Last year, we launched Bar-i Count, the first product built on our brand new inventory platform. This provided users with a basic version of our counting software:

• It provides the fastest and most accurate way to count inventory
• Stripped down service that doesn’t include analytics data

Bar-i Count is a great option if you’re integrating with other platforms such as Restaurant365 or Compeat which provide their own analytics capabilities. In this situation, you’ll be able to leverage the speed and accuracy of our counting software while still reaping the analytics benefits of the other platforms you’re currently using.

We’re proud to announce that Bar-i Complete, the next phase of our new software rollout, is coming this November. This option provides a complete inventory system for bars, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, casinos and other on-premise operators. Bar-i Complete includes the robust analytics data necessary to help you identify missing products and improve your profitability.

There are several new features included as part of this software. Below is a discussion of how these features will help you get the most out of your bar inventory efforts.

Price Integration

Bar-i Complete allows for inventory-on-hand value prediction. This is important if you’re doing liquor cost calculations. In addition, when you use our ordering system, you’ll be able to predict the value of orders. This will allow you to manage your cash more closely.

Purchase (Invoice) Integration

Invoice integration is critical for determining how many dollars of inventory are used during the period. You can enter this information directly from invoices or from your accounting system (this is the most common method).

POS Sales Integration

POS sales integration will make it easier to calculate your liquor cost. Simply divide your usage in dollars by your sales to determine your liquor cost. This is a key performance metric that every bar should track. It tells you how many dollars you spend purchasing product for every dollar in sales, and it is an important way to evaluate the efficiency of your bar.

Bars generally have a liquor cost around 20%, but we’ve helped many of our clients achieve a liquor cost in the low teens after they make changes to their operations based on their inventory data. The first step to optimizing your liquor cost is to measure it, and POS integration will make this process much easier.

You can either manually enter your POS sales reports into our software or extract the data automatically from one of the 40 different POS systems that our software integrates with. The process is very simple:

• Upload a sales report (.xls or .csv) from your POS
• Assign individual POS buttons to categories (i.e. draft beer buttons, liquor buttons, etc.)
• This data will then automatically be extracted moving forward – when you upload future POS reports, our software will automatically assign the buttons it’s seen in the past and prompt you to assign categories for any new buttons

This automation will significantly improve the speed and accuracy of the POS sales integration process. In addition, it provides for a seamless upgrade to our Pro Version in the future.

Order Generation and Submission Tool

This feature builds on our current order generation tool. In addition to being able to calculate orders based on pars you establish, it will provide the ability to:

• Submit orders via email to any distributor
• Reorder any recurring orders you have with your distributors
• Provide order value estimation

Dynamic, Customized Reporting

In the past, Bar-i reports were static. They were delivered in PDF files that allowed you to view the information, but there was no way to filter, reorder or manipulate the data to create useful dashboards. Bar-i Complete provides new reporting functionality that allows you to customize the way information is presented to you.

In addition, sales and liquor cost reporting is now provided in a visual, flexible format. You’ll be able to toggle to view statistics from your recent history to visually identify trends over time. This will make it much easier to identify and understand the trends in your data compared to when you’re viewing all the information in a dense table.

This visualization focuses on three areas:

• How your product selection is changing
• How your sales volume is changing
• How your liquor cost is changing

These are three critical metrics to monitor at your bar, and our new visualization tools make it quick and easy to measure them effectively. For each of these metrics, you’ll be able to determine whether they are increasing or decreasing overall as well as within each product category you carry (draft beer, bottled beer, liquor, wine).

Bar-i Pro Coming in 2021

Once Bar-i Complete is released, the next phase of our software rollout will occur in early 2021 with Bar-i Pro. This software will contain some exciting new features:

• Level 3 down to product reporting – This allows for calculation of accountability for individual product performance
  
  
• End of month values for accounting – You can generate these values even when your inventory count doesn’t fall at the end of the month
  
  
• Spot check individual shifts – Identify which specific shifts products are going missing

Please contact us to learn more about how our new software can help you optimize your inventory process and maximize your profits. Bar-i serves clients nationwide from our offices in Denver, Colorado.