Taking Control of your bar inventory management

If you have recently made the purchase of a bar inventory management system, you must now understand how the features and benefits your system offers are best suited to your business.

The first thing you must decide on is the frequency at which you will be taking liquor inventory, beer inventory and wine inventory. One thing that cannot be dismissed is the fact the smaller the intervals between inventory periods, the more effective your bar inventory management system can be.

If you own a restaurant, bistro or country club and your liquor, beer and wine sales represent less than 50% of your sales, inventory periods can weekly, bi weekly and potentially monthly.

But if your liquor, beer and wine sales representative a majority of your sales, taking weekly if not daily inventory of your most prized assets should be an automatic. Consider the following; you would be ready to pay a cook and a dishwasher for a full eight hour shift to cook a single hamburger and French fries on a slow business day.

Doesn’t it make sense to pay an employee eight hours to count how much liquor was used from your bar so you can compare this figure to sales and determine if there are any losses? Once you have the information in front of you that is when the real bar inventory management begins.

You can analyze what sells more, are we pouring top shelf and ringing up call brands? Do I have a vodka crowd? Do we have a whisky crowd? Information is gold and proper bar inventory management will give you the edge you need.

Single Malt Whisky is a whisky made from only one type of malted grain and distilled at one particular distillery. Single malts are traditionally made from barley cultivated near the distillery concerned, although there are some single malt rye whiskies. Most single malt whiskies are distilled using a pot still. Single malts are typically associated with Scotland, though they are produced elsewhere, notably in Ireland and Japan. All single malt goes through a similar batch production process, as outlined below. At bottling time various batches are mixed together or vatted to achieve consistent flavors from one bottling run to the next. Some variation does occur.

Water is first added to the barley to promote germination and then mixed with ground barley grist to create a mash. Water is also used later in the production process to dilute most whisky before maturation, and added once again before bottling.

Most distilleries use different water sources in the various steps, and this becomes a crucial part of the character of the end product.

Barley, yeast and water are the only ingredients required in the production of single malt whisky.

The barley used to make the whisky is "malted" by soaking the grain in water for 2-3 days and then allowing it to germinate to convert starch (which is insoluble in water and not available for fermentation by yeast) to fermentable sugars.

The malt is milled into coarse flour (grist), and added to hot water to extract the sugars.

Yeast is used to ferment malted barley in washbacks. Yeast is added to the wort in a large vessel (often tens of thousands of liters) called a wash back. Wash backs are commonly made of Oregon pine or stainless steel. The yeast feeds on the sugars and as a by-product produces both carbon dioxide and alcohol. This process is called fermentation and can take up to three days to complete. When complete, the liquid has an alcohol content of 5 to 7% by volume, and is now known as wash. Up until this point the process has been quite similar to the production of beer.

Source: Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_malt_whisky)

If we perform inventory in our establishment, the question of proper inventory scheduling is one that has certainly arisen. Inventory scheduling in the most part should be consistent with specific events that occur in your business. For instance, if your accountants prepare monthly profit and loss statements, inventory scheduling should reflect a need for monthly data collection and analysis.

If you feel that to place the proper and adequate supplies order to bring liquor, beer and wine inventories up to par require, inventory scheduling should be reflected before the order process commences. Your business will dictate how often inventory should be taken.

If you are a high volume nightclub and a majority of your sales are liquor, beer and wine inventory related versus a restaurant that mainly serves food, proper and more frequent inventory scheduling may be in order. What is also important to achieve proper inventory scheduling is to be able to foresee any specials events or holidays that may delay or increase the need for inventory taking. Another key is to stay the course; if your business does a full liquor, beer and wine inventory on a weekly basis, you should not skip a period.

Inventory scheduling involves planning of personnel thus it is important we can see and understand how many people we need and how many hours that are budgeted to make sure a proper inventory is done quickly, accurately and with consistency.

 Hotel inventory software

The hospitality industry is a vast one with many segments; country clubs, nightclubs, restaurants, bar...and of course hotels. We normally associate hotels with rooms and room service. But the hotel industry offers much more. Banquets play a major force in a hotel success, be it conventions, wedding, private parties...and in these functions, there is a common thread: the sale of liquor, beer, wine and food.

With the exception of pre paid parties, there still is what we call "cash" bars. Basically what happens here is a customer asks for consumption and pays the bartender, normally cash.

• Question is how many beers were sold?
• How many ounces of liquor were poured?
• Did we sell wine by the glass or by the bottle?

Luckily, technology of today has introduced hotel inventory software that will allow not only for proper receiving, fulfillment of requisitions, but also the ability to count what the bars begin and end with.

The hotel inventory software of today is designed to manage an unlimited number of fix, portable and banquet bars and not only update your perpetual liquor, beer and wine inventory, but also give you the important data you will need to properly invoice your customer, analyze the profitability of a function and increase the accountability of the bar staff by eliminating the opportunity for shrinkage and waste.

A complete hotel inventory software package should be designed to help hoteliers be in line with the liquor, beer and wine pour cost targets set forth at budget and address any areas that prevent us from reaching these cost control goals.

Share the success!

Remember the days when taking liquor, beer and wine inventory was long and inaccurate? Do you remember when your old system let you down? What about the times you did not have a management system in place and you had no control over your liquid assets? Well over time, we have worked together and today, you have an alcohol control system that is fast, easy to use, accurate and helps you save money! So why not share some of the success by telling a friend.

Did you know that as the Scannabar community grows, you are actually helping yourself? The more new users help us develop an even better liquor inventory software, wine cellar management system and beer control software. So if you know a bar manager, owner or a liquor inventory manager that can benefit from Scannabar, please let us know.

If your referral results in the purchase of a new system, you will receive a $250.00 gift certificate from your favorite retailer to buy anything you want. Want to help a friend save money, simply click below and thanks for your help.

 

Beer systems need to be broken down in two sections, bottled beer and draft.

There are some beer systems that will take away the pen and pencil and help you count how much bottled beer is received and update your beer inventory value.

Help you manage how much bottled beer is moved from storage to the bars and finally help you count how much beer the bar started and ended with. Bottled beer systems that offer all of these features will speed up what can be a long and tedious process and in turn increase both accountability and profitability.

Draft beer systems on the other hand can be more mechanical and designed to measure the exact quantity of draft beer being poured at the taps. Draft beer systems come in several varieties: weighing kegs, flow meters, stoppers in the tap head.

What is very important to understand here is that some beer systems will only count the flow of beer through the lines while other will actually portion control the quantity of beer poured in the mug or glass.  Beer systems also vary in costs and maintenance.

There are some draft beer control systems that are relatively maintenance free and quite affordable and offer many of the features needed to better manage our "golden" liquid assets.

Whichever of the beer systems that are available on the market, it is important you begin by pin pointing the needs and the compatibility of the systems your are considering to both the business environment and the existing technology that may already be in place.

There are many people who describe themselves as bar consultants, but simply sitting at a bar and ordering a drink does not make us specialized in the field. If you are considering a bar consultant for your business, it is a good idea to understand what they can bring to your company in terms of information.

A bar consultant normally has a background in the nightclub, restaurant and hotel industry. They understand the various facets of the business from the sales, controls, marketing and human resource sides of the business. Before hiring a bar consultant, it is always a good idea to ask them where their strengths lie and of course who they have consulted for.

If you are a large nightclub with multiple pouring stations, a consultant from the hotel or restaurant field might not be suited for the job. Bar consulting must help you take decisions that will have a positive impact on your operations. There are some bar consultants that focus on controls and how to implement liquor, beer and wine inventory procedures. Others are more front of the house bar consultants and focus on service and personnel.

There are bar consultants that will help you with the image of your bar and give you marketing ideas and promotions to help increases sales. When you are in the process of hiring a bar consult, it is maybe a good idea to ask if they work alone or have a team that can cover specific or maybe all areas of the operation that need attention. In the end, proper bar consulting can bring you the added knowledge you may need to improve the overall performance and profitability of your bar.

Wine inventory software

If you a re considering a wine inventory software, it is important your start from the basics and move up. Simple questions you should ask yourself:

• How extensive is my wine list?
• Will I serve wine only by the glass or also by the bottle?
• Does my wine inventory software need to manage multiple wine storage cellars?
• Can the wine inventory software I plan to purchase offer a feature that allows and suggest the best marriages between wine and the meal that is being served?
• Can my wine inventory software not only manage wines by region, color and grape varietal, but also by vintage?
• Can my wine inventory software flag me when a specific variety in inventory has reached its peak and ready to be served?
• Does my wine inventory software consider the purchase price of the wine and with age its update value?

Wine inventory software is a tool that can help you increase sales and decrease shrinkage. Simply know what needs to be ordered and how much needs to be ordered can avoid the sometimes embarrassing scenarios when we are out a variety, but it also helps us control the quantity we are buying. We must consider the following when buying wine, ordering to much wine of a certain variety or vintage can lead to overstocking and that creates a situation where our money is tied up in inventory and not working for us.

That being said, there are some wines that can appreciate in both flavor and value over time, that is where a strong inventory software can help you better manage what can be the most important and profitable facet of your business.

 

Inventory count

An inventory count can be best described as a  physical inventory of what is currently in stock in the storage areas, comparing that count to what the liquor, beer and wine inventory count software thinks is in stock, and making any necessary adjustments to get the liquor, beer and wine inventory count software to match the storage area counts.

Taking an inventory count on a regular basis will not only help us have a tighter control over our liquor, beer and wine inventory but also flag us of any discrepancies. Some inventory count software will also make you aware of any product that may have gone missing like a bottle of wine or liquor. Inventory counts will also help you better asses if you are potentially carry to much inventory that can expose you to shrinkage and tie up valuable cash flow.

Inventory counts can also be indicators of low stock levels that could lead to customer dissatisfaction and lost sales. It is important that inventory counts are performed on a regular basis. Precise inventory counts can you give you the valuable information you may need to make some decisions in your business that you may otherwise not have taken.

A perfect example can be volume rebate purchases; if you are inventory count show you are carrying too much of a certain product already, it may be prudent not pursuing a special deal, on the other end of the spectrum, an update inventory count may actually encourage a large volume purchase due to the product popularity and the need to replenish low stock level.

An alcohol inventory system can cover many facets of your business and secure the profitability of each. Are you a high volume liquor bar?

Than your liquor inventory should be a priority and your focus should be on accuracy, speed and strong data that will create accountability. Maybe you sell more beer, both bottled and draft. If so, there are alcohol inventory systems that not only make counting bottled beer simple, but also help you track draft beer consumption.

If you can start counting how much draft beer is lost to spillage, foaming, waste...you will be in a better position to take the corrective actions needed to raise the profit margin bars. Wine is another component your alcohol inventory system must be able to manage. In today's hospitality industry, wine can be served by the bottle, but also by the glass and in certain concepts, wine tasting are offered as a means to increase interest and sales.

The system you choose to implement must be able to give you the information you need to take decision that have an effect on purchasing, human resources and ultimately sales. A good alcohol inventory system puts everything into perspective and gives you the tools to better manage your business today but also long into the future.