enterprise mainframe including an item information database, store cost database and a division cost database; a sales information mainframe; and one or more store workstations; wherein the enterprise mainframe is programmed to perform the steps of: receiving case code information for a case received at a store, where the case includes one or more components capable of being used to produce a variable number or type of items, and where the case code information identifies the nature of components in the case and case cost information; retrieving case composition information for the received case from the item information database, where the case composition information identifies one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the components of the case; calculating an item cost for each of the one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the components of the case, wherein the calculating uses the case composition information and the case cost information, storing the item cost in the store cost database and the division cost database; associating an electronically identifiable code with a food item produced using the components so that the food item can be identified electronically; receiving sales information for the food item produced using one or more components of the case during a food preparation operation from the sales information mainframe; associating the item cost with the food item, the step of associating the item cost with the food item comprising looking first in a store cost database for the item cost calculated and if the food item cost calculated is not in the store cost database then looking in the division cost database for the food item cost calculated, the division cost database being associated with a number of stores, while the store cost database being associated with only the store; generating financial data using the item cost for the food item; and transmitting the financial data to the one or more workstations. 24. A method for managing financial data, comprising the steps of: receiving a case at a store, where the case includes food products capable of being used to produce a variable number or type of food items; receiving case code information identifying the nature of the food products in the case and case cost information; receiving case composition information for the received case, where the case composition information identifies one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the food products of the case; identifying a predicted percentage loss for the food products to account for a predicted loss of a portion of the food products during a food preparation process; calculating an item cost for the one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the food products of the case, wherein the calculating uses the case composition information, the case cost information, and the predicted percentage loss, storing the item cost in a store cost database that is an ordered, sequential file; producing a first food item using one or more food products of the case, wherein producing the first food item includes using the food preparation process; producing a second food item using a second food preparation process; identifying the first food item by entering a first code associated with the first food item where the first code associated with the first food item is different from the case composition information, the first food item being on display for consumer purchase; identifying the second food item by entering a second code associated with the second food item; associating the item cost with the identified first food item, wherein the item cost of the first food item is in a store cost database associated with only the store; associating the item cost with the identified second food item, wherein the item cost of the second food item is in a division cost database associated with multiple stores; and generating financial data using the item cost for the identified first and second food items. 25. A method for managing financial data, comprising the steps of: (a) receiving a case at a store, where the case includes one or more components capable of being used to produce a variable number or type of items; (b) receiving case code information identifying the nature of components in the case and case cost information; (c) receiving case composition information for the received case, where the case composition information identifies one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the components of the case; (d) calculating an item cost for each of the one or more types of food items capable of being produced using the components of the case, wherein the calculating uses the case composition information and the case cost information; (e) transmitting the item cost to a data center via a communications network; (f) storing the item cost in a store cost database and a division cost database at the data center; (g) producing a food item using a food preparation operation by processing one or more components of the case; (h) obtaining sales information associated with the food item using a point of sale system to scan a bar code associated with the food item; (i) transmitting the sales information associated with the food item to the data center via the communications network; (j) associating the item cost with the sales information, the step of associating the item cost with the sales information comprising looking first in the store cost database for the item cost calculated in step (d) and if the item cost calculated in step (d) is not in the store cost database then looking in the division cost database for the item cost calculated in step (d), the division cost database being associated with a number of stores, while the store cost database being associated with only the store; (k) associating a default item cost with the sales information, if the step (j) of associating the item cost with the sales information item fails, the step (k) of associating the default item cost with the sales information comprising looking first for a store default item cost and if the store default item cost is not available then looking for a division default item cost associated with a number of stores, while the store default item cost is associated with only the store; and (l) generating financial data using at least one of the item cost and the default item cost associated with the sales information.