Common questions
General
What does Batchkeeper actually do?
It tracks raw material inventory, batch/recipe-based production, and sales statistics for WooCommerce stores that manufacture their own products — see the documentation for the full breakdown.
Do I need WooCommerce to use it?
Yes. Batchkeeper is a WordPress plugin that plugs into an existing WooCommerce store — it isn’t a standalone inventory tool, and won’t do anything useful without WooCommerce active.
Who is Batchkeeper for?
Small and mid-sized producers who buy raw materials, turn them into batches or recipes, and sell the finished product through WooCommerce — candles, skincare, food, supplements, and similar.
What are the system requirements?
WordPress and WooCommerce (latest two major versions recommended), and PHP 7.4 or later.
Is it available in other languages?
Yes, the admin interface is available in English plus eight translations.
Raw Materials
What can I track for each raw material?
Name, category, quantity/weight, unit cost, actual value, supplier, expiry date, an item number, a note, waste/shrinkage, and an optional photo.
What do the three numbers at the top of Raw Materials mean?
Total inventory value, how many materials you have, and how many categories exist — all three update automatically as you add or edit items.
How does Batchkeeper know when I’m running low on something?
You set a low-stock threshold in Batchkeeper Settings → Plugin settings. Any raw material whose quantity drops below it gets flagged automatically, both in Raw Materials and wherever that material shows up in a recipe.
Can I see which recipes use a specific raw material?
Yes — click the raw material’s name in the table (not the edit icon) and a panel slides in showing every recipe that uses it, and how much of it each one needs.
How do I add a photo to a raw material?
Open the item, click “Choose image,” and WordPress’s own media library picker opens — the same uploader you’d use anywhere else in wp-admin. Pick or upload an image and it’s attached to that item.
Why does my raw material’s thumbnail look small, or a different size than expected?
The thumbnail follows your site’s own WordPress Thumbnail size setting (Settings → Media in wp-admin), not something Batchkeeper controls directly. Click any thumbnail to see the original full-size photo you uploaded, with a further click to zoom in.
Can I search or filter the raw materials list?
Yes — search by name or supplier, filter by category, and click any column header to sort by it (click again to reverse the order).
What happens when I save or delete a raw material?
Deleting asks you to confirm first. Either way you get a brief on-screen confirmation, and the page refreshes itself a moment later to show the updated list — no manual reload needed.
Production & Recipes
How do I build a recipe?
Open Production, pick (or link) the WooCommerce product, then add raw materials with exact quantities. That list of ingredients and quantities is the recipe.
What is Batch Size, and why does it matter?
Batch Size is how many finished products one production run makes — 50 bottles of lotion from one batch means Batch Size is 50. It’s not just a record: it’s the number Batchkeeper divides your total ingredient cost by to work out cost per unit, so getting it right matters.
Does Batchkeeper ever suggest a Batch Size for me?
It can. If you set a packaging category in Plugin settings (e.g. the category you use for bottles or jars), Batchkeeper looks for a matching packaging ingredient in the recipe and suggests its quantity as the Batch Size — on the logic that the number of containers you use usually equals your batch yield.
How exactly is cost per unit calculated?
Batchkeeper adds up every ingredient’s quantity × its cost, then divides that total by Batch Size. Leave Batch Size blank and no cost is shown at all.
Can I compare Batchkeeper’s calculated cost to what’s in WooCommerce?
WooCommerce itself has no built-in purchase-cost field — Batchkeeper only requires WooCommerce, nothing else. But if you separately run a cost-of-goods plugin such as Cost of Goods for WooCommerce, a Cost overview button appears automatically in Production and lines up Batchkeeper’s calculated cost per unit against that plugin’s stored purchase cost, with the difference shown. Red means Batchkeeper’s calculated cost is higher than what’s on record — worth a look, since it can mean the item is priced tighter than you think. Green means it’s lower. Without a compatible plugin storing cost data, the button simply doesn’t appear — there’s nothing to compare against.
How do I change Batch Size once it’s set?
Click on it next to the recipe — a small pop-up lets you type in the new number directly.
What do the Status badges (OK, 1 batch, Missing, Not found) mean?
For each ingredient: OK (2+) means your stock covers 2 or more batches, 1 batch means enough for exactly one more, Missing means not even enough for one batch, and Not found means the ingredient’s name doesn’t match anything in Raw Materials.
How do I fix a “Not found” ingredient?
Delete that row from the recipe and re-add the raw material by searching for it from the list, rather than editing the broken row directly.
Can I filter a recipe to only show ingredients that are running short?
Yes, there’s a “Show only missing” checkbox in Production that filters the ingredient list down to problem rows.
Can I unlink a recipe from a WooCommerce product?
Yes, with a confirmation prompt first so it doesn’t happen by accident.
Can I import many recipes at once instead of building them one by one?
Yes, recipes can be imported in bulk from a CSV file (product name, raw material name, quantity per row).
Sales Statistics
Where do the sales figures come from?
Straight from your WooCommerce order data, pulled in when you click the sync button.
Does Sales Statistics update on its own, or do I have to sync it?
You sync it manually with one button — it doesn’t poll WooCommerce continuously in the background.
What do “rising,” “falling,” and “stable” mean?
They describe each product’s sales trend based on its trend score, so you can spot what’s picking up or slowing down without reading every number yourself.
What time periods does it show?
Units sold in the last month, 3, 6, and 12 months, plus a monthly average — alongside current stock status (sold out, low, or OK).
Is “Low” stock here the same threshold as the one on Raw Materials?
No, and this trips people up: Raw Materials uses the low-stock number you set in Plugin settings. Sales Statistics uses its own fixed rule for finished products — 0 units is Sold out, 5 or fewer is Low, anything above that is OK. The two aren’t connected.
Why does a product show “Sold out” even though it’s always available, like a digital download?
Sales Statistics reads its stock number from WooCommerce’s built-in stock field. If a product has “Manage stock?” turned off — typical for virtual or downloadable products — WooCommerce doesn’t track a quantity for it, and that currently reads as 0, so the badge shows Sold out no matter the real availability. This is a known limitation: check the product itself in WooCommerce, not this badge, for stock-untracked items.
How is “rising / falling / stable” actually decided?
By trend score: above +5% is Rising, below −5% is Falling, anything in between counts as Stable.
Can I search or sort Sales Statistics?
Yes — search by name or SKU, filter by trend or stock status, and click any column header to sort (click again to reverse).
Settings & data
Can I import my existing inventory from a spreadsheet?
Yes — raw materials and recipes can both be imported in bulk from a CSV file. Example files showing the exact format are available to download from Batchkeeper Settings.
What columns does the CSV import expect?
For raw materials: name, category, quantity, cost, supplier, last_purchased, expiry, note, item_number (only name is required). For recipes: product_name, raw_material_name, quantity.
What happens if I import a raw material that already exists?
You choose: skip it, or update it with the new values from the file.
Can I get my data back out if I ever stop using Batchkeeper?
Yes, raw materials and recipes can both be exported to CSV at any time from Batchkeeper Settings.
Can I manage categories after I’ve already added raw materials?
Yes — add, rename, or merge categories at any point. Renaming updates every raw material using that category automatically, and a category can’t be deleted while it’s still in use.
What currencies and units are supported?
Currency (NOK, EUR, USD) and your default quantity unit (g, ml, pcs) are both set in Plugin settings.
Is there a way to clean up messy data?
Batchkeeper Settings → Maintenance has two tools: one tidies up double spaces and trims names, the other finds recipe rows whose raw material name no longer matches anything in inventory.
Buying & support
Where do I buy Batchkeeper?
Directly from this site — buy Batchkeeper here — or through the WooCommerce Marketplace, once listed there.
How do updates work?
Bought here on lotamber.com: download the latest version from your order confirmation or account, and re-upload it the same way as the first install — there’s no subscription or license key. Bought through the WooCommerce Marketplace: purchase, updates, and support run through your WooCommerce.com account instead.
What license is Batchkeeper under?
GPLv2 or later.
Still have a question?
Use the contact form and we’ll get back to you.