How to catch supplier price creep on restaurant invoices

Price creep rarely shows up as one big jump. It is a few cents on a case of fryer oil, then on chicken, then on to-go containers, spread across dozens of lines you don't have time to read.

Why it is easy to miss

Most independents check that the delivery matches the order, then file the invoice. Prices are rarely compared to last week's, and almost never to the price the rep quoted when you signed up. On a typical broadline invoice with 40 to 80 lines, a 3% move on ten items does not stand out on any single page.

What to compare each price against

Your last invoice for the same item number. The quickest check. Any change deserves a reason.
Your order guide or quoted price. If you were quoted a price or a cost-plus markup, that is the number that matters.
The pack size. A "same price" item that went from 6/#10 to 6/#10 with a smaller net weight is still a price increase. Compare per-unit price.

A 15-minute weekly routine

Pick your top 25 items by spend (proteins, oil, dairy, paper and disposables usually dominate).
Keep a simple sheet: item number, description, pack, last price, date.
Each week, update the sheet from the new invoice and highlight any line that moved more than 2%.
Also scan the bottom of the invoice for new fee lines (fuel, delivery, small-drop, split-case). See our fuel surcharge guide.
Send the rep one message listing the changes and ask which were market moves and which were errors.

Tip: commodity items (beef, eggs, dairy, oil) move with the market, so a change there is normal. The ones to question are stable items such as paper, chemicals and dry goods that creep every few weeks.

What to say to your rep

Keep it factual: "Item 1234567 was $38.20 on 9/2 and $39.85 on 9/23 with no change in pack. Can you confirm the reason, or credit the difference?" Reps handle many accounts; a short, specific list gets a faster answer than a general complaint.

When it is worth automating

If you receive more than about 20 invoices a month or buy from several distributors, the weekly sheet becomes a chore and gets skipped. That is the job FeeHawk does: it reads each invoice, tracks every item's price per unit over time, and emails a weekly list of increases and new fees with a dollar total.

Get a free invoice audit

Upload your last 3 months of supplier invoices (PDFs or phone photos). FeeHawk lists every price increase, new fee and missing credit, with a dollar total and what to dispute. A person checks every report before it is sent.

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