Square has made great improvements to inventory management and item tracking, but there is currently no proper way to track inventory waste.
This is a major missing feature for restaurants, cafés, bars, and food businesses that need accurate food cost and loss reporting.
Right now, there is no clean way to log:
Spoilage
Expired product
Prep waste
Burnt or damaged items
Accidental over-portioning
Staff mistakes
Returned or remade items
Ideally, inventory waste could:
Deduct directly from inventory counts
Allow staff to select a waste reason
Track dollar value of waste over time
Generate waste reports by item/category/location
Include optional staff notes or photos
Support permissions so managers can review or approve waste entries
Without waste tracking, inventory numbers and food cost reporting are incomplete. This becomes even more important for multi-location businesses trying to reduce loss and improve operational accuracy.
