Free restaurant resources
Restaurant order guide template
Download a DishCost CSV with four synthetic ingredients. Use it to see how item codes, case contents, and purchase prices map into ingredient costs. The file is free to download without an account.
Download the order guide template (.csv)Map these five columns
| Column | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SKU | Stable item code. Keep it unchanged when you upload new prices. |
| Description | Ingredient name. The example marks each name as synthetic. |
| Pack Size | Case contents, such as 4/5 LB for four 5 lb packs. |
| UOM | Purchase unit. CS means that Unit Price is for the whole case. |
| Unit Price | Price per purchase unit, in USD here. Use plain numbers without currency symbols. |
DishCost recognizes these headers and offers the matching columns. Review the mapping and the preview before you import. For chicken, 4 × 5 lb = 20 lb per case. A $60 case becomes $3.00 per lb. Rice is $1.00 per lb and eggs are $0.25 each. Oil is $12 ÷ 128 = $0.09375 per fl oz; the import rounds unit prices to four decimals, so the preview stores $0.0938. FLOZ is the fluid-ounce code used in this file.
For a per-pound quote, use 1 LB in Pack Size, LB in UOM, and the per-pound price in Unit Price. For a per-item quote, use 1 EA, EA, and the price for one item. Keep the pack contents consistent with the amount the price covers; changing UOM alone does not change a pack that already has a unit.
Import and update supplier prices
- In Ingredients, open the order guide import and select the distributor or vendor.
- Upload the CSV, review column mapping, and check each calculated unit and price.
- Confirm the import. Keep stable SKUs and the same selected vendor for later price updates.
Persistent order guide import requires DishCost Pro ($39/month) or eligible access through an active distributor partnership. The free download does not include that app entitlement. Imports accept CSV files up to 5 MB and 10,000 data rows.
This is a DishCost template with synthetic data, checked October 9, 2026. It is not an official Sysco, US Foods, or other distributor document. Review your actual export; vendors use different columns and pack formats.
Plan your ordering and costing workflow
The restaurant order guide article explains the purchasing workflow. Use the recipe costing template to turn purchase prices into batch and portion costs.
See DishCost recipe costing software for saved ingredient prices and recipe updates. The demo lets you change sample prices and cost one dish; it does not import order guides.
Try the public recipe demo