Stock counts and waste for Irish kitchens and bars
In a restaurant, money leaks away a measure at a time, in trim, spoilage and unrecorded pours. The gap between what your recipe cards say you used and what you actually used is called variance. This guide sets out the formula, an example and a counting routine.
The short answer: a routine that works
- Record every delivery with quantity, price and batch, on the day it arrives.
- Keep a recipe card with weights for every dish.
- Log waste on its own line: write-offs, breakages, expiry, cancelled orders and staff meals.
- Count by area: bar weekly, perishables twice a week, dry store monthly.
- Each month, compare actual with theoretical usage, and look into any variance you cannot explain.
Theoretical versus actual usage
Actual usage = opening stock + purchases − closing stock.
Theoretical usage = every item sold, multiplied by its recipe weight. The gap is the variance: the loss nobody sees on the shelf.
Worked example at the bar: 12 bottles of whiskey at 0.7 L (8.4 L) at the start, 6 bottles received (4.2 L), and 5 bottles plus 0.3 L left (3.8 L). Actual usage is 8.4 + 4.2 − 3.8 = 8.8 L.
168 servings of 50 ml is 8.4 L theoretical. The 0.4 L variance is 8 servings sold for no record. Multiply by your selling price to see the loss.
Table: types of waste and where to record each one
Types of loss in a restaurant, with an example and the matching record
| Type of loss | Example | Where it is recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Technical loss | Trimming meat, cleaning vegetables | On the recipe card, as a yield you measured |
| Expiry | Dairy kept past its use-by date | A write-off note, with batch and quantity |
| Breakage and damage | A bottle dropped behind the bar | A write-off note, at purchase value |
| Cancelled or returned order | A dish sent back to the kitchen | The reason for the cancellation, in the venue’s records |
| Staff meal | The team’s meal before opening | Internal use, kept apart from sales |
| Guest comps | A dessert offered after a complaint | Promotional use, approved by the manager |
How often to count each area
Count frequency by area, in a restaurant with a kitchen and a bar
| Area | Frequency | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bar (spirits, wine, drinks) | Weekly | High value per unit and high variance |
| Perishables (meat, fish, dairy) | Twice a week | Risk of expiry and of mis-ordering |
| Dry store (flour, pasta, tins) | Monthly | Slow rotation, rare losses |
| Full inventory, valued | Monthly, plus the year-end count | The basis for the month’s result, and needed for the accounts |
What the law and the rules say
- A stock count is needed at year end to value stock for your accounts. Check the method with your accountant.
- Traceability is mandatory: you must identify the supplier of each batch (EC Regulation 178/2002, Article 18).
- HACCP-based procedures require records of temperatures and use-by dates (EC Regulation 852/2004).
- First expired, first out (FEFO) keeps stock within use-by dates.
- Keep the source documents behind your stock records for Revenue reporting.
Common mistakes
- Counting the bar once a month. By the time you spot a variance, the evidence is 30 days old.
- Not logging staff meals, so they show up as unexplained loss.
- Counting open bottles as full or empty, instead of estimating what is left.
- Receiving goods without checking the delivery note, then finding a shortfall.
- Comparing only total stock value, so one product’s variance disappears in the average.
How 4restaurants.net helps
- Ingredient stock levels sit in the same application as the recipe cards and orders.
- Reports by dish show what was sold, to compare with what left the stock.
- Reports by day, dish and waiter show sales, so you can compare them with stock.
- Stock levels per ingredient help you decide what still needs ordering.
- Supplier and batch details are kept in your own records, next to the delivery notes.