Neviscater plans, costs, quotes and executes catering orders. Everything in the app flows from one idea:
Master data (items, materials, recipes, units) → Orders (events and menus) → Calculations (quantities, raw materials, costs, bills) → Execution (inventory, actuals, wastage).
The better your master data, the less you type per order. This guide explains the layout of the app and the order in which to set things up.
How the screen is organised
- Left sidebar — all screens, grouped into Core, Order Actions, and Application Setup, plus Kitchen Plan for cooking and buying across several orders at once. Click a group heading to expand it.
- Top bar — global search (press Ctrl+K), alerts, the ? help icon for the screen you are on, and your account menu.
- Quick Links — most screens have a Quick Links strip at the top for jumping between related views of the same order or event.
Items marked with a plan badge in the sidebar require a higher plan; see the badge for details.
Recommended setup order
Do these once, in this order. The Onboarding screen (sidebar → Application Setup → Start Onboarding) walks you through the same steps with links.
| Step | Where | Why first |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Company & locale | Application Setup → Preferences | Sets currency, date format, business details printed on bills |
| 2. Units | Units Table | Every item and material needs a unit; conversions (kg ↔ g) depend on this |
| 3. Item Types & average consumption | Item Types Table, then Average Consumption | Item types drive the automatic quantity suggestion per guest |
| 4. Materials | Materials Table | Raw ingredients with a rate; used by recipes |
| 5. Items & recipes | Items Table | Dishes you serve; each item's Recipe tab lists materials per unit of the item |
| 6. (Optional) Cookware, Serveware, Cutlery masters | Cookware / Serveware / Cutlery Master | Only if you allocate equipment per order |
| 7. (Optional) Vendors | Vendors | Only if you buy items/services from suppliers |
Shortcut: Application Data → Import Regional Database loads ready-made items, materials and recipes for your region so you can start with a full set and edit rather than type. See Saving and Restoring Your Data.
Your first order
- Core → Orders → Add Order. Enter the customer, dates, place and order type.
- Open the order and add an Event (e.g. Lunch, 25-Jun, 200 guests).
- On the event, add Menu items. Neviscater suggests quantities from the guest count and average consumption.
- Check Raw Materials to see what needs to be procured, and Costing for the rate per plate.
- When the order is confirmed, change its status to Booked, then Locked, and after the function, Executed.
Each of these has its own guide: Orders, Events and Menus, Raw Materials, Bills and Payments.
Getting help
- Click the ? icon in the top bar on any screen for help about that screen.
- Type a question or keyword in the global search box; matching help articles appear under Help Articles.
- Ask Neviscater: type a full question in the same search box — how do I undo an executed order? — and choose Ask Neviscater. The answer is written from these help articles, links the ones it used, and takes follow-up questions. It cannot see your orders or stock, only the guides, so for a question about your own data it points you to the right screen. Give an answer a thumbs down when it misses; that is how the guides get fixed.
- Contact Us → Report an Issue sends a message to the Neviscater team.