Stock count in a café: a step-by-step guide without the chaos

A stock count means counting what's actually in your storeroom and fridges and comparing it with what should be there according to your records. It's the only way to find out your real losses. Nobody loves it because it takes time, but a well-organized stock count at a small venue takes an hour or two.

Why you need it

• to know your real stock levels and stop ordering blindly;
• to find losses: over-portioning, unrecorded write-offs, mix-ups between similar items, theft;
• to calculate your actual food cost — you can't do it without closing stock.

Preparation

1. Pick a time when nothing is moving. After closing or before opening is best, when there are no sales or deliveries.
2. Record everything that happened before the count. Sales, deliveries, write-offs and transfers must all be entered, otherwise you'll get false discrepancies.
3. Prepare a list by storage area. Not alphabetically, but in the order you'll walk through: storeroom, fridge, bar, pass. That way nothing gets missed or counted twice.
4. Agree on units. Count in the same units you use in your records: if milk is tracked in liters, don't count it in cartons of different sizes.

Counting

• Count in pairs. One person counts and weighs, the other writes it down. It's faster and more accurate.
• Don't show the expected quantities. A so-called “blind” count is more honest: people write down what they see instead of adjusting to the number in the system.
• Weigh open packages. Eyeballing a half-used carton of milk or bag of coffee is the biggest source of inaccuracy.
• Don't forget prepped items and consumables. Cups, lids and packaging cost money and go missing too.

What to do about discrepancies

A discrepancy isn't always theft. Check in this order:

1. Data entry errors. The wrong unit of measure, an extra zero, a delivery recorded against the wrong item.
2. Unrecorded write-offs. Something spoiled was thrown out but never recorded. That's why write-offs should be logged right away, with a reason.
3. Mix-ups. A shortage on one item and a surplus on a similar one — for example, two kinds of milk.
4. Oversized portions. If more product is used than the recipe cards say, check how things are being made on shift.
5. Theft. If the other causes are ruled out and the shortage keeps recurring on the same items.

The key is not just to correct the numbers but to understand the cause — otherwise the next discrepancy will show up in exactly the same place.

How often to count

• full stock count — once a month, at the end of the period: that's what lets you calculate actual food cost;
• spot check — once a week for the most expensive and fastest-moving items: coffee, meat, milk, alcohol;
• unscheduled count — when the person responsible for stock changes or when something clearly doesn't add up.

Stock counts in Crumble

In Crumble, you enter the actual quantity, and stock management updates the balance itself and saves the discrepancy to the history. If the discrepancy is significant, you'll get a notification. And since sales, deliveries and write-offs update stock immediately, the expected quantities are already up to date when you start counting.