5 Tips to Help You Get the Most Out of Your Liquor Inventory Software

What is Liquor Inventory?

Liquor inventory refers to the full list of alcoholic beverages you have on hand at your bar. To make sure that you are not storing too many perishable products and bartenders aren't giving away beverages for free or pouring a little too much, it is necessary to take inventory regularly, for instance, on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Taking liquor inventory is crucial since bad inventory management can seriously hurt your business. Insufficient inventory will result in lost sales and disgruntled customers. Moreover, you run the risk of squandering supplies and using up storage space unnecessarily if you have too much on hand. So your inventory levels should be optimal.

For this, you need to know precisely when to place purchase orders. You also need to manage your liquor inventory in a way that your business decisions are driven by empirical data and primed to earn maximum profits.

How Does Liquor Inventory Software Work?

Liquor inventory can be managed best with the help of modern cloud-based software that is linked with wired/wireless barcode scanners.

These software solutions completely automate inventorying. Businesses can rapidly and accurately measure their present stock levels and decide which products, and in what quantities, need to be ordered thanks to sophisticated software systems.

A big company, in particular, operating across numerous sales channels and locations, needs a sophisticated inventory management system to function effectively. With such a system, it becomes possible to interact with numerous suppliers, manage a sizeable quantity as well as a variety of items, and keep track of a large customer base.

The operation of inventory software starts with product barcodes being interpreted by handheld barcode scanners at the point of sale (POS). The scanned data, comprising myriad product details, is then displayed on the computer screen or the screen of a mobile device in a textual form that is easy for the user to understand.

As products are sold in the store or online, inventory counts get updated by the POS system. The POS platform, coordinating with the liquor inventory system, notifies businesses when product stocks start to decline. The system can then place purchase orders and inform vendors digitally.

Inventory software also churns out reports that provide actionable insights into various aspects of the business like bestselling products, high/low traffic days, the costliest ingredients, and so on, which help the operator make prudent decisions. These reports also allow businesses to find solutions to issues like food waste, over-portioning, theft, soaring food costs, etc.

Cloud-based inventory software solutions often manifest themselves as inventory apps, which help business owners in taking inventory even when they are not at the business site. Updates can be accessed in real time and whenever users want to tune in. The entire inventory information can also be accessed in one place and across multiple devices, and also by several users logging in at the same time. This facilitates brainstorming and decision-making during business meetings.

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Benefits of Liquor Inventory Software

1. A good bar inventory app helps in effectively managing unforeseen situations where you may have to rush your orders, encounter employee theft, or deal with under- or overstocking. Being aware of your on-hand stock quantity makes it much simpler to manage daily inventory tasks. It also enables you to concentrate on customer satisfaction, business strategizing, and so on.

2. High-quality inventory management software also helps in minimizing waste. Resource wastage is not only unnecessary, it is also expensive and prevents your bar from making the most money possible. Regular inventory helps you identify the source of wastage -- if it's due to spillage, overpouring, inadequate supply, or underusing profitable liquor brands.

3. Inventory management is extremely time-consuming, especially if you are using manual, or spreadsheet-based methods. Software can cut down on the time spent in the back office counting every liquor bottle and performing countless bar inventory calculations. You can be freed from this tedious process and instead devote your time to serving your clients, employees, and the company as a whole. What's more, you don't have to worry about the quality of your inventory management, because automated software makes it efficient.

4. A modern inventory system integrates pretty seamlessly with the POS system, thereby making the inventory process completely frictionless. Such an integration lets data be shared between restaurant and bar management systems for insights on metrics like sales, pour cost, ideal par level, menu prices, and so on.

5. Sophisticated inventory software also offers insights that are not available, by using manual processes. A liquor inventory app offers you analytics on the back of which plans for growing the businesses can be chalked out. It ensures that all your business decisions are strictly Data Driven. The right data helps you create special offers and bundles around your bestselling products and you'll be able to purchase the precise amount of alcohol required to meet demand.

Tips To Leverage Software for Stock-taking- No. 1 - The FIFO Method

This can be expanded as the 'first in, first out' method and is a tried-and-tested strategy. The FIFO method calls for the oldest stock to be used first in a bar or restaurant.

This avoids perishable goods from going bad before they can be utilized, and in turn prevents products from being forgotten on the shelves, rotting due to disuse, and hence, getting wasted.

A high-quality inventory software supported by barcode scanning helps businesses closely track what is purchased, when it's purchased, and how much of it is purchased, which helps them implement FIFO method. A highly organized back-end further facilitates the implementation of this method.

Tips To Leverage Software for Stock-taking- No. 2 - Engage Employees

Training and including your workers in the inventory management software can increase their commitment to using the product for effective stock-taking.

Giving your workers incentives and relevant information about inventory use and handling of the software can go a long way in improving general management and worker morale, though you may not want to offer the workers access to every minute detail.

The reduction in time and effort required to manage inventory boosts employee morale too.

Tips To Leverage Software for Stock-taking- No. 3 - Analyze Trends

Finding out more about your clients and their behavior over the long term is a big advantage of investing in inventory software.

Make sure to utilize this insightful information for business planning. For the most accurate representation of seasonal as well as yearly trends, examine how your sales fluctuate from month to month and year to year.

This would enable businesses to adjust their menus without alienating current consumers and also get ready for forthcoming slow and busy sales periods.

Tips To Leverage Software for Stock-taking- No. 4 - Buffer Stocks

It is a good idea to maintain buffer stocks even though a sound inventory system will generally guard you against understocking or rushed orders.

You can encounter a busy traffic period when you least expect or see an abrupt rise in demand and sales for a particular product.

Moreover, lost stocks may result from leaks, natural disasters, or other unforeseen events. Disruptions along the supply chain may also hamper your efforts to serve customers in an unhindered way.

However, if you have extra liquor bottles on hand to meet such unforeseen situations, you will not be caught off-guard and lose out on sales opportunities.

Inventory software integrated with barcode scanners and a POS system, in this regard, helps keep an accurate record of sales and therefore helps plan purchase orders and buffer stocks better.

Tips To Leverage Software for Stock-taking- No. 5 - Automate Orders

Although keeping some emergency buffer stock on hand is advisable, you should never overstock your bar.

Deadstock results from overstocking, and can cause you to lose a substantial amount of money.

Fortunately, liquor inventory software can be useful in this situation. Setting minimum and maximum storage levels for the various products in your bar will help in inventory optimization.

Software reports can be analyzed to arrive at minimum and maximum storage levels. The software can then automatically generate purchase orders depending on the parameters you specify and the quantity of stock you currently have.

How to Select Liquor Inventory Software

The best bar inventory software is one that fits the specific requirements of a business. Therefore, instead of simply zeroing in on the cheapest alternative, compare inventory software solutions in terms of their costs and benefits. You must not end up choosing a low-cost solution just to discover that it falls short of your expectations and force you to spend more money on a more effective strategy.

Pick software that includes integrated ordering. Inventory insights may be offered by several apps, but ordering is offered by only a few of them. Thanks to integrated ordering, you can easily see if your stock levels are depleting. This will help you place orders right away, and you'll spend less effort and time contacting vendors to replenish your bar and Restaurant Supply. This time and effort saved can be reallocated to customer service.

When buying inventory software, ensure that it integrates seamlessly with the technology that you currently use, such as your POS system. POS integration allows businesses to access the most precise inventory information and make decisions on the go.

Additionally, any software solution must be easy to use and install, and come with a good customer support system.