How Many Tiffins to Cook Each Day (With Leave)

You cook today's number by starting with every customer who is due a box, removing everyone who has taken leave under your cut-off rule, and then splitting what is left by plan (for example Normal and Deluxe). Do that count once, at a fixed time, from one list, and cook from that number rather than from memory.

This post shows the method on paper first, with an example you can copy, and then where a phone app can do the arithmetic for you. It is written for people who cook and deliver tiffins from a home kitchen or a small service in India.

What does "how many to cook" actually mean?

The box count is the number of tiffins you will pack today. It is not the number of customers you have. Three things move it every day:

• Customers who are on leave today.
• Customers who take more than one box a day (a couple sharing a plan, or a family order).
• Customers who take a different plan, such as a Normal box or a Deluxe box, because the Deluxe box needs different ingredients.

If you only count heads, you will cook for doorsteps that are empty, or you will be one box short for a customer who is at home.

How do I work out today's count step by step?

Use the same five steps every day.

1. Write the master list. One line per customer: name, plan, boxes per day, meals taken (lunch, dinner or both).
2. Mark today's leave. Only count leave that was given before your cut-off. A leave message that arrives after the cut-off is a delivery you have already cooked for.
3. Subtract leave from the list. Remove those customers from today's total.
4. Add extras. A new customer starting today, or a guest box someone asked for in advance.
5. Split by plan. Count Normal boxes and Deluxe boxes separately, because that is how you shop and cook.

Worked example (numbers are examples only)

Suppose a small kitchen has 24 customers on lunch. The numbers below are made up to show the method.

Notice that 24 customers do not mean 24 boxes. Here the total happens to match, but only because extras, leave and a new start cancelled out. On another day the same list could need 22 or 27.

Why does the cut-off time matter more than the count?

A cut-off is the latest moment a customer can cancel a meal and not be charged for it, and a count is only reliable if that rule is clear. Pick a time that matches when you shop and start cooking, and tell every customer the same rule. The steps for setting a leave policy are in Stop cooking for empty doorsteps.

What goes wrong with notebooks and WhatsApp?

A notebook and a WhatsApp group can work for a handful of customers. These problems can appear as the list grows:

• Leave messages arrive in a busy group chat and one gets missed.
• The notebook shows the old plan after a customer switches from Normal to Deluxe.
• Nobody can tell, in the morning, whether a 10 pm message was before or after the cut-off.
• The count is redone by hand every day, so one tired morning means a wrong number.

None of this means a notebook is wrong. It means the count is only as good as the person adding it up at 6 am.

How can an app work out the count for me?

MyTiffin is a free, mobile-first web app for tiffin providers. According to its help guide, the provider opens the Today screen and the big number is how many boxes to prepare, split into Normal and Deluxe. Customers on leave are already taken out, and arrows let you look at tomorrow's count too.

A few details from that guide that matter for the method above:

• Breakfast, lunch and dinner can be switched on, each with its own leave cut-off (a time and a day, for example lunch until 9 am on the same day, or breakfast until 8 pm the day before), under Settings → Meals and leave cut-off.
• As you deliver, you tap Delivered next to each customer, and a progress bar shows what is left. A wrong tap can be undone from the Delivered tab.
• At month end, Reports shows delivered days, leave days and the amount per customer.

The app does not take orders, run deliveries or guarantee customers. It keeps the list, the leave and the count in one place.

How do I check that my count is right?

For a week, compare three things at the end of each day: the number you cooked, the number you delivered, and the number of boxes that came back or were left over. If cooked minus delivered is often more than one or two, look at where the gap comes from. Look for late leave messages or a plan change that never reached the list.

Also, keep a small buffer only if you have a reason for it, such as a regular walk-in neighbour. A buffer you never track becomes a daily cost.

Frequently asked questions

Should I cook extra boxes in case someone asks late?

Only if your own history shows it happens. Track late requests for two weeks. If you get one or two a week, a single spare box on busy days is reasonable. If you get none, cook the exact count.

What if a customer takes leave after the cut-off?

That depends on the rule you announce. You might decide, for example, that leave after the cut-off is still charged because the food was already planned, or that it is not. Whatever you choose, apply it to everyone and state it in words before the customer subscribes.

How do I count a customer who orders two boxes a day?

Count boxes, not customers. Record "boxes per day" against each customer so that a family of two shows as 2, and add those up in the plan total.

Does a Normal and Deluxe split change the total?

No. It only changes how you shop and cook. Add the two plan counts together for the total and keep them apart for purchasing.

Do I need an app for fewer than 10 customers?

Not necessarily. A tidy list and a clear cut-off are enough at that size. A tool starts to help when leave messages and plan changes arrive faster than you can add them up.

What this advice does not cover

The example numbers above are illustrations, not averages. How much to cook also depends on your recipes, shelf life and local habits, and this post does not give food-safety or tax advice. If you want to try the counting screen yourself, you can start at MyTiffin sign up.