How to Use a Liquor Inventory Spreadsheet to Count Your Bar Stock

What is a liquor inventory spreadsheet?

If you are in the bar business, you must be aware of the painful process of taking inventory of your stocks. But there are easy ways of taking liquor inventory at a bar or restaurant. While there is the paid inventory system on one side, there is the inventory spreadsheet method on the other hand, that are available free of cost. So what exactly is a liquor inventory spreadsheet for a bar?

A liquor inventory spreadsheet is a document maintained on a device such as a computer or a mobile phone where you as a bar manager can list out all your liquor stocks and their prices, other details. The inventory spreadsheet is maintained on a frequent basis to keep track of the bar inventory and sales, business etc. In the case of a bar, it will be your duty as a bar manager to keep track of how the liquor inventory spreadsheet is being maintained. While there is the basic inventory spreadsheet template available for a small business to start off with, the internet has several elaborate inventory spreadsheet options as well, in which you can record various other information about your bar inventory in detail.

What does a liquor inventory spreadsheet look like?

A liquor inventory spreadsheet will be a single piece of document, where you can look through all your liquor inventory without having to actually get down to the cellar and count. So, the inventory spreadsheet whether made on Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets must cover a few basics. The liquor inventory spreadsheet will also have to be updated over a fixed inventory period that can be weekly monthly or daily, as per your's business needs. An inventory period is the time period for which you are taking inventory and checking stocks, sales etc.

Thus, if you are thinking inventory management with the bar inventory spreadsheet you will have to get into the habit of taking inventory count on a regular basis. Components of a liquor inventory spreadsheet for a bar-

1. Product name - The first column on your inventory list should be the product name or brand name of the liquor. This will be used to identify each product during inventory count at the bar.
2. Bottle sizes - According to the kind of liquor, you can keep track of the liquor bottle sizes or keg sizes in case of beer to track inventory at the bar.
3. Price - The wholesale price and retail price of each liquor bottle or keg should also be noted down prominently in the inventory spreadsheet for your count.
4. Starting inventory - For an efficient inventory count you must have a fixed inventory period decided beforehand. The inventory period can be weekly monthly or even daily as per your needs and capacity. And for every inventory count, there will be a starting inventory point where you note down all details of the stocks before getting into the day's business.
5. Ending inventory - Just like starting inventory there is another information needed for bar inventory count and that is ending inventory for all products. This is the count of liquor stocks when you end business after your fixed inventory period.
6. Pour cost - You can also note down the pour cost (cost price of a drink, which includes liquor cost along with all ingredients used) incurred by your bar in the inventory spreadsheet and make sure you are in the know of your expenses.

Counting inventory manually is a time-consuming and taxing

A liquor inventory spreadsheet can make the count easier. Do you know where to get one?

Please enter your full name.

Please enter valid email address!

Learn More

How to organize inventory with a liquor inventory spreadsheet

While organizing your liquor inventory to the last detail you must keep in mind the purpose of the inventory process and whether it is just taking inventory or driving profits, helping in decisions for a small business or budget checks. Accordingly, you can prepare your inventory spreadsheet as needed.

So, first things first, you need to find the right inventory spreadsheet template or create your own on Microsoft Excel. Apart from the above-mentioned components for your inventory process you may also want to maintain a separate inventory sheet for the different locations in your bar inventory such as the front bar, back bar, wine beer room etc. You can choose to keep inventory for all locations in one inventory sheet or make separate ones.

As for the template, be it Microsoft Excel sheet or Google Sheets, you can take a printout of the inventory sheet to maintain physical records, or download free the inventory template to maintain it on a computer. You can also learn the hacks of using spreadsheet to find easy solutions to manage inventory at a bar. Once you are done choosing the right template (more on that later), start taking proper inventory on a regular basis and repeat process as per business needs.

In order to manage inventory in a proper manner, you can include the above components or introduce your own tabs in the inventory sheet by editing them. You can even trust the inventory sheet to calculate your pour cost and drink selling price, etc by entering the calculation formulas into the bar inventory spreadsheet while you save time and effort.

Lastly, you need to plan your inventory period and fix timeframes for yourself and other bar managers who will manage inventory at your business. From starting inventory to ending inventory and received inventory (the liquor quantity received in a bottle) you need to have each entry in the spreadsheet done at the right time in order to keep inventory count.


liquor inventory

Should your bar use a liquor inventory spreadsheet?

If you are a small business just dipping your toe in the water, you may want to start small and keep expenses at a minimum. So, a bar inventory spreadsheet is a way to go for you in such a situation. However, if you have the ability and bandwidth to go for inventory software there is nothing like it as they not only keep track of your inventory but also does all the calculation and send alerts on the stock situation, integrate with the POS system and prepare sales reports etc. And, some of these liquor inventory software also come for free! So, you might as well check out these options.

But in case you don't have the means to get inventory software you can trust the inventory spreadsheets to manage the business inventory in detail. A small business has thousands of affairs to manage, from supplies to employee management, backend operations and sales. So, you might as well leave the job of the inventory process on a system like Microsoft Excel that will swiftly take inventory without you having to calculate manually.

Free online liquor inventory spreadsheet templates

There are several liquor inventory spreadsheet templates available online and you can choose the one that best suits your business needs. Whether you download the bar inventory spreadsheet and edit and use it on your computer or take a printout and track inventory usage with pen and paper, it is your decision. However, before you engage in an inventory process you must gauge what you are signing up for. The free online liquor inventory spreadsheet templates need to be maintained on a regular basis and can be time-consuming.

So where can you find the right liquor inventory spreadsheet template for your bar? A simple Google search will throw up several sites that offer free templates and inventory spreadsheet samples. You can choose your perfect fit from the popular and reliable liquor inventory service providers such as-

- Zip Bartender
- Binwise
- Bevspot

However, you need to know what your requirements are and how much time you can invest in maintaining the liquor inventory sheet regularly. The inventory templates are also editable and user-friendly, so use can easily make changes according to your specifications and keep changing the spreadsheet inventory system as you please.

Taking bar inventory the manual way can be a real pain.

What you need is a proper system to help you organise your stock. Have you tried a liquor inventory spreadsheet?

Please enter your full name.

Please enter valid email address!

Learn More

Limitations of a liquor inventory spreadsheet

While liquor inventory spreadsheets are a great way to manage inventory at your bar or restaurant, they come with a set of limitations.

1. The use of spreadsheet for inventory management can become tiresome and time-consuming for any business. Taking inventory using a bar inventory spreadsheet can become a full-time job if a bar business is looking to keep track of sales and inventory on a frequent basis.
2. As a bar manager, you will be required to physically note down details in the inventory list and also the updates such as starting inventory and ending inventory to effectively manage the process.
3. A small business cannot afford to have miscalculations and errors, which may lead to losses. Thus, a proper inventory is essential and there can be no scope for human error. However, an inventory spreadsheet leaves scope for error as it will be manually updated.
4. You need to work on the clock to repeat process and fix an inventory period to rightly manage the sales and inventory count at your bar.

Liquor inventory spreadsheet Vs. liquor inventory app

It goes without saying that when you pay the bucks, you will see the benefits. So, when you go for a paid liquor inventory software or a mobile app, you will be going for automation. It will automatically make your life easier as you just have to scan your liquor bottles with a barcode scanner and the inventory system will pull in all the necessary details. Not only will the inventory software keep track of the inventory usage and inventory count it will also look at the sales once integrated with the POS system of the bar. This also helps a bar look at the sales patterns and plan accordingly.

However, in case of a liquor inventory spreadsheet the process is done manually and you will have to fill in all the details of your bar inventory on your own. This will have to be repeated over a fixed inventory period and you will have to dedicated to the job of taking inventory on a regular basis and enter all details. On the brighter side, most liquor inventory spreadsheets come for free, thus if one has to get an inventory management system at the start of their business, nothing better than the inventory spreadsheet.

When you run a bar, you need to keep a constant eye on your stock.

A liquor inventory spreadsheet can help you do that. Do you know where to find one?

Please enter your full name.

Please enter valid email address!

Learn More