Cheese production

Cheese production software for batch-based producers.
Built on a make-day, not in a spreadsheet.

From milk intake to make day to ageing to dispatch — the production reality of a cheese house is a different shape from anything a generic ERP imagines. Keystone was written next to a real cheese vat, with the QA Manager watching, the dispatch lead asking awkward questions, and a Tuesday-morning order deadline closing in.

Recipe & make-process per cheese, with version control
Ageing windows tracked per batch, with auto-release on completion
Variable-weight wheels reconciled at unit, case and pallet level
Live with Cashel Farmhouse Cheesemakers — extensive product range

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Make day

The vat is the source of truth — not Excel.

Every make starts with a recipe, a target yield, a quantity of milk earmarked, a planned start time and a make team. Keystone tracks the make from the moment the milk lands in the vat: salt added, rennet added, cut time, pitch temperature, drain time, salt rate, mould allocation. None of this is optional in a serious cheese audit, and none of this should live in a notebook on top of the vat.

Ageing window

Cheese is not finished when the wheel is wrapped.

Per-batch ageing target

Every batch carries the target ageing window (e.g. 6 weeks for a young blue, 12 weeks for a longer matured wheel).

Auto-release on completion

Once the ageing window completes and QC has signed off, the batch becomes dispatch-eligible automatically. No manual chasing.

QC re-test re-locks

If a follow-up QC test fails — moisture out of spec, salt drift — the batch re-locks and the dispatch system stops it leaving the door.

Short-dated stock alerts

Batches approaching the wrong end of their window surface on the planner so dispatch is prioritised, not stuck in the affinage room.

Variable-weight reality

A 1.4 kg wheel is rarely a 1.4 kg wheel.

Generic ERPs round to whole units and the variance vanishes into a shrinkage account. Keystone tracks the actual weight of each wheel at unit level, rolls up to the case, rolls up to the pallet, and reconciles back to the dispatch line. The retailer gets the correct dispatched weight; your COA reflects what actually shipped; your accounts package gets a clean invoice without a manual variance entry.

Where this sits architecturally

Not an ERP. The production layer beside one.

Keep your accounts package — AccountsIQ, Sage, Xero, QuickBooks. Keep your milk-payments system. Keystone is the production layer between them: make day, batches, ageing, QC, dispatch, COAs, retailer pallet labels, customer SKU mapping and full traceability. Dispatched orders post cleanly back to your accounts package as invoiced sales.

FAQ

Questions buyers actually ask.

Do you support multi-step processes (e.g. brining, smoking, ageing rooms)?

Yes — each batch can move through any sequence of process stages, each with its own duration, location and QC checkpoints. Cashel Blue uses this for ageing-room movement; smoke-house and brining are supported the same way.

Can we have separate recipes per customer (own-label variants)?

Yes. Each customer SKU can map to its own variant of the base recipe. Bidirectional search — by your internal code or by the retailer's code.

How does this compare with a cheese-specific ERP?

Most cheese-specific ERPs require a 6–12 month implementation and a six-figure budget. Keystone is the lighter, founder-led production layer that goes live in 30 days at a fraction of the cost — for cheesemakers who do not need a full ERP project on top of everything else.

Will my finance team need retraining?

No. Finance keeps working in your existing accounts package. The change is operational, not financial.

Can we run this for cow, sheep and goat in one tenant?

Yes — milk source is a delivery attribute. Multi-species production runs cleanly through the same chain.

Ready to see if Keystone fits your floor?

20-minute discovery call. No sales pitch. Written scope within 48 hours if we fit — referral to someone better if we don't.

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Cheese production software for batch-based producers.Built on a make-day, not in a spreadsheet.