Learn how to configure categories, tags, statuses, rooms, and catalog entries, then use that configuration to build and run recipes for manufacturing and processing facilities in Dutchie POS.
Manufacturing and processing facilities use Dutchie POS to track the full production process, from raw cannabis and non-cannabis ingredients through to finished, salable goods. Recipes let you define the steps, inputs, and outputs required to turn ingredients into a finished product, such as converting bulk flower into an infused edible.
Before you build a recipe, you configure supporting settings in Products so that the system can track everything involved in production, not only the cannabis components. This includes non-cannabis ingredients, packaging, labor, and general kitchen supplies. This configuration helps Inventory Specialists confirm that ingredients are on hand before a recipe runs, helps Seed-to-Sale Tracking Specialists flag when a product needs to be reported to state traceability, and helps Directors of Cultivation oversee how raw materials move through the production lifecycle and into finished inventory.
Before you begin
- Ensure you have the correct permissions to access and manage these areas in Dutchie POS.
- Recipe creation begins in Products > Configure, where you set up the categories, tags, statuses, and rooms that support your production workflow.
- The unit of measure you use in a recipe input or output must match the unit of measure set on that product's catalog entry. If the units do not match, the system will not let you add the product to the recipe.
- Each recipe step must include both an input and an output. You cannot save a step that has an output without an input, or an input without an output.
- When you use inventory that has multiple packages of the same product, the system deducts from the package with the smallest amount of inventory first, then continues deducting from the next package.
Configure categories for manufacturing and processing
Categories help you organize everything used in production, not just cannabis products. In addition to categories like flower and distillate, consider adding categories for non-cannabis ingredients, packaging, labor, and general kitchen supplies.
- Go to Products > Configure.
- Select the Categories tab.
- Click Add category and fill out the necessary information.
Dutchie recommends linking your categories to catalog entries for each product. This makes it easier to sort and confirm inventory on hand before you proceed with a recipe. You can also confirm available quantity on hand from within the recipe itself at the time of creation.
Configure tags
Tags help you identify ingredients and packaging. For example, you might create a packaging tag and an ingredients tag.
Use static tags, ones that do not change often, at the catalog level. Apply tags at the inventory level for information that is subjective or subject to change and is not permanent or static.
Configure statuses
Statuses give your team an internal way to track where a product is in its lifecycle. This is useful for manufacturing, processing, and cultivation needs. For example, you might create a status called needs testing, or a status to indicate that an item should go to a specific pick store or be held for review. Statuses are visible to staff working in Dutchie Backoffice, so they help everyone understand a product's current stage. You may also want a status to indicate a finished good that is salable.
Configure rooms and subrooms
Varying your rooms is important when working with processing and manufacturing. For example, you might set up a room for finished cannabis goods (a vault) and a separate room for kitchen supplies. You can also add a processing supply room, or break rooms down further into more granular categories, such as separating non-finished cannabis goods from finished cannabis goods.
Subrooms are useful when you keep a specific area, such as packaging, within a larger room like your vault or kitchen supply room. When you create a subroom:
- Give it a clear, understandable name.
- Link it to the overarching room it belongs to, which is especially important in states with traceability requirements.
If you move inventory from one subroom to another subroom within the same overarching room, the move is recorded for internal record-keeping purposes only. If you move inventory from a subroom in one room to a subroom in a different room, flag that move for state traceability, since it counts as leaving the main room.
Add catalog entries for recipe ingredients
Once your categories, tags, and statuses are configured, add catalog entries for the items you will use in your recipes, including non-cannabis items like labor.
- Go to Products > Catalog and create a new catalog entry.
- Enter a name (for example, Labor costs).
- Select the Category you created for this item (for example, Labor).
- Add any relevant Tags to help identify the item.
- Set the Default unit. The unit of measure must match how the item will be used in the recipe. Dutchie POS does not include an hours unit of measure. For a labor entry, use Quantity and treat each quantity as one hour.
- Enter the Cost for the item.
- If the item is taxable, indicate Yes and select a tax category.
- If the item has an associated strain, include it. Dutchie recommends including strain information on catalog entries whenever applicable, since it is useful for the cultivation module.
- Set whether the item should be Available on point of sale or Available for online ordering. For internal record-keeping items, like a labor cost entry, leave these disabled.
- Set the Is Finished flag to indicate whether the item is a finished, salable good.
If you are unsure whether a field exists in your catalog, go to Products > Configure > Fields to view every possible catalog line item and whether it is hidden, required, or required only if the item is cannabis.
Create a recipe
- Go to the Manufacturing tab and select Recipes.
- Click the plus button and enter a name for your recipe (for example, Dutchie peanut butter brownies). Click OK.
- Select the recipe you created, then click the plus button to add a step.
- Name the step (for example, Step one: flower extraction).
- Select the Allow Adjustments checkbox. Most recipes vary slightly in their inputs, so this setting accounts for that variation.
- Enter detailed instructions for the person who will run the recipe.
- Click OK to save the step.
Repeat this process to add additional steps. In the example used in the source material, a three-step brownie recipe included:
- Step one, flower extraction: input of 400 grams of bulk flower, output of 100 milliliters of THC oil.
- Step two, combining non-medicated ingredients: inputs of granulated sugar, peanut butter, eggs, boxed brownie mix, and vegetable oil, output of brownie batter.
- Step three, infusion, baking, and packaging: inputs of THC oil, brownie packaging, and brownie batter, output of the finished, packaged brownies.
Add inputs and outputs to a recipe step
Click into a step to open its Inputs and Outputs area. Every step must have both.
- Under Inputs, search for a product. This search is connected to your inventory catalog.
- Select the product and enter the quantity, matching the unit of measure used for that product in the catalog. If the unit of measure does not match, you will see a warning that the product master and recipe units do not match and that calculations will be incorrect. Correct the unit of measure in the recipe, or update it on the catalog entry in Products > Catalog, before continuing.
- Under Outputs, select the resulting product and enter the output quantity.
- Set the Is Finished Good flag. This flag determines whether the output is reported to state traceability and added to inventory as a completed item, or kept as an internal record without pushing to state traceability. If the step is not the final step in the recipe, it is generally not a finished good.
- If needed, assign a status to the step.
- Click OK to save.
On the final step of a recipe, you can also indicate whether the output is a Production Batch. Marking an output as a production batch may require testing. This is generally used when flower is converted into edibles, concentrates, or other infused products. You can pair a production batch with an inventory status you created earlier, such as needs testing.
If you want to include labor as part of your recipe, you can add it as an input, generally on the final step, to log and track labor use. Including costs for non-cannabis ingredients in your recipe also supports future cost reporting.
Click Save once all steps are complete. The recipe is now ready to run.
Run a recipe batch
- Go to Manufacturing > Recipe Batches.
- Click the plus button and select the recipe you want to run.
- If you are producing the batch on behalf of a vendor (for example, white labeling), select the vendor.
- If the batch has a harvest date, enter it.
- Enter a batch number for traceability purposes, if applicable.
- Upload any batch documentation, if you have it.
- Add any notes specific to this batch, such as a recipe adjustment or customer request.
- Click into the recipe. Steps appear in black, with an input and output area for each. The batch defaults to the batch size set in the recipe. You can increase the batch size here if needed.
For each step:
- Confirm you have the required inventory on hand. If you do not, receive the inventory before continuing. If you use state traceability, use the pending transfer dropdown to bring inventory in. If not, receive it directly.
- Once inventory is available, select the package for each input. If an input is unavailable or you are adapting the recipe to skip it, you can indicate that here, provided the step allows adjustments.
- Enter the date started and the required quantity for each input, then click Start.
- Once inputs are entered, the step changes from black to yellow, indicating inputs are complete but outputs are still pending.
- Complete the Outputs section: indicate the room, date, and vendor. Enter a package ID, or let the system generate one, or enter a state traceability tag number if applicable.
- Click Finish Step, then Confirm. The step changes from yellow to green, indicating it is complete.
Dutchie recommends using Finish Step rather than Finish Recipe Batch to complete each step.
On the final step, you will also choose how to record the unit cost: from the product master cost, a calculated cost based on the ingredients entered, or an overridden cost you enter manually.
Once you finish the final step, the recipe no longer appears in the Recipe Batches list, and the finished output appears in your inventory. From the recipe batch, you can also access a lab analysis area to record lab testing results, and a History button to review the batch's activity.
Troubleshooting
What happens if the unit of measure on a recipe input or output does not match the catalog entry? The system displays a warning that the product master and recipe units do not match and that calculations will be incorrect. Update the unit of measure in the recipe, or correct it on the product's catalog entry in Products > Catalog, before you continue.
What happens if I do not have enough inventory on hand to start a recipe step? You will not be able to start the step. Confirm you have the ingredients you need in inventory, and receive any missing inventory, before starting the step.
Should I use Finish Step or Finish Recipe Batch to complete a step? Dutchie recommends using Finish Step rather than Finish Recipe Batch to complete each step in a recipe batch.
What if an ingredient is unavailable or I need to adjust a recipe while running it? If the step has the Allow Adjustments checkbox selected, you can enter a different quantity than the recipe default or skip an input if you are adapting the recipe.