When deciding how to keep the most accurate tabs on your bar inventory, bar inventory software and a bar inventory Excel template are both popular choices. This article will walk you through how to track bar inventory and how to decide between using software or a spreadsheet to do so. Finally, we’ll include a bar inventory Excel template that’s yours to download and customize.
How to track bar inventory
The first step to accurately tracking bar inventory is knowing what supplies and equipment your establishment needs and what it has on hand. Typically, this is done by physically auditing what your business has on hand and then determining how much is needed (and how often) to meet customer demand without unnecessarily increasing carrying costs.
Once your business knows exactly what it needs—from liquor and mixers to lemons, limes, and dishrags—record that information on an inventory list. Remember to include all critical details about items, from value to expiration date. If you include equipment on the list, such as ice machines or espresso makers, you’ll also want to track maintenance and warranty dates.
If you’re using a spreadsheet to track your bar inventory, add the items to the spreadsheet and create columns for all the details you want to track. Our free template, available for download at the end of this article, offers some suggestions on important categories to track, and you can also add your own.
Alternatively, if you wish to use inventory management software, you can add items directly to your software instead of creating a traditional inventory list. If items you have in stock already have barcodes and QR codes, and you’re utilizing an app like Sortly, you can simply scan these codes with your smartphone or tablet to shave tons of time off this setup process. (Many items will auto-populate with key details upon scanning.)
If you aren’t sure whether a spreadsheet or inventory software is a better choice for your bar, start by thinking about how many items you stock and how much time you spend managing inventory daily. The shorter your inventory list and the less tedious and time-consuming your inventory management process, the more likely you’ll be satisfied with a more manual solution like a spreadsheet. In most cases, using a spreadsheet is similar to maintaining inventory on a sheet of paper, although easy access to digital data can help businesses calculate essential inventory formulas faster.
Benefits of using inventory management software include lightning-fast automation features such as barcode and QR code scanning and customized, automatic alerts that will remind you when items are set to expire, it’s time to schedule maintenance, a warranty is about to end, or it’s simply time to reorder more of something you can’t afford to run out of.
Additionally, inventory software such as Sortly is highly visual. Combine that with barcode and QR code scanning, and the risk of human error is virtually none. After all, it’s easy to jumble numbers on a spreadsheet, but scanning a barcode or QR code will always lead to the right result.
Whatever system you decide to use, remember to create a standard operating procedure that outlines exactly how your bar maintains inventory. This includes detailing how inventory is accounted for and audited on a daily, weekly, monthly, and even quarterly and annual basis. Include information about your vendors and suppliers, lead times, and order minimums.
If you’re unsure how specific your standard operating procedure for maintaining a bar already needs to be, imagine knowing nothing about your business and having to keep your operation running anyway. The best standard operating procedures leave no aspect of daily inventory operations unaddressed and are widely available to all employees to be referenced at any time.
This easy, comprehensive guide will help you:
Free Ebook: Getting Started With Inventory Tracking
Bar inventory template
If you’re not ready to utilize inventory management software yet or simply want to start by creating your inventory list on a spreadsheet, this bar inventory list template is the perfect place to start. Feel free to make it your own. If you decide to upgrade to inventory management software later, this spreadsheet can be used and bulk uploaded to sortly at any time.
About Sortly
Sortly is an inventory management solution that helps you track, manage, and organize your bar inventory from any device, in any location. We’re an easy-to-use inventory software that’s perfect for large or small businesses. Sortly builds inventory tracking seamlessly into your workday so you can save time and money, satisfy your customers, and help your business succeed.
With Sortly, you can track perishable inventory and anything else that matters to your business. It comes equipped with smart features like barcoding & QR coding, low stock alerts, customizable folders, data-rich reporting, and much more. Best of all, you can update inventory right from your smartphone or tablet.
Whether you’re just getting started with inventory management or you’re an expert looking for a more efficient solution, we can transform how your company manages inventory—so you can focus on building your business. That’s why over 15,000 businesses globally trust us as their inventory management solution.
Start your two-week free trial of Sortly today.
