Abstract: A method of managing food service operations is provided which determines variances between the actual quantity of ingredient items used from inventory as compared to the ideal quantity of ingredient items needed to produce food services to identify ingredient waste and/or ingredient pilfering, and/or ingredient loss, and/or incorrect inventory and/or incorrect recipe ingredient quantities, and/or incorrect point-of-sale terminal order entry options, the method of managing also including inventory ordering and inventory receiving reporting by a central management system to allow quantity pricing benefits and to allow immediate adjustment of payments to suppliers and to allow immediate updating of inventories for individual food service operations and to allow immediate determination of individual food service operations minimum inventory quantities.