Why create custom units?

By default, melba offers the standard units of weight and volume.

For a custom unit (part unit), you must click on Create a unit in the screen of an article or a recipe. Either under the units table, or in any unit selector in the application.

For packaged products (which have packaging and are not sold in bulk), a custom unit must be created corresponding to the packaging. This then makes it easier to place orders by rounding up your needs to a multiple of the packaging.

How to create a unit?

To create a custom unit, click Create Unit:

1. Indicate the name of the unit
2. Enter its weight or volume equivalence if it is the first “personalized” unit created.
   Without knowing the exact weight, indicate an average quantity.
   Example: I do not know the weight of a melon, I indicate the average weight of 500g.
3. Confirm the creation by clicking on Validate
   

In the case of nested units:

Always start with the smallest units and end with the largest.

For example for a box of 6 eggs,

1. Name: Egg
   Quantity: 50
   Reference unit: g
2. Name: Box
   Quantity: 6
   Reference unit: Egg
   
   It is thus possible to use the egg individually in a recipe, and to order boxes of 6 eggs.

Edit a unit

The different units of a product are not subject to the same editing rules.

Item weight/volume units cannot be deleted:

• weight => At least one mandatory weight unit + possibility to activate or deactivate the units
• volume => Ability to enable or disable units

Room units can be edited and deleted:

• custom parts/units => edit/delete

The name of the recipe and portion units can be edited via the table and they can be reconfigured or deleted via the general information at the top of the recipe screen;

• recipe => edition / no deletion possible
• portion => edit/delete via general recipe information.

Be careful, if a product unit is used in the production of a recipe or another unit refers to it, it cannot be deleted. An error message appears preventing the user from completing his action.

serving unit

The portion is a type of unit that works a little differently from those mentioned above since it is managed at the recipe level. The serving represents a fractional quantity of the starting recipe. 

It allows you to define a number of parts produced in a recipe without indicating any notion of weight or volume (e.g. cake recipe for 6 people. Induces 6 portions, regardless of the final weight of the cake recipe)

Portioning is set when creating the recipe or in the main information of the recipe. In the first screen you are asked to choose either:

• A number of servings per recipe
  e.g. when making a quantity of recipe corresponding to a predefined number of parts (eg pie)
• One weight per portion
  eg. when preparing a free recipe quantity, but serving a portion whose weight / volume is predefined
• No portion management