Last updated: Feb 1, 2026, 2:12 PM
Products Introduction
In xtraCHEF, products refer to your ingredients and inventory items. As you're getting started, your list of products will form the foundation for your restaurant to begin using Recipe and Inventory functions. After creating your products, you can immediately begin building your recipes and inventory counts.
Products also allow you to group line items from your invoices together that are substitutes for the same invoice item. This will ensure your plate costs and inventory values are calculated correctly, regardless of any substitutions or replacements.
The diagram below breaks down where products fit within the xtraCHEF hierarchy.
Products allow you to group individual line items together as a single ingredient or inventory item. Over time, your products may grow to include several line items.
This is particularly beneficial in instances where your vendor substitutes a similar item or you order the same item from a new vendor. That change will result in a new item number and description on your invoice, which xtraCHEF may not yet recognize or associate with other invoice items. In those instances, adding any new line items to your existing products will keep these items together, automatically adjust prime costs, and update future inventory values.
When you want to create products in your xtraCHEF account, check out .
Ready to begin breaking out your invoice items into corresponding products to maximize your Recipe and Inventory reporting? on the Item library or get a head start by reviewing .
If you'd like to review where your products lie across the xtraCHEF database, navigate to the Item library > View products. To the right of a product, select the three dots > Product details. This pulls up the associated , , and of this product in xtraCHEF.