Let’s not beat around the bush. Taking bar inventory is time-consuming, tedious and probably one of the things you drop to the bottom of the to-do list.
Yet, despite that, keeping track of liquor inventory is absolutely crucial to the success of your bar. Beverage inventory management helps your bar to reduce costs, monitor for liquor waste (also known as liquor shrinkage), make better ordering decisions, understand exactly what’s selling well with your guests and much more.
All of those insights lead to one thing...a more profitable bar.
Yet calculating and managing inventory data on manual spreadsheets is near impossible. These manual ways of managing inventory are time-consuming and almost always lead to human error and inaccurate insights into your inventory.
Learn how to drive profits at your bar through a bar inventory management system.
That’s where a bar inventory management system comes in.
What is a bar inventory management system?
A bar inventory management system - also known as a liquor inventory management system or beverage inventory management system - is a software program that’s designed specifically to help your business calculate, track and manage liquor inventory data through the centralization and automation of information and processes.
By uploading inventory counts to your beverage inventory system, your bar will be able to access accurate inventory data and insightful reports that improve your decision making moving forward.
Why the best bar inventory is worth the investment
Through the use of a liquor inventory management system your bar will be able to reduce liquor waste, design a more profitable menu, improve your ordering processes, optimize stock levels, as well as a number of further insights that help you to build a more profitable bar.
Here’s just a few reasons why a bar inventory management system is worth the investment.
Save time to focus on more creative tasks: By removing the manual and time-consuming nature of managing bar inventory on a spreadsheet, you will have more time to focus on the creative endeavours that help your bar delight its guests and truly stand out from its competitors.
Clearly find where you are losing money: Gain complete visibility and control over your bar’s inventory, so you know exactly where you are losing product. Use that knowledge to make changes that better optimize your inventory and improve your profitability.
Improve your ordering decisions: Gain insightful data, such as period automatic replacement (PAR) levels, so that you can improve your ordering processes and avoid over or understocking your liquor inventory.
Optimize sales: Identify opportunities in your bar for the top and worst selling items, as well as your most and least profitable products. Use this information to adapt your recipes to better optimize how you use your inventory and sell the products that make your business the most money.
What to look for when choosing the best bar inventory software for your business
So, with that in mind, how can your business find the best bar inventory management software for your specific requirements? To give you a hand, we’ve listed some key functionalities and offers to look out for when selecting your system:
#1 - Direct POS integration
A POS provides a number of inventory management functionalities, from data forecasting, order planning reports, integrated accounting and much more - but a POS doesn’t give you complete inventory insights like a bar inventory management system will. Instead, it’s crucial to integrate both systems. This will allow you to pull sales data directly from your POS system into your inventory management system, giving you greater insight into inventory losses.
#2 - A large database of products to make inventory counts more seamless
Counting your inventory should be easy. Look for a liquor inventory management system that has a large database of different types and brands of alcohol to choose from during your counts. This will speed up the entire process and make it more efficient, allowing you to focus on tasks that drive real value to your bar.
#3 - Expert on-hand advice when needed
A bar inventory management system is incredibly helpful, but to truly use your system to maximize ROI and optimize your inventory expert support is crucial. Technology should be combined with expert advice from specialists who understand exactly how the software works and what specific features will help your bar become more profitable.
Do you need help choosing a bar inventory management system for your bar? Get in touch with Sculpture Hospitality today. We’d love to show you how our innovative technology, combined with our expert inventory management specialists based in your local region, can help boost your profitability.
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