As cost pressures on hospitality operators continue, buying specialist Lynx Purchasing has launched a new, fully updated version of its pioneering GP Calculator App.
Gross Profit, or GP, is the essential calculation which tells operators the menu price they need to charge for a dish, based on the ingredient costs. The original Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator App, launched in 2013, has been downloaded more than 20,000 times onto Apple and Android devices, with an across-the-board appeal to everyone from leading chefs to catering college students.
Rachel Dobson, managing director of Lynx Purchasing, said: “Ours was the first GP App launched for the UK market, and we now often speak to new customers who tell us they know our company name because they were advised to download the App when they started college!
“However, time and technology never stand still, and a decade on the “back office” of the App needed a complete rebuild in order to comply with the latest requirements of the App platforms.”
The new App features all the original functions of the GP App, but with faster functionality. It enables operators to manage their menu costs using one of three calculations:
- By keying in the cost of ingredients and target percentage GP, users are given the correct price to charge on the menu;
- Entering the menu price and required margin gives the target cost price for ingredients;
- Keying in the cost of ingredients and selling price of a dish gives a readout of the gross profit being made.
The revamped App also gives users direct access to the popular Lynx Purchasing Market Forecast, as well as special reports and news from Lynx’s buying specialists. Published four times a year, the Market Forecast combines official inflation and pricing data with exclusive insight from the range of specialist hospitality food and drink suppliers Lynx works with.
Russell Clark, executive chef at the Cat & Wickets Pub Group, said: “I’ve used the original Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator App for many years and in several different roles in the industry, and I’ve always recommended it to fellow chefs and colleagues.
“In a competitive market, maintaining control of costs is essential. I use the GP Calculator App to set our main menu prices, and the chefs also use it when they’re planning specials.
“For a business like ours, which buys a lot of fresh ingredients and creates dishes from scratch, hitting the right GP can be especially challenging. The whole Cat & Wickets kitchen team has the updated Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator App on their mobile devices, so the calculations we need are there at the touch of a button.”
Dobson adds: “The hospitality market has never been more challenging, as continued high closure figures show. Factors such as business rates and energy costs are beyond the ability of individual operators to control, and the whole sector will be looking to the incoming Government to make good on election campaign pledges to support hospitality.
“However, purchasing and menu planning are areas where operators can make a real difference to their bottom line. Using the GP Calculator App adds another essential layer of discipline to ensure margins are being maintained. Even where operators are having to work to a lower GP in order to stay competitive, by using the App they have full visibility of the cost implications.”
The new App has been developed by Scarborough-based software company Askew Brook. “As a proud Yorkshire-based business, we wanted to work with a local App specialist on the relaunch, rather than outsource the work abroad,” says Dobson. “Askew Brook has done a wonderful job in understanding our requirements, and ensuring the GP Calculator App is fit for purpose for a new generation of hospitality professionals.”
The Lynx Purchasing GP Calculator App is free to 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.
