Menu Engineering Software for Cost Control in 2025

The UK hospitality sector, from independent restaurants to growing pub chains and boutique hotels, faces strong margin pressure from rising food costs and operational overheads. Manual menu engineering, with its reliance on outdated spreadsheets and delayed financial data, is no longer a viable strategy for survival or growth. Menu engineering software for cost control helps shift operations from reactive cost tracking to proactive profit management. This article explains how a platform like Jelly gives chefs and operators real-time insights into dish profitability, automates kitchen management, and supports data-driven decisions that improve gross margins.

The Problem: Why Manual Menu Engineering is Sinking Your Margins

Pervasive Profitability Challenges in UK Hospitality

The numbers paint a stark picture for UK hospitality operators. 31% of UK hospitality operators ran their businesses at a loss in Q1 2025, which signals systemic profitability challenges across the sector. These pressures converge to squeeze margins close to breaking point.

Rising energy bills and food costs have significantly increased restaurant overheads across the UK hospitality sector, whilst food prices in the UK have increased by as much as 31%. At the same time, London’s restaurant industry faces acute margin pressure from recent minimum wage increases, rising Employer National Insurance contributions, and persistent inflation.

Independent operators face the greatest risk. Independent restaurants face significantly lower profit margins (4–6%) compared to multi-site chains (10–12%), which makes every percentage point of cost control crucial for survival. UK QSR margins are under significant pressure in 2025, with consumer wallets strained and competitive dynamics rapidly evolving.

The Illusion of Control: The Pitfalls of Manual Methods

Many restaurant operators believe they have control over their costs because they track them, yet manual tracking creates a misleading sense of precision and often undermines profitability in several key ways.

Inaccurate and outdated dish costing: Calculating the true cost of a single dish using traditional methods quickly becomes complex. With dozens of SKUs from multiple suppliers, fluctuating prices, and batch recipes, operators often spend close to 28 minutes costing a single menu item in spreadsheets. Ingredient prices can change again before the calculation even finishes.

Delayed financial insights: Most operators rely on their accountants for monthly reports. By the time these reports arrive, it is often weeks too late to respond to supplier price changes or identify dishes that are losing money. In a market where price pressure remains elevated across restaurants (3.8%) and beverages (5.7%), slow reporting can cause serious damage.

Inefficient supplier negotiations: Without real-time data, operators may suspect supplier price creep but lack the evidence to challenge it. The result is missed savings, uncredited price discrepancies, and gradual erosion of margins that often goes unnoticed until it becomes critical.

Administrative burden: Chefs and owners frequently spend 10 to 20 hours a week on manual data entry, price checking, inventory management, and invoice reconciliation. That time is better invested in strategic growth, menu development, and guest experience instead of constant spreadsheet work.

The Cost of Ignoring the Problem

The financial consequences of manual menu engineering methods are severe and increasing. Most UK restaurants underperform on liquidity (current ratio below 1.0), which exposes them to supply, wage, and equipment shocks. Weak cost control systems leave businesses vulnerable to every economic headwind.

Survival in the current environment requires more than good food, and depends on operational excellence, cost control, and strategic business management. Manual processes are not only inefficient, they pose a direct risk to long term business stability.

Improve your kitchen’s profitability with menu engineering software for cost control. See how Jelly can automate your kitchen management. Book a chat.

The Solution: Jelly Menu Engineering Software for Cost Control

Jelly is an automated platform designed for growing UK restaurants, pubs, and hotels to manage these challenges and improve performance. Unlike complex, feature-heavy systems that demand extensive setup, Jelly focuses on automation and real-time insights that begin delivering value quickly.

For restaurants, pubs, and boutique hotels with growth ambitions, Jelly helps automate and increase operational efficiency in the kitchen. Assessing one supplier is already difficult. Multiple suppliers, each with different ingredients and prices, create a complex picture that often leads to margin loss when handled manually.

Jelly tackles time-consuming back-of-house tasks such as invoice management, inventory, and real-time dish and menu profitability, and makes them straightforward. Invoices sit at the core. Jelly scans every line item on each invoice to provide real-time insights. Kitchens move from manual spreadsheets to automated insights, which supports faster, more informed decisions that improve profitability. Revenue keeps you busy, profit keeps you in business.

Key Features of Jelly Menu Engineering Software for Cost Control

1. Automated invoice scanning: Digitise every line item, including quantity, SKU, price, and tax, without manual effort, so cost data stays accurate and up to date.
2. Live dish costing and GP margins: View real-time recipe costs and gross profit margin updates as ingredient prices change with each newly scanned invoice.
3. Dynamic price alert system: Flag every price increase or decrease from suppliers as soon as it appears, which supports evidence-based negotiations.
4. Integrated menu engineering (sales mix): Connect with POS systems such as Square and ePOSnow to see both popularity and true profitability for every dish on the menu.
5. Accounting integration: Push digitised invoices into accounting software such as Xero with a single click, which can reduce bookkeeping time by up to 90%.
6. Digital cookbook and recipe management: Centralise recipes with automatic cost calculations, including unit conversions and wastage percentages, so teams share a consistent view of costs.

How Menu Engineering Software Improves Kitchen Profitability

Unlock Dish Profitability with Real-Time Data

Traditional menu engineering relies on static cost assumptions and guesswork. Jelly’s live costing system shows exactly which dishes are profitable and which erode margin. When ingredient costs update with each new invoice, the gross profit margin for every dish updates in real time. A red percentage appears if a dish drops below the target margin, and a green one appears when profitability improves.

This immediate visibility helps teams respond quickly to market changes. Jelly users cut food costs by about 3% on average in the first three months. Stuart Noble, Head Chef at Cairn Lodge Hotel, shares: “Price hikes were crushing our margins, I felt helpless. With Jelly, every dish cost is up to date at my fingertips. We slashed food costs by 5% in a month, it is a game changer.”

Help Chefs Focus on Cooking Instead of Spreadsheets

Jelly simplifies the most tedious aspects of kitchen management. Tasks that used to take 28 minutes of complex spreadsheet calculations now take about 3 minutes with Jelly’s interface. Chefs build dish recipes by clicking on ingredients already populated from scanned invoices, and Jelly handles unit conversions and calculations automatically.

This significant reduction in administrative work frees chefs and managers to focus on creating strong food experiences and leading their teams. As Claudio from Illuminati Group Executive explains: “I was buried under piles of paperwork, spending endless hours just inputting data. Jelly automated it all and I can focus on what I love.”

Gain Leverage in Supplier Negotiations with Evidence

Jelly’s “Price Alert” feature provides the objective data needed to challenge supplier price increases and negotiate better terms. Every price change is flagged as soon as it appears on an invoice, so you gain clear visibility into supplier pricing patterns.

This real-time intelligence supports more strategic supplier relationships. Instead of suspecting price creep, you can reference accurate records. Users like Amber consistently save £3,000 to £4,000 per month by spotting changes in the same week they occur and acting quickly. Chef-owner Murat Kilic states: “Jelly keeps my business alive.”

Optimise Your Menu for Strong Gross Profit

Menu engineering that highlights best-selling and most profitable items is a critical cost-saving tactic for UK pubs and restaurants. Jelly’s Sales Mix integration with your POS reveals not only which dishes sell well, but also which combinations of popularity and profitability deliver the highest overall margin.

The result is a clearer view of which dishes to promote, adjust, or retire. Effective menu optimisation can include reducing slow-moving dishes that use expensive ingredients, highlighting high-margin options, sourcing seasonal ingredients, and partnering with local suppliers to reduce costs.

Strengthen Financial Resilience Through Operational Control

Real-time insights, including daily “Flash Reports”, give an immediate view of gross profit margins and kitchen financial performance. This constant overview helps protect the business from financial shocks and unexpected cost spikes.

Top-performing sites achieve gross profit margins exceeding 70% by controlling prime costs, keeping cost of goods sold and labour at or below 60 to 65% of sales. Ruth Seggie, Owner of The Howard Arms, describes a major shift: “Our accountant said we would be lucky to hit 60% gross profit. After using Jelly, we reached 80%. Now I sleep better knowing my costs are under control and can react instantly, not weeks later.”

Explore how structured cost control can support your restaurant’s resilience. See how Jelly can automate your kitchen management. Book a chat.

Jelly vs Traditional Methods: A Comparison of Menu Engineering for Cost Control

Case Study: How Amber Saves £3,000 to £4,000 Monthly with Menu Engineering Software

Amber, a Mediterranean restaurant in East London run by chef-owner Murat Kilic, illustrates the impact of structured menu engineering software for cost control. Before Jelly, volatile supplier pricing and manual invoice work eroded margins, made price changes hard to spot quickly, and weakened the restaurant’s position in negotiations.

Jelly’s automated invoice scanning, price change alerts, and real-time costing system delivered measurable results:

1. Cash saved: Consistent £3,000 to £4,000 per month through credits, better buying decisions, and tighter menu controls.
2. Margins protected: Faster reactions to price fluctuations kept gross profit on target.
3. Focus restored: Reduced administrative work created more time for kitchen operations and guest experience.

The success came from three main factors: speed, because alerts surfaced changes within days of occurrence; clarity, because real-time costings made pricing actions obvious; and discipline, because a single system for invoices, pricing, and gross profit removed spreadsheet inconsistencies.

Why Choose Jelly Over More Complex Alternatives

Jelly focuses on practical features that matter most for cost control instead of attempting to cover every possible function. Some platforms position themselves as all-in-one solutions with extensive feature sets and longer setup times. Jelly is designed to generate meaningful value within the first week.

The platform supports growing kitchens in restaurants, pubs, and boutique hotels with at least £500,000 in annual revenue. It turns complex back-of-house finances into simple workflows that chefs and managers can adopt quickly. Holly, Operations Director at Social Pantry, explains: “All the tools on the market require so much manual work. Jelly is so simple to use, I cannot see myself running the business without it.”

Assess whether a focused, easy-to-use cost control platform suits your operation. See how Jelly can automate your kitchen management. Book a chat.

Frequently Asked Questions

How quickly can I see value from menu engineering software like Jelly for cost control?

Jelly begins to generate value within the first week for most operators. Price alerts and spending insights become available soon after invoices are integrated by email or photo, often within 24 hours. Automated invoice scanning starts providing data immediately, and price alerts follow as suppliers send invoices to the dedicated email address. This rapid setup helps protect margins and highlight cost-saving opportunities in the short term.

Can menu engineering software help me negotiate better with my suppliers?

Jelly’s “Price Alert” feature provides concrete evidence of every ingredient price change, which supports more effective supplier negotiations. Instead of relying on memory or incomplete records, you can refer to clear data on price movements, timing, and scale. This shifts conversations from defensive reactions to structured, fact-based discussions. Users like Amber consistently save £3,000 to £4,000 per month by spotting changes quickly and responding with accurate figures.

My chefs are not very tech-savvy. Is menu engineering software difficult to use?

Jelly is designed with simplicity in mind, with a clear interface that chefs can learn quickly. Building recipes and costing dishes involves selecting pre-populated ingredients from scanned invoices and does not require complex data entry or manual calculations. The system manages unit conversions, wastage percentages, and maths in the background. Chef feedback often highlights ease of use, with Mirella from Cafe Murano noting: “Jelly is making my life 1000 times better.”

How does menu engineering software for cost control help with overall kitchen management beyond pricing?

Jelly supports broader kitchen management by automating several key processes. The platform handles invoice management and reduces bookkeeping time by up to 90% through direct integration with accounting software such as Xero. It offers a digital centralised cookbook for menu consistency across sites, integrates with POS systems for sales mix analysis to identify the most profitable dishes, and provides daily flash reports on gross profit margins. This structure creates a single source of truth for kitchen financial performance and supports strategic decisions across purchasing and menu development.

What kind of return on investment can I expect from implementing menu engineering software?

Menu engineering software like Jelly typically delivers a strong return on investment for operators who use its features consistently. Users often cut food costs by about 3% in the first three months, with gross margins increasing by around 2 percentage points. Time savings are significant as well, with dish costing moving from about 28 minutes to 3 minutes and 10 to 20 hours of weekly administrative work removed. In cases such as Amber, £3,000 to £4,000 in monthly savings represent a substantial multiple of the platform cost.

Conclusion: Secure Your Restaurant’s Future with Smart Menu Engineering Software for Cost Control

In the current UK hospitality landscape, manual processes are not only inefficient and can also threaten business resilience. Operators who navigate cost pressures effectively focus on optimised labour, inventory, and operational efficiency, while those relying on manual processes feel a greater impact from rising costs.

Proactive cost control through modern menu engineering software has become a practical requirement for sustained profitability and growth. With food prices continuing to rise and margins under constant pressure, every day without real-time cost visibility introduces risk and missed opportunities.

Jelly gives owners and chefs the data and automated insights they need to make informed decisions, protect margins, and streamline operations. From automated invoice scanning to live dish costing, and from structured supplier negotiations to data-led menu engineering, Jelly helps shift the kitchen from a cost centre to a more profitable operation.

Menu engineering software for cost control is now a key part of financial planning for many restaurants. With users consistently achieving 3% food cost reductions, 2 percentage point margin improvements, and savings of thousands of pounds each month, the impact is clear.

Protect your kitchen’s profitability with menu engineering software for cost control. See how Jelly can automate your kitchen management. Book a chat.