Configuring Different Forecasting (or no Forecasting) for Meal Periods/Snack Times

• Overview
• Applying Different Forecasting (or no Forecasting) to Specific Meal Periods/Snack Times
  • For Percentages Forecasting: Entering Percentages for Each Choice
  • For Percentages Forecasting: Entering Percentages for Each Choice of Each Menu Category
• Applying the "Set Method by Meal" Forecast Method to a Menu
• See Also

Overview

For a menu with choices (used in a table select environment), an individual meal period (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and snack time (snack am, snack pm, snack hs) can be configured as follows: 

• You can apply separate sets of default forecasting percentages for a specific meal period or snack time. 
  

 (Right-click image to open and expand in new tab).

• You can apply the census forecast method for a specific meal period or snack time. Census forecasting generates serving amounts of each menu item equal to the diet order census in your account, and will include choice 2 items if choice 1 items are do not serve (DNS) on personal menus (due to an allergen or being manually marked as DNS). 
  
  

 (Right-click image to open and expand in new tab).

• You can set a specific meal period or snack time to not be forecast. For example, breakfast can be set to not forecast if your facility does not offer a select service for breakfast. 
  
  

 (Right-click image to open and expand in new tab)

Configuring Different Forecasting (or no Forecasting) for Specific Meal Periods/Snack Times

To configure different forecasting (or no forecasting) for specific meal periods/snack times, complete the first steps as follows:

1. From the left navigation sidebar, select Production > Forecasting Settings. The Production & Forecasting Settings screen appears.
   
   
    
2. Click the Forecast Method tab. 
    
3. From the Forecast Method field, select Set Method By Meal option. The Set Method By Meal section appears.
   
   
    
4. If the forecasting is set up to include the advance ordering census, then the following options are available:
   • Apply to All Service Types - configure different forecasting (or no forecasting) for specific meal periods across each service types census: table select and advance ordering.
     
     
      
   • Set Method by Service Type - can configure different forecasting (or no forecasting) for specific meal periods by each service type census: table select and advance ordering. Selecting this option displays the Table Select and Advanced Ordering tabs.
     
     
     
     Note: If forecasting is not set up to include the advance ordering census, then the table select census is used by default (the options Apply to All Service Types and Set Method by Service Type are not available).
      
5. Assuming your MealSuite account has more than one menu service location (MSL), then you can configure different forecasting (or no forecasting) for specific meal periods/snack times by each MSL. To do so, select the Set Method by Menu Service Location button, and tabs appear for each MSL.
   
   
   
   Note that an MSL identifies one or more dining areas in your facility in which a menu of a specific type is used. When different forecasting (or no forecasting) for specific meal periods/snack times by each MSL is applied, then that forecasting comes into effect when the associated menu of the meal period/snack time is assigned to the MSL. 
    
6. Your next step depends on the forecasting method to be applied, or if no forecasting is to be applied, to a meal period/snack time:
   • To apply percentage forecasting to a meal period or snack time, select the Percentage option and then click the adjacent gear icon. The screen refreshes accordingly, and your next steps are to enter the default percentages, which can be done by entering a percentage for each choice that applies across all menu categories, or by entering percentages for each choice of each menu category. Refer to the appropriate section below, either: For Percentages Forecasting: Entering Percentages for Each Choice or For Percentages Forecasting: Entering Percentages for Each Choice of Each Menu Category
     
     
      
   • To apply census forecasting to a meal period or snack time, select the Census option
     
     
      
   • To not apply forecasting to a meal period or snack time, select the Do Not Forecast option.
     
     

Note: The total needed forecast method is not available to be applied to individual meal periods or snack times. The Set Method by Meal option (step 3 above) that you use to configure individual meal period/snack time forecasting (or no forecasting), can only be applied to a menu with choices (used in a table select environment). Therefore, the total needed forecast method is not available for use because the total needed forecast method can only be applied to a menu without choices (used in a cafeteria environment). 

For Percentages Forecasting: Entering Percentages for Each Choice

When entering percentages for each choice, the percentages are applied across all menu categories in the menu.

1. Select the Choice button.
    
2. In each Choice [X] field, enter the percentage you anticipate your residents/patients will choose. For example, if you anticipate that 75% of your patients/residents would select choice 1, then enter 75 in Choice 1, and enter the remaining percentage (25%) in the remaining Choice [X] fields.
   Note: You can enter percentage numbers that equal more than 100%, so as to “pad” or “buffer” your serving numbers accordingly.
   
   
    
3. If you have more than two choices on a menu, then click the Add Choice link to add additional choice percentage fields (choice 3, choice 4, and choice 5) and enter the percentages in each.
    
4. Click the Save button to apply your changes. Note: If you want to remove a choice 3, 4 or 5 percentage field, then clear the percentage from the field (i.e., keep it blank), click Save, and then refresh the screen.

For Percentages Forecasting: Entering Percentages for Each Choice of Each Menu Category

When forecasting by choice percentages for each menu category, you must enter separate percentages for each choice of each menu category. For example, an entrée is typically portioned out with 75% of people choosing choice 1 and 25% people choosing choice 2. However with dessert, assume choice 1 is a slice of cake and choice 2 is a bowl of fruit; therefore (as an example) you enter 90% for choice 1 and 10% for choice 2 because a higher percentage will choose the slice of cake.

Tip! Entering choice percentages for a menu category is also a means to generate no items on the forecasting worksheet and productions reports; this is accomplished by entering 0 for the choice percentage fields for the category. For example, condiments is a category that you may not want serving amounts to be generated for; therefore you would enter 0 in the choice percentage fields for the condiments category.

1. Select the Menu Categories button.
    
2. In each Choice [X] field for each menu category, enter the percentage you anticipate your residents/patients will choose.
   Note: You can enter percentage numbers that equal more than 100%, so as to “pad” or “buffer” your serving numbers accordingly.
   
   
    
3. Click the Save button to apply your changes.

Applying the "Set Method by Meal" Forecast Method to a Menu

When the Set Method by Meal forecast method is configured, then you can apply it to a menu via Other: honor forecasting settings option. See Applying Forecasting to a Menu.

See Also

• Adjusting Forecasting Percentages for a Menu Item.