Bar Biz...

[tan319]

Can anyone out there enlighten one on how common it is to have an internal auditor do liquor, beer & wine auditing in a small - ish ( 200 seat) indie restaurant?

Is it a cost effective way of controlling "shrinkage" or over reaction???

Throwing your money away or keeping it in your pocket?

Thanks in advance!

[Busboy]

Can anyone out there enlighten one on how common it is to have an internal auditor do liquor, beer & wine auditing in a small - ish ( 200 seat) indie restaurant?

Is it a cost effective way of controlling "shrinkage" or over reaction???

Throwing your money away or keeping it in your pocket?

Thanks in advance!

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At one bar I worked in, the bartenders went down through the entire inventory every day -- estimating by tenths of a bottle -- and a running tally of each bartender's "percentage" (liquor costs divided by gross) was kept. One consequence: the drunker you were, the lighter your drinks got. Rail liquors (gin, vodka, rum, Scotch and bourbon, I believe) by the way, we delivered in pre-measured shots by a "gun" similar to a soda gun.

[KatieLoeb]

Intelligent programming of the POS system and use of spreadsheets to estimate usage in "reciped" drinks (for specialty cocktails) as well as a weekly inventory should take care of most concerns. Having an "upcharge" button for "rocks" or "up" doesn't really fairly estimate your costs, since the extra ounce and a half of Belvedere or Grey Goose costs more than the ounce and a half of Absolut in a vodka martini. If every vodka and gin has a button for "mix" (vodka/tonic), one for "rocks" and one for "up" (martini) that are priced accordingly, then knowing you sold 300 Grey Goose drinks this week and what the breakdown for each sort was will give you a better idea of how many ounces/bottles should be gone vs. what your actual inventory reveals at the end of a sales week. If you just have a modifier that adds $1 for rocks and $2 for an up drink that doesn't tell you anything nor is it really reflecting your true costs. And usually the modifiers aren't broken down on the sales report as to which liquor they were attached to, so that tells you nothing. Program your POS system appropriately and then if at the end of the week you've sold 300 Grey Goose drinks (100 Goose/tonics @2oz.; 100 Goose Rocks @3oz. and 100 Goose martinis @3.5oz.) you now know you've sold 850 oz. or the equivalent of 34 bottles (750ml = 25 oz.). That's actually giving you some useful information.

The sales reports are only as smart as the person that programmed the system. Think it through and see where you can account for things more clearly. Then use the system to do the math for you and compare to final inventories every week.

Let me know if that makes sense....

[tan319]

Thanks Katie.

I'll write more when I absorb

[catdaddy]

There's no better way to stay in business than to closely track inventory and sales.

And there is no short cut for inventory. In a small place it could be done everynight without much trouble.--- Count the money and the booze. Know where it all goes.