RESTAURANT AI MANAGERNEW

Supplier Credit Requests: Claim Every Short, Swap and Price Difference

A supplier credit request asks a supplier to credit you for something you were billed for but didn’t get as ordered — a short delivery, a substitution or a price above your agreed price. Restaurant AI Manager compares what you ordered, what the kitchen received and what the supplier invoiced, drafts the credit request against the invoice, and keeps it on an open-credits list until it’s settled. A person always reviews the draft and presses Send.

Shorts, substitutions and price differences found by three-way matching
Credit requests drafted against the invoice — you press Send
Open credits listed by supplier, with how long each has been outstanding
Statements checked, so a promised credit doesn’t quietly disappear

Try it live as head chef See Restaurant AI Manager →

Built on Open Pantry ordering — free, and used by 5,000+ venues

Restaurant AI Manager Credits screen for a restaurant group: a $204 seafood credit request drafted from check-offs and price lists waiting for review, and a list of open credits by supplier with the date asked and days outstanding

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Built for hospitality venues of every kindRestaurants Cafes Bars Pubs Quick service Catering Production kitchens Fine dining

Shorts get written on the docket. Credits never get chased.

The driver’s gone before anyone has counted the fish

A short gets noted on the docket and never makes it to an email

A substitution arrives at a different price and gets paid anyway

The invoice price is above the price list and nobody checks it line by line

A credit promised on the phone never shows up on the statement

Writing the claim up with the invoice lines takes longer than the credit is worth

From a short at the door to a credit on the statement

Count it at the door

The delivery is checked off on a phone against the order, and a short or a swap is marked with a one-tap reason. That count is the kitchen’s record of what really arrived.

Match the invoice

Forward the invoice email, snap a photo, or upload a PDF, CSV or spreadsheet, and the AI reads the lines. Each line is compared three ways — ordered, received, invoiced — and against your price list.

Review the drafted request

The shorts, substitutions and price differences on that invoice become a drafted credit request against that invoice, waiting for you. You check it and press Send; suppliers not on Open Pantry get it by email.

Track it until it’s settled

Sent requests sit on the open-credits list with the date asked and the days outstanding, and supplier statements are checked against what you’re still owed.

Try it live as head chef

No sign-up — a demo restaurant group with a guide that shows you around

Three numbers on every line

Most systems copy the invoice into “received” and lose the one comparison that matters. Here every venue’s invoices sit in one place, checked against what was ordered and what the kitchen counted. Clean invoices are counted separately from the ones with price rises, shorts and credits to ask for, and an invoice with a problem — a substitution, a delivery nobody counted — is held for a look before it goes to accounting.

Ordered, received and invoiced compared line by line
Invoices checked against your price list as well as the delivery
Problem invoices held back from accounting until they’re resolved

Restaurant AI Manager invoices screen across three venues: invoices to approve, clean invoices, price rises, shorts, credits to ask for and bills owed in accounting, with a produce invoice flagged as substituted and not counted before it goes to accounting

A drafted request, never a sent one

The credit request is written for you: the supplier, the invoice number, the lines that were short, swapped or overcharged, and the amount. It waits on the Credits page with the total to ask for, and nothing reaches the supplier until someone reviews it and presses Send. The screen says it plainly — you send them, we never do it for you.

Supplier, invoice, lines and amount filled in
A PDF of the request for the supplier
Sent only when a person presses Send

Restaurant AI Manager drafted credit request for a seafood supplier invoice, $204 to ask for, waiting for review, with a note that Open Pantry drafts credit requests from check-offs and price lists and never sends them for you

Open credits, statements and the books

Every credit you’ve asked for stays on the open-credits list — by supplier, with the amount, the date asked and how many days it’s been outstanding — until it’s settled. Credits, returns and supplier statements are reconciled, so a credit that never arrives shows up before you pay the statement. Approved bills go to Xero or QuickBooks Online as drafts, coded to the right account and venue, with approval limits so a manager signs off up to a set amount and finance above it.

Open credits by supplier, with days outstanding
Statements reconciled against credits and returns
Bills sent to accounting as drafts, coded by account and venue

Restaurant AI Manager invoices with tabs for invoices to approve, credits, supplier statements and coding and accounting, and a note that nothing is sent until you press Send

Where the credit requests come from

Deliveries checked off at the doorSupplier invoices — forwarded email, photo, PDF, CSV or spreadsheetYour supplier price listsAny supplier, by emailSupplier statementsXero and QuickBooks Online

Built by the team venues already order with

Christian Abbot

“Open Pantry has created exactly what the restaurant industry needs. Something very easy to use that doesn’t require any upkeep. Their menu costing feature is fantastic and simple enough that any chef or bar manager can use it. I think restaurants that are serious about growing their profit & managing their costs need to consider Open Pantry.”

Group Executive Chef, Australian Venue Company

Chefs Love Open Pantry

Junior Malvern crew x

Thank you OPEN PANTRY, we used to have to use 6 apps to get access to ordering from our suppliers, the fact we can do it all in one has saved an incredible amount of time & effort! We love you!

Tom Pearson

We’ve been using Open Pantry for a few months now and it’s been an absolute lifesaver. We’re short staffed so being able to place all of our orders with all of our suppliers in the one spot is a massive help.

James Evans

So glad this service exists. Has made it so easy for my manager & chefs to order & all payments are settled in one go. The recurring orders & pantry lists are amazing time savers!!

Why not just note the short on the docket and sort it out later?

Because later rarely comes. A short written on a docket depends on someone remembering it, finding the invoice, writing the email and then checking the statement weeks afterwards — and each step is a chance for it to drop. When the claim is already drafted from the count and the price list, against the invoice, sending it takes one look, and the open-credits list keeps it in front of you until the supplier settles it.

Supplier credit requests — questions chefs and owners ask

How do I claim a credit from a supplier for a short delivery?＋

Mark the line short when you check the delivery off, with a one-tap reason. When the invoice comes in, Restaurant AI Manager compares it with what was received and drafts a credit request for the missing lines; you review it and press Send.

What is three-way invoice matching for a restaurant kitchen?＋

It compares three numbers for every line: what you ordered, what the kitchen received and what the supplier invoiced. If received and invoiced disagree, or the price is above your price list, the difference becomes a line on a drafted credit request rather than a payment.

Does Open Pantry send credit requests to my suppliers automatically?＋

No. Credit requests are drafted and wait on the Credits page until a person reviews them and presses Send. Nothing reaches a supplier on its own.

Do my suppliers need to be on Open Pantry to get credit requests?＋

No. Suppliers who aren’t on Open Pantry receive the credit request by email, as a PDF listing the lines, once you press Send. You order from and claim against the suppliers you already use.

Can I claim a credit when the invoice price is higher than agreed?＋

Yes. Invoice lines are checked against your price list as well as the delivery, so a price above the agreed price is flagged and added to the drafted credit request alongside any shorts or substitutions on that invoice.

How do we keep track of credits our suppliers still owe us?＋

Every credit you ask for stays on the open-credits list by supplier, with the amount, the date asked and how many days it’s been outstanding. Supplier statements are reconciled against your credits and returns, so a missing credit shows up before the statement is paid.

What happens to the supplier invoice in Xero while a credit is outstanding?＋

An invoice with a short, substitution or price difference is held for a look before it goes to accounting. Approved bills go to Xero or QuickBooks Online as drafts, so your bookkeeper still has the final say.

Can I try supplier credit requests in a demo before signing up?＋

Yes. The live demo signs you in as the head chef of a demo restaurant group with a drafted seafood credit and open credits to look at, and a guide shows you around. There is no free trial; the demo is the whole product, with nothing to sign up for.

Review a drafted credit request in a demo kitchen

Open the demo as the head chef of Harbour & Vine and see the credits waiting to be sent — no sign-up.