In our last post, we discussed 4 commonly used, yet highly flawed, methods to inventory liquor bottles at your bar. While most of these methods provide you with some unique benefits, none of them address all 4 criteria which Bar-i considers essential for an effective liquor inventory system. In our experience, a good system to inventory your liquor bottles must be:
• Fast
• Objective
• Accurate
• Automatic (with regard to data transfer)
If you are using one of the methods we discussed in our last post, you are not maximizing the efficiency and accuracy of your liquor inventory efforts. For this reason, Bar-i recommends that you use a weighing system to inventory the liquor bottles at your bar. It is the only method that addresses all 4 criteria listed above.
How Does a Weighing Inventory System Work?
Weighing inventory systems utilize a liquor bottle scale to determine the amount of product remaining in each bottle. You simply place each bottle on the liquor scale and the weight is automatically entered into your liquor inventory software.
Using a liquor scale for inventory offers the following benefits:
• Highly accurate – This is by far the most accurate inventory method since the liquor scale provides you with an extremely precise weight of the bottle. This reading eliminates the inaccuracies associated with tenthing methods, sticker systems, and real-time systems.
• Fast – Our liquor scale and software allows you to weigh each bottle in approximately 3 seconds. With Bar-i’s system, you don’t have to scan a product’s bar code unless it has been moved around in your bar. This further reduces the time required to complete your inventory.
• Objective – Anyone performing inventory at your bar will get the exact same reading using a liquor bottle scale.
• Automatic – There is no data transfer necessary since all recorded amounts are entered directly into the counting software. This means after counting there is no need to sum the different quantities of every product and the enter that information into Excel since the process happens automatically. Bar-i’s system performs all data transfer for you, eliminating the risk of errors associated with manual data transfer.
In our experience, there is no better way to take physical inventory than by weighing your bottles. When you take all of the important factors into consideration, this is by far the most efficient method.
In addition, it is more cost effective than many of the other common liquor inventory methods available. Bar-i’s equipment cost for your liquor scale and software is only $500. When you compare this to the cost associated with purchasing stickers or stoppers for every bottle in your bar, you will realize that you are not only using a more efficient and effective inventory method, but you are also saving a tremendous amount of money in the process.
To find out how our liquor inventory system can benefit your bar and help you maximize profits, please contact Bar-i today to schedule a free consultation. We provide services to bars nationwide from our offices in Denver, Colorado.
