Buy MarginEdge if…
8.5/10Operators who want invoice-driven ingredient prices to flow into prep-item recipes such as dough.
From US$350/location/mo
Check MarginEdge pricingChoose MarketMan if…
8.1/10Kitchens that want recipe costing bundled with ordering and inventory counts at a lower entry price.
From From US$249/mo
Check MarketMan pricingInteractive calculator
Dough yield, portion creep & food-cost variance
Dough batch
Toppings & food cost
Total dough
17.10 kg
Dough balls
64
428 g lost to scaling
Flour cost / ball
$0.250
Cheese creep / pizza
15 g
13.6% over spec
Creep cost / month
$819
Food-cost variance / month
$2,800
4.0 pts actual vs theoretical
Formula & assumptions
Baker's percentages: total dough = flour × (1 + hydration% + salt% + yeast%). Usable dough = total × (1 − scaling/bench loss%). Balls = floor(usable ÷ ball weight).
Portion creep cost = (actual − spec grams) ÷ 1000 × cheese price per kg × pizzas per week; monthly = weekly × 52 ÷ 12.
Food-cost variance = monthly food sales × (actual food cost% − theoretical food cost%). Theoretical comes from recipe costing; actual = (opening stock + purchases − closing stock) ÷ food sales.
Assumptions you control: all prices and the loss % (dough stuck to tubs, scraps, test balls). Fermentation weight loss from CO₂/evaporation is small and folded into the loss %. Defaults are illustrative, not benchmarks.
Open the full Pizza Dough Yield & Food Cost Variance Calculator with methodology and FAQ →
Spec comparison
| Feature | MarginEdge | MarketMan | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price | US$350/location/mo | From US$249/mo | 70% |
| Prep-item recipes with yield | Yes: Prepared Items recipe type and ingredient yield % | Recipe costing included; check prep yield setup in a demo | 90% |
Dough is the item recipe-costing software most often gets wrong in pizzerias, because the theoretical batch weight is not what you scale into balls. Set the dough up as a prep item with a weighed yield in MarginEdge or MarketMan, and your cost per pie follows any hydration change automatically.
What we checked
We read MarginEdge’s help articles on recipe and ingredient yields (last updated 27 March 2026) and on recipe setup, plus both vendors’ pricing pages, on 4 November 2026. We have not run a dough programme through either product. The prices below are example inputs for the maths, not vendor quotes.
Baker’s-percentage maths
Every ingredient is a percentage of flour weight. Here is a 1,000 g flour batch with 2.5% salt and 0.3% instant yeast at two hydrations. Example prices: flour US$0.90/kg, salt US$0.50/kg, yeast US$10/kg, water treated as free.
| Hydration | Batch weight | Batch cost | Whole 260 g balls | Cost per ball | With 2% loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 62% | 1,648 g | US$0.9425 | 6 | US$0.1487 | US$0.1517 |
| 75% | 1,778 g | US$0.9425 | 6 | US$0.1378 | US$0.1406 |
Cost per ball = batch cost ÷ usable dough weight × ball weight. The 2% loss is an example of dough left in the bowl and on the bench. Weigh your own.
Note the whole-ball column: 1,778 g only makes six 260 g balls, with 218 g left over. If that offcut goes in the bin, the real cost per ball is batch cost ÷ 6 = US$0.157, not US$0.138. Scale the batch to a whole number of balls, or record the offcut as waste.
Setting it up in software
- Make dough a prep recipe. MarginEdge’s Prepared Items recipe type is for batch items used as ingredients in other recipes. Enter the total yield as the weight you actually get after mixing.
- Record loss once. MarginEdge lets you lower an ingredient’s yield percentage, which raises its cost in the recipe. If the loss is already in the dough recipe, use the dough at 100% yield in each pizza recipe. MarginEdge’s help centre warns against double-counting.
- Change hydration in one place. When you move from 62% to 75%, edit the dough prep recipe. Every pizza that uses it updates.
- Let invoices set flour price. In MarginEdge, ingredient prices come from processed invoices. See our MarginEdge vs MarketMan Xero sync comparison for how each handles this.
MarketMan includes recipe costing on its plans. We did not find a public help article on its prep-yield setup, so ask for a demo using this dough example.
Try your own formula in the yield calculator above. If you are also choosing a POS, see how Square and Toast price half-and-half toppings.
See MarginEdge pricing · See MarketMan pricing
Sources
- MarginEdge Help, Accounting for Recipe and Ingredient Yields, read 4 Nov 2026.
- MarginEdge Help, Recipe Setup – Recipe Types, Allergens, Equipment, read 4 Nov 2026.
FAQ
Why does hydration change the cost per dough ball?+
Water costs almost nothing, so more water spreads the cost of flour, salt and yeast over more grams of dough. In our example a 260 g ball costs about US$0.149 at 62% hydration and US$0.138 at 75%, using the same ingredient prices.
How should I enter dough in MarginEdge?+
MarginEdge's help centre describes a Prepared Items recipe type where you enter the total yield of the batch, and an ingredient yield percentage that raises cost to account for loss. Enter the weight you actually get after mixing and scraping, not the theoretical total.
Do I count yield loss twice?+
No. MarginEdge warns that if loss is already recorded in a prep recipe, you should use that prep item at 100% yield in later recipes so the loss is not double-counted.
Related calculators
About the author: BOHStack Editorial Team
Placeholder byline: BOHStack research is currently published under the editorial team name. Articles are compiled from vendor pricing pages, published contracts and government sources, with check dates listed. We have not run hands-on tests of the products reviewed.