# How lots, batches and expiration dates work

Every delivery of an ingredient or material is a lot, and everything you make is a batch, each with its own cost and date. Food is used soonest-expiring first, and packaging oldest first.

Source: https://www.prophitable.io/help/inventory/lots-and-expiry (updated 2026-11-04)

## Lots and batches

| What it is | Called | Numbered like |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients and materials | A lot | L2026-11-FLO1 |
| Recipes, outputs, packaging and products | A batch | B2026-11-CHO1 |

The number is the year, the month, the first three letters of the item's name and a count. You'll find each item's lots or batches under **Stock** on its page, with what's left of each one.

Each lot keeps what it cost when it came in, and each batch what it cost to make. When the price of flour goes up, the flour already on the shelf still costs what you paid for it.

## Expiration dates

An ingredient lot expires after the ingredient's shelf life, counted from the day it was received. A batch expires after its item's shelf life, counted from the day it was made. If a make order finishes something that has no shelf life, its batch expires after 30 days.

You can change the date on a lot, and on a batch you added by hand. A batch from a make order keeps the date the order gave it.

Materials and packaging don't expire, so they have no date.

## Which gets used first

| Stock | Used first |
|---|---|
| Ingredients, recipes, outputs and products | The one that expires soonest |
| Materials and packaging | The one that came in first |

Stock past its date is still offered first. When you start a make order that would use something expired, it's listed with a **Used** / **Not used** switch. Switch it off if you threw it out, and remove it with **Adjust Stock** and **Damaged / Spoiled**.

> [!TIP]
> Give everything you make a shelf life, even a rough one. With it, every batch has a date, and the soonest-expiring stock goes out first.