I Produce the Same Candle Every Month — What Information Should Go on My Internal Batch Sheet so I Can Compare Production Runs Over Time?

A record you can compare is different from a record you can file

Most makers who keep batch sheets keep them for the day: a list of what went in, scribbled while the wax melted. That is a record. It is useful when something goes wrong with that batch. It is much less useful for the question you actually care about when you make the same candle every month: is this month's run the same as the last six?

To answer that, every sheet for the same candle must use the same fields, the same units and the same order, and it must capture what actually happened rather than only what was meant to happen. The planned figure tells you the recipe. The actual figure, written down during production, tells you whether the recipe was followed. The gap between the two, month after month, is where drift shows up first.

This page is about designing the sheet for that comparison. The goal is a sheet you can lay next to the previous months' sheets, or copy into a spreadsheet, and read across in a few minutes.

The fields that make runs comparable

Group the sheet into six blocks and keep them in the same order on every sheet. The order matters more than it seems: people fill forms top to bottom, and a consistent order means they record each step as they do it rather than from memory at the end.

Record the lot or receiving code for every material, even when it has not changed since last month. A line that says the same thing for five months and then changes is exactly the clue you need when throw shifts in month six. If a supplier pack carries no marking, use your own receiving code; for CSI materials, ask on WhatsApp (+91 7397976926) what batch details can be shared for your delivery and note the answer.

Worked example: the same 10 kg batch, three months running

Take a candle you make as one 10 kg scented batch each month, 200 g fills at 8% fragrance load on total weight. The planned formula is 9.2 kg of wax and 0.8 kg of oil. That fills 50 candles exactly, or 48 after allowing the planning figure of 5% wastage.

The comparison view below shows how three monthly sheets read when placed side by side. The planned column is fixed. The monthly columns are what the operator records on the day. The derived lines at the bottom are calculated from the recorded figures, never estimated.

Two derived lines that matter most

Actual load % is the oil weighed divided by the total of wax and oil weighed, times 100. If an operator weighs 9.2 kg of wax and 0.83 kg of oil, the batch is 10.03 kg at about 8.3%, not 8%. A single month like that is harmless; three months creeping upwards means someone is rounding the oil up, and your stock of oil is running down faster than planned.

Yield % is sellable candles divided by the 50 the batch could have filled. Planned yield is 96% because of the 5% wastage allowance. A run that yields 44 sellable candles is at 88%, and the reject reasons tell you whether that was one bad pour or a pattern.

Reading across the months

Once three or four sheets exist, the comparison becomes a routine. Put them side by side, or copy the key lines into a spreadsheet with one column per month, and read each line from left to right. You are looking for three patterns.

Set an acceptable range for each measured line so that the review is a check, not a debate. For example, you might decide actual load must sit within a tenth of a percentage point of the plan, or that pour temperature must sit within a few degrees of the wax maker's stated figure. For Premium Coconut Soy Wax CSI 468, the stated pour temperature is 58–60°C, so that line has a published reference. Treat any tolerance you set as a starting point to validate against your own results.

Keeping the sheet usable on a busy floor

A sheet that is too long gets filled in after the batch, from memory, which defeats its purpose. Keep it to one page. Print blank sheets from one master template and never let individual operators redesign them. If a field is regularly left blank, either it does not matter and should go, or the step it records is being skipped and needs attention.

Paper on the floor and a spreadsheet for the review is a sensible split for most small units. Paper survives wax-covered hands and a busy pour; the spreadsheet makes the month-by-month reading quick. Copy the key lines across on the day the batch finishes, while any unclear handwriting can still be checked with the person who wrote it.

Store each completed sheet with the batch code on it, alongside the retained finished candle from that batch. Once a month, spend a short session reading the comparison view before the next run begins. That review is where the sheet pays for itself: you see the creep in oil weight or the drift in pour temperature before a customer notices anything at all.

The sheet is not a guarantee of consistency. It is the instrument that tells you whether you have it, and where you are losing it.

Where this page fits

CSI already has guides that cover parts of this question. This page takes the production-floor angle; these go deeper on the rest:

Three things to buy for this job

Frequently asked questions