Lagom or a spreadsheet: which do you need for pricing?
Many small producers start with a spreadsheet, and for some it is enough. Here is when it works, where it gets hard and what Lagom does differently.
Most small food producers start pricing in a spreadsheet. That is a good start, and for some businesses it is all they need.
When a spreadsheet is enough
- You make a handful of products.
- Your ingredient prices rarely change.
- You work alone and price once a season.
- You take few custom orders.
If that is you, keep your spreadsheet and use the formula from margin or markup.
Where it gets hard
- Price changes. Butter goes up and you have to update every recipe that uses it, by hand.
- Separate sheets. Recipes, orders, deposits, the production list and the shopping list live in different places that don't talk to each other.
- Formulas. One formula dragged a row too far, and a price is wrong without anyone noticing.
- The phone. At a market or in the kitchen, a large sheet is hard to read on a small screen.
- A team. Two people editing one file at the same time.
Side by side
| Task | Spreadsheet | Lagom | |---|---|---| | Cost per recipe | Your own formulas | From ingredients at your prices | | Ingredient price change | Update each recipe | All recipes and prices update | | Orders and deposits | A separate sheet | Orders with live margin and payment status | | What to make today | Written by hand | A list from your orders | | Shopping list | Written by hand | Shortages grouped by supplier | | Profit per product | Pivot tables | Margin per product, and the one that needs a new price | | Your data | Yours | Yours, with export at any time |
Moving over
Start with your five best sellers. You can import recipes from a link, pasted text or a photo, enter ingredient prices once, then compare the prices Lagom suggests with what you charge today. The pricing guide explains each step.
Want to test the method first? The free price calculator needs no account.