Spec

Spec is an inventory management platform for food and beverage programs at bars and restaurants. Its product library stores information about the items a business carries, and its costing tools calculate ingredient, labor, and sub-recipe costs. Users can build menus from products and recipes and analyze how effective their pricing is. For ordering, Spec can prepare a draft by text or email and divide bulk orders by vendor. Staff can use the mobile app to view recipes, product details, and training materials. Pro adds digitized invoices, product price alerts, and invoice reports. The free plan is free and includes up to 30 recipe ingredient costings, 30 labor costings, 30 sub-recipes, and 10 menus, but no stock counts. Spec Pro is $99 a month; an annual option is $999 a year. Pro includes unlimited costing and menus, web and mobile stock counts, multiple inventory locations, and invoice and price-change reporting. A 30-day trial is listed. Businesses can send an inventory spreadsheet for ingestion by Spec’s team.

Spec combines product information, costing, menus, and ordering for food and beverage operations. The free plan has defined costing and menu limits, while Pro adds stock counts and invoice reporting.

Spec is intended for bars and restaurants building or running food and beverage programs. It may suit teams that need product records, recipe and menu costing, ordering, and stock counts.

Overview

Spec is a food-and-beverage operations platform for bars and restaurants. It is best suited to teams that want to connect recipe costs, menu decisions, and vendor ordering; the free plan can help smaller programs, but stock counts and invoice reporting require Pro.

Its strongest case is bringing costing and day-to-day purchasing tools together. The trade-off is that operators who need routine inventory control must pay, and the free plan’s fixed limits leave little room for a growing menu.

Key features

Product library, recipes, and menus

The product library holds the food and beverage items a business carries. Spec calculates ingredient, labor, and sub-recipe costs, then lets users build menus from products and recipes to assess pricing effectiveness. That is useful for operators making menu decisions with cost inputs in view, rather than keeping product and recipe costing separate.

The Free Plan allows 30 ingredient costings, 30 labor costings, 30 sub-recipes, and 10 menus. Those caps can suit a small operation or a limited evaluation, but a larger or frequently changing menu may outgrow them. Pro removes those limits, which matters most when costing is part of ongoing operations rather than occasional planning.

Ordering and inventory

Spec can prepare an order draft by text or email and divide bulk orders among vendors. It also supports purchase orders and waste tracking, giving food and beverage teams tools for purchasing and waste workflows alongside costing. Stock counts are a separate Pro benefit: the paid plan adds counts on web and mobile, plus support for multiple inventory locations. Teams that mainly need recipe and menu planning can start free; those relying on recurring counts across locations cannot get that workflow on the free tier.

Invoices and mobile access

Pro includes digitized invoices, product price alerts, and invoice and price-change reporting. These features give operators a way to follow invoice and product cost changes, but they are part of the same $99 monthly step up as unlimited costing and stock counts. Staff can use Spec’s mobile app to view recipes, product information, and training materials; the app is also part of the Pro stock-count workflow.

Setup and account details

Businesses can email an inventory spreadsheet for ingestion by Spec’s team, a useful onboarding route for operators moving existing product records into the platform. Google, Facebook, and Apple sign-in options are offered at account signup. Spec says its services operate from the United States and user information is transferred to, stored, and processed there. Its privacy policy says precise real-time device location is not shared with other users or business partners unless the user consents. Feedback and technical support requests go to [email protected].

Pricing

Spec has a free plan and a 30-day trial. The paid plans are Spec Pro at $99 a month and Spec Pro (annual) at $999 a year, billed annually with a stated 16% saving. Both Pro plans include the same features: unlimited recipe, labor, and sub-recipe costing; unlimited menus; web and mobile stock counts; multiple inventory locations; and invoice and price-change reporting.

The Free Plan costs free and includes 30 ingredient costings, 30 labor costings, 30 sub-recipes, and 10 menus, but no stock counts. It is the sensible starting point for small menus and initial costing work, not a full inventory-control option. Pro is for operators who need the uncapped planning tools, counts, and invoice reporting. The annual price is lower than paying $99 monthly for twelve months, but requires annual billing.

Platforms

Spec is available on Android, iOS, and the web. Web and mobile stock counts are included with Pro; staff can also use the mobile app to view recipes, product information, and training materials.

Who it's for

Spec is aimed at bars and restaurants building or running food and beverage programs. It is a stronger fit for operators who want product records, recipe and menu costing, ordering, and inventory workflows connected in one platform. A small venue can use the free tier to cost a bounded menu; teams that need stock counts, multiple inventory locations, or invoice reporting should budget for Pro.

It is less suitable for businesses that need stock counts without a paid subscription or whose menu exceeds the free plan’s caps but cannot justify $99 per month or $999 per year.

Pros and cons

• Connected costing and menus: Ingredient, labor, and sub-recipe costs can inform menus built from products and recipes.
• Ordering support: Drafts by text or email and vendor-split bulk orders complement the costing workflow.
• Free entry point: The free plan provides defined costing and menu allowances without a monthly charge.
• Inventory control is paid: Stock counts and multiple inventory locations start with Pro, limiting the free plan for routine stock management.
• High cost to remove limits: Unlimited costing and menus, counts, and invoice reporting require $99 a month, or $999 a year billed annually.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Restaurant Inventory Management Software.

• growyze is another option for teams considering a free plan and trial, with a free tier that sets caps across stocktakes, supplier orders, suppliers, delivery notes, invoice validations, recipes, and dishes.
• OrderNow Inventory offers a freemium plan and a Pro plan at $44 a month with unlimited menu items, ordering and KOT, one location, and standard chat and email support; consider it if those terms better match your needs.
• Craftable is a paid option available on Android, iOS, and web.
• Galley has a freemium model and an SMB Accelerator plan starting at $99/month with recipes, menus, costing, simplified onboarding, and no long contracts.
• Nory is a paid option with custom pricing.
• PlateSense offers a free plan and trial, plus a $59 a month Pro plan priced per location, with unlimited invoices, inventory, recipes, and menu items for the whole team on one account.
• reciProfity is a paid option with a free trial; its Starter plan is $49 a month and limited to 10 recipes.
• WISK is a paid iOS and web option without a free plan or trial; its Single Venue — Beverage plan is $249 a month, with annual billing saving 17%, and includes 1,000 SKUs, 75 AI invoices per month, five users, email support, and a $750 setup fee.

Verdict

Spec is a sound choice for bars and restaurants that want costing, menu planning, ordering, and inventory operations in one food-and-beverage platform. Start with the free plan for a small menu and bounded costing needs; choose Pro when stock counts, multiple locations, or invoice reporting are essential. Look elsewhere if you need those inventory controls at a lower price or without moving beyond a free plan.