Stems, bunches and leftovers
When to use this
Use this page to understand how BloomBoard turns the stems and bunches in your recipes into a price for the client and an order for your supplier. It also explains the leftovers and the spares that you see in Orders.
The model in short
For each library item that you use up, you answer one question: How do you measure this in recipes? BloomBoard does the rest.
Library item
How recipes measure it, its bunch or box, and its price.
Ingredient
The exact quantity times the unit cost. No rounding.
Orders
Each item is added up for the whole event, then rounded up once to whole bunches or boxes.
Margin
Leftovers that count as event cost come off your margin. The client price does not change.
Each category in your Library says what happens to its leftovers: Add to event cost or Keep for later. Flowers and Foliage start on Add to event cost. See Categories and markups.
Recipes cost exactly what they use
Each ingredient in a recipe costs its quantity times the unit cost. A quarter bunch costs a quarter of the bunch price. Recipes do not round up inside each arrangement.
- Type part of a bunch as a decimal, such as 0.25 for a quarter bunch.
- Each ingredient shows its unit, for example “5 stems · $2.00 a stem”, “¼ bunch · $8.00 a bunch” or “3 items · $1.50 each”.
- A bunch item also shows what the whole event needs, for example “In this event: 1½ bunches across 6 centerpieces. Orders buy 2.”
- If you set wastage on an ingredient, its cost includes it and it says “incl. wastage”. With no wastage, that note does not show.
Orders round up once for the whole event
Orders adds up each item across every arrangement in the event. Then it rounds up once: first to whole stems or items, then to whole bunches or boxes. Leftovers come from that one rounding only.
For example, six centerpieces each use ¼ bunch of eucalyptus. The event needs 1½ bunches, so Orders buys 2 bunches, not 6.
Add to event cost: leftovers are your cost
When Orders buys whole bunches, some stems are left over. In a category set to Add to event cost, such as Flowers and Foliage, each row shows the leftover and what it costs, for example “8 stems · $16.00”.
- The client price stays on what the recipes use. BloomBoard does not charge the client for whole bunches.
- The leftover money comes off your margin, so you see it before you order.
- The Ordering card in Orders shows Your cost (what the event costs you before leftovers, as on the proposal), Leftovers, Event cost (your cost plus leftovers), Quote and Margin after leftovers.
- Live production numbers on the Production overview shows the same Leftovers figure and uses the event cost for the margin.
Keep for later: spares are not counted
In a category set to Keep for later, such as Décor and Mechanics, you keep the spares, so they are not counted against the event. A candle holder row shows “6 left in the box”, and its Cost to event counts only the candle holders the recipes use. The Ordering card says how many are left over and what they cost, and that they are not counted against this event.
BloomBoard does not track spares from one event to the next.
A worked example
A studio has these markups: Flowers ×3.0, Foliage ×3.0 and Décor ×2.0. Flowers and Foliage are set to Add to event cost, and Décor is set to Keep for later. The studio uses up every item below.
| Item | Category | How recipes measure it | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose | Flowers | By the stem, bunch of 25 | $50.00 a bunch, so $2.00 a stem |
| Seeded eucalyptus | Foliage | By the bunch | $8.00 a bunch |
| Glass candle holder | Décor | By the item, box of 12 | $18.00 a box, so $1.50 each |
| Silk ribbon | Décor | By the meter | $0.90 a meter |
The event has one bridal bouquet (12 roses, 1.5 meters of ribbon) and six centerpieces (5 roses, ¼ bunch of eucalyptus and 3 candle holders each).
One centerpiece costs $10.00 in Flowers, $2.00 in Foliage and $4.50 in Décor:
- Flowers: $10.00 × 3.0 = $30.00
- Foliage: $2.00 × 3.0 = $6.00
- Décor: $4.50 × 2.0 = $9.00
- Client price: $45.00 a centerpiece, $270.00 for six
In Orders:
| Item | Needed | Bought | Left over |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose | 42 stems | 2 bunches | 8 stems · $16.00 |
| Eucalyptus | 1½ bunches | 2 bunches | ½ bunch · $4.00 |
| Candle holder | 18 | 2 boxes | 6 left in the box, not counted |
| Ribbon | 1.5 meters | 1.5 meters | none |
The Ordering card shows your cost of $124.35, leftovers of $20.00, an event cost of $144.35, a quote of $344.70, and a margin after leftovers of 58.1%.
Markups
Each category has its own markup, and each event copies your markups. Set them in Business → Categories and markups. To change them for one event, use Edit pricing rules on the proposal. See Categories and markups.
Draft events with part amounts, such as a quarter bunch, can now cost less, because each ingredient costs exactly what it uses. Proposals you have sent or that the client has signed do not change.
Common mistakes
- Foliage set up by the stem. If the number of stems changes from bunch to bunch, choose By the bunch and use parts of a bunch in recipes.
- A stem price typed as a bunch price. Check the menu beside Price and read the sentence under the fields before you save.
- No bunch size. A flower measured by the stem with no Stems in a bunch orders loose stems, so Orders shows no leftovers for it.
- The wrong leftovers choice. If spare ribbon counts against your event, set its category to Keep for later. If spare fruit does not count, set its category to Add to event cost.