Recipes and Blends

Introduction to Recipes and Blends

It’s important to distinguish between recipes and blends:

• A recipe is a set of instructions describing which ingredients and quantities should be used to create a final product. It’s a guide, not the end result.
• A blend is the physical result you get when you follow a recipe and combine the ingredients.

Rules to remember:

• You must create a recipe before you can create a blend.
• Recipes don’t need to be followed exactly — you can vary ingredients or amounts while keeping the recipe intact.
• Ingredient inventory is only deducted when a blend is finalized (not while a recipe is being built).

Caution

Finalizing a blend moves inventory. Until you click Finalize and Produce Blend, no inventory has moved — the recipe is just notes. Once you finalize, the system deducts ingredient stock, adds the new blend to inventory, stamps a lot number and timestamp, and makes the blend available for billing in Express Checkout. Don’t finalize until you’ve actually produced the blend, or your inventory counts will be out of step with what’s on the shelf.

---

Creating and Saving a Recipe

Steps to start a recipe:

• Add a Product Section to your chart.
• Click the BLEND box in the product section to open the Blend Editor.

📷 Interface image suggestion: Product Section with “+BLEND” button highlighted.

---

Using the Tincture Calculator

If you are creating a tincture, the Tincture Calculator can help adjust dosages when stock concentrations differ from reference ratios.

Example:

• Reference: Substance A recommended at 1–2 mL/day in a 1:4 ratio.
• Stock: Substance A available in a 1:8 ratio.
• Result: The calculator recommends 4 mL/day to match the intended dosage.

Note: The Tincture Calculator can be toggled on/off in the Blend Editor.

📷 Interface image suggestion: Blend Editor with Tincture Calculator turned on.

Tincture Calculator Columns

• Ingredient: Select an ingredient from the chosen dispensary.
• Rec. Dose (mL/d): Reference recommended dosage range.
• Ref. (1:n): Reference dilution ratio.
• Stock (1:n): Actual ratio of stock on hand.
• Adj. Dose (mL/d): Adjusted dosage calculated from reference vs stock.
• Suggested Daily Intake (mL/d): Dosage to recommend to the patient.
• % and Adj. %: Ingredient proportions; Adj. % allows overrides (e.g., forcing a 50/50 split).
• Quantity: Ingredient amounts required, based on total blend volume.
• $/unit: Cost per unit (preferably per mL for tinctures).
• Subtotal: Cost per ingredient and total cost for the blend.

Hint: If you already know your tincture recipes, you can disable the calculator and enter quantities directly.

---

Creating a Simple Recipe

For teas, powders, or simple tinctures, you can create recipes without the Tincture Calculator.

Simple Blend Editor columns:

• Ingredient: Select from the dispensary.
• Quantity: Enter ingredient amount and units.
• $/unit: Unit cost (set to smallest unit, e.g., cost per mL).
• Subtotal: Total cost per ingredient, plus overall recipe cost.

📷 Interface image suggestion: Blend Editor with calculator turned off.

---

Units and Cost per Unit

• Click on unit to define the correct measurement (e.g., mL instead of “unit”).
• Enter cost per smallest unit (e.g., cost per mL, not per bottle).
• The Blend Editor will then calculate the cost of each blend accurately.

Note: Proper unit and cost setup ensures inventory tracking and billing accuracy.

---

Recipe Creation Best Practices

• Use consistent units: Enter all ingredients using the same smallest unit of measure.
• Avoid one-off recipes: Create one master recipe (e.g., Energy Booster Tincture) and modify per patient as needed. Only create a new recipe if it serves a fundamentally different purpose.
• Keep master recipes broad: The more general the recipe, the fewer adjustments you’ll need.
• Update when needed: If you find yourself making the same modification repeatedly, consider creating a new master recipe.
• Inventory impact: When finalized, ingredient inventory is deducted and blend inventory is added.

---

Saving, Updating, and Finalizing Recipes

• Save as New Recipe: Use only when creating a new recipe. Don’t save one-off variations.
• Update Recipe: Modify a master recipe permanently (does not retroactively change past charts).
• Finalize and Produce Blend: Deducts inventory from ingredients, adds inventory to the blend, and makes it available as a billable item in the Express Checkout Dashboard Card.

Hint: Use “Finalize” if you want OutSmart to calculate inventory usage or allow staff to bill for the blend.

---

Best Practices & Considerations

• Define units and costs upfront: Avoid “unit” placeholders — always specify proper measurements.
• Leverage the calculator: Use the Tincture Calculator when working with variable stock ratios.
• Control inventory: Finalize blends to maintain accurate stock tracking.
• Bill efficiently: Finalized blends appear in Express Checkout for easy invoicing.
• Standardize recipes: Maintain consistency across patients and staff by relying on master recipes.