How can I link POS items to Apicbase recipes and ingredients?

Linking your POS items to Apicbase recipes ensures that your sales, costing, and inventory data are always in sync. This article explains how the connection works and how to manage this in your Apicbase library.

Table of Content

1. Introduction
    1.1. Why you need to link POS items to recipes
    1.2. What is a PLU?

2. Overview of the linking page

3. Linking POS Products
    3.1. Link a PLU to a recipe
    3.2. Link a PLU to an ingredient
    3.3. Create a new recipe from a POS item
    3.4. Unlink a PLU from a recipe

4. PLU Status and Filters
    4.1. Ignoring irrelevant POS items

5. POS connector widget

1. Introduction

1.1. Why you need to link POS items to recipes

Linking your POS items to Apicbase recipes ensures that your sales, costing, and inventory data are always in sync.
This connection allows Apicbase to:

• Match POS sales with recipe costing data
• Automatically deplete ingredients when items are sold
• Provide accurate profitability and prime cost reporting

If POS items aren’t linked, your reports will contain unlinked revenue, leading to incomplete or distorted insights.

1.2. What is a PLU?

A PLU (Price Look-Up) is the unique code your POS system assigns to each sold product.
In Apicbase, each PLU should be linked to a recipe, ensuring every sale can be costed and traced back to ingredients.

You can link multiple PLUs to the same recipe — for example, when the same dish is sold under different POS buttons (like “Lunch Burger” and “Dinner Burger”).

However, one PLU can only be linked to one recipe. The reverse (linking one PLU to multiple recipes) isn’t supported.

2. Overview of the POS Linking page

Go to Sales > POS Connection to access your POS linking page. It’s divided into three panels:

Overview Panel (Left)

• Select the outlet
• Filter by POS category (useful when linking in groups)
• Filter by status (linked, unlinked, ignored, inactive, deleted)
• The “Unlinked sold products” filter is enabled by default to focus on missing links

POS Sales Items (Center)

• Displays all products fetched from your POS
• When you click an item, Apicbase automatically searches for a matching recipe or ingredient in the right-hand panel

Apicbase Product Catalog (Right)

• Contains all your recipes and ingredients from your Apicbase library

• Choose the correct match for each POS item or create a new recipe

3. Linking POS products 

Before you start, always click “Sync with POS” to fetch the latest sales items. Make sure you’ve selected the correct outlet before linking. Eventually, every link is with a recipe in Apicbase. However, there are different ways of establishing a link.

3.1. Link a PLU to a Recipe

1. In the POS Sales Items list, select the product to link.

2. In the Apicbase Product Catalog, find and select the corresponding recipe.

Once linked, a green link icon appears between the POS item and recipe. Apicbase now matches sales data from the POS with the recipe’s costing, and automatically depletes ingredient stock when this item is sold.

3.2. Link a PLU to an Ingredient

For simple, single-ingredient items (like bottled drinks or coffee portions), Apicbase lets you start the linking process directly from the ingredient view for efficiency. When you link this way, Apicbase automatically creates a single-ingredient recipe behind the scenes.

1. Switch the Apicbase Product Catalog to “Ingredients” view.

2. Select your POS item in the center panel.

3. Choose the matching ingredient on the right.

4. Specify the portion and unit (e.g., 0.33 cl from a 1.5L bottle).

5. Click Add.

Apicbase will generate a single-ingredient recipe (e.g. “Apple Juice 0.33 CL”) and link it to the POS item.

3.3. Create a New Recipe from a POS Item

If a matching recipe doesn’t exist yet:

1. Select the POS item in the middle panel.

2. Click Create in the right panel.

3. Apicbase will create a new, empty recipe linked to this POS item, with an identical name.

4. You can then open the recipe to define the portion, add ingredients, and set up costing.

3.4. Unlink a PLU from a Recipe

If a link was created incorrectly or needs updating, you can easily unlink it:

1. Find the linked item in the POS Sales Items panel.

2. Click the Unlink icon next to the item.

3. The connection is removed, and the PLU will reappear in the Unlinked products list.

Other ways of linking
Apicbase allows you to ink PLUs across outlets when identical codes and recipe names exist in multiple locations — ideal for multi-outlet operations. Read more on this here.

You can also link your POS items in bulk using the Excel template. This way of working enables you to link a PLU from one outlet to the stock of another outlet (for example, when sales are registered at Bar but stock belongs to Restaurant).

4. PLU Status and Filters

The Overview Panel lets you filter your POS items by status:

• Linked items – already connected to Apicbase recipes

• Unlinked items – not yet linked (shown by default)

• Ignored items – excluded from linking

• Inactive/deleted items – no longer active in your POS

4.1. Ignoring Irrelevant POS Items

Apicbase imports all sales items from your POS, including those that may not be relevant for inventory or costing — such as discounts, tips, delivery fees, or merchandising.

If these are not ignored they’ll appear as Unlinked Revenue, reduce your POS Linking Health percentage, and pollute revenue data across reports.

To ignore an item:

1. Click Ignore  next to the POS item.

2. It disappears from the main list.

3. Use the filter “Show ignored products in Apicbase” to review or restore ignored items.

5. POS Connector Widget

The Connector Widget provides a snapshot of your POS linking performance:

• Unlinked Revenue: Revenue from unlinked POS items - reported over the last 30 days.

• POS Linking Health: The linked revenue as percentage of total POS revenue. Aim for 100% for complete coverage.

• Unlinked Products by Revenue: Displays unlinked items generating the highest turnover.