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Orders & invoices
In DigiChef, an order is a purchase invoice from one of your suppliers. Keeping your orders up to date is what keeps your product costs accurate — and by extension, your food cost calculations reliable.
DigiChef supports three ways to get invoices into the platform, from fully automatic to fully manual.
How orders get into DigiChef
1. Electronic Invoice Integration (EDI) — recommended
If your supplier supports electronic invoicing with DigiChef, new orders are imported automatically as soon as your supplier processes them. No uploads, no manual entry — the invoice just appears in your account.
DigiChef currently supports electronic integration with:
- Sysco
- Gordon Food Service (GFS)
To set up electronic integration, create a supplier and enter your account number. DigiChef will handle the rest.
TIP
Even better than saving you time, EDI integration means your ingredient costs are always up to date. When Sysco changes the price of chicken breast on a new invoice, DigiChef automatically updates the product cost and recalculates every recipe that uses it.
2. PDF Invoice Import — fast, no integration needed
Upload a PDF of your invoice and DigiChef's AI will read it, extract the products and prices, and create the order in your account — typically within about a minute.
See the Importing an invoice guide for step-by-step instructions.
3. Manual Entry
You can create and edit orders manually through the Orders Overview page. This is most useful for small, one-off purchases that aren't covered by a regular supplier invoice.
Viewing your orders
Navigate to the Orders Overview to see all your imported invoices. The table shows:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Invoice Number | The supplier's invoice reference number |
| Supplier | Which supplier the order is from |
| Store | The location this order was delivered to |
| Order Date | The date on the invoice |
| Total | The total cost of the invoice |
Click an Invoice Number to open the full detail view.
Order detail view
The order detail page shows:
- Line items — every product on the invoice, with quantity, unit, and price
- Price changes — DigiChef highlights any products where the price has changed compared to the previous invoice from the same supplier
- Order fees — any delivery or service fees included on the invoice
TIP
Pay attention to the price change indicators on line items. If an ingredient's price has jumped significantly, this is a great moment to decide whether to adjust your menu price for affected recipes.
Managing PDF imports
PDF imports are processed asynchronously — you don't need to wait on the page.
- Navigate to Orders > Manage Imports.
- The imports list shows the status of each uploaded PDF: Processing, Completed, or Failed.
- Click a completed import to view or edit the resulting order.
INFO
If a PDF import fails, it's usually because the invoice layout is unusual or the file quality is low. Try re-scanning the document at higher resolution, or enter the order manually and get in touch with our support team.
How orders affect your costs
Every time a new order is imported — however it arrives — DigiChef:
- Updates the cost of any products on the invoice to the latest price
- Recalculates the cost of every recipe that uses those products
- Updates your dashboard stats and food cost charts
This means your food cost data is always based on what you're actually paying today, not last month's prices.