Crunchtime Restaurant Management Software

Take the Stress Out of Tracking Your Restaurant's Inventory

Taking inventory is usually a restauranteur's least favorite part of their job: it's mundane, time consuming, and often a little stressful. But there are several ways to effectively take the stress out of tracking your restaurant's inventory and make the task go by a little smoother and faster.

First, there are inventory best practices that restaurant managers know they have to follow. The most important and obvious one is never to estimate what food items and ingredients you think you have on-hand. It can be really tempting to skip the actual counting and eyeball how many onions or steaks you have, but over or under estimating the numbers can cause problems Restaurant Management Software later when you have to throw away food that has gone bad or worse, you run out of an item and risk disappointing your customers. The main goal of counting inventory is to ensure you're not wasting any food and the only way to know for certain is to actually count it.

Restaurant Management Software - 617-567-5228

Another inventory best practices tip is to keep your food storage areas clean and neatly organized. It can cause confusion, for example, to think all bags of potatoes have been spoken for only to find some stray bags in another area. Don't be lazy and toss certain items together; keep them all grouped in their own areas. Produce should be stored together in the fridge just as non-perishable goods should be kept together on a shelf. Not only does this make preparing dishes much less stressful for your staff, but it will also make counting them a lot less painful.

If possible, perform inventory at regular intervals, preferably on the same day and time at least weekly. Always count it when the restaurant is closed to avoid confusion when items must be taken away to prepare an order.

While many restaurants prefer to take inventory the old school way, with a pad and pen, setting up a restaurant inventory spreadsheet is worth the extra work to help track quantities week by week. By comparing numbers side by side you will be able to better see which ingredients are in higher demand and which are typically at risk of running out before you order more.

Back of House Software - 617-567-5228

Better still, technology is addressing restaurant managers' needs with a growing variety of apps designed for the restaurant industry. There are dozens of restaurant inventory management apps that were created to assist with restaurant inventory counting and valuation and track cost of goods sold. They can help save you and your staff hours of manual counting and number crunching and can help alert employees about future inventory taking. Many of these apps enable an inventory report to be instantly shared with restaurant staff.

There's also restaurant inventory management software to make inventory counting and other back-of-the-house duties less stressful. Several cloud-based platforms can now perform automatic inventory as well as recipe costing, management of kitchen operations, and other projects.

Regular inventory can help prevent food waste and maximize profits for your business so above all, don't delay the deed or skip it altogether. By following the tips above, you can take the stress out of inventory management and help keep your staff happy and sane as well.

Restaurant Management - 617-567-5228

Restaurant Chain Management - 617-567-5228.pdf