The Operator's Field Guide.

Profit Guide · September 09, 2019 · 6 Min Read

Why Pour Cost and Shrinkage Are Quietly Destroying Your Bar Inventory Numbers Every Week

Most bar owners know how to calculate pour cost. The formula is not complicated. Cost of goods divided by sales. You have probably run it dozens of times. But knowing your pour cost and understanding where your profits are actually going are two completely different things. And most independent operators are confus...

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Operator Guide · September 09, 2019 · 6 Min Read

How to Fix Draft Beer System Issues and Stop Pouring Profit Down the Drain on Every Keg You Tap

Draft beer should be one of the most profitable categories in your bar. The margins are there. The volume is there. Guests order it all night without prompting. On paper, a well-run draft program prints money. In practice, most independent bars are pouring a meaningful percentage of that profit directly down the dra...

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Profit Guide · September 09, 2019 · 6 Min Read

How to Calculate Beverage Cost for Real Bar Inventory Control And Why Most Bars Get It Wrong

Your bar is busy. Sales look solid. Customers are coming back. And somehow the profit still does not feel right at the end of the week. That gap between what the room produces and what actually stays is one of the most common and most frustrating experiences in independent bar ownership. And in most cases the answe...

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Profit Guide · September 09, 2019 · 6 Min Read

How Restaurant Inventory Control Actually Works And Why Most Bars Are Only Seeing Half the Picture

Most bar and restaurant owners believe they have inventory under control. Sales are solid. Pour costs are in range. The room is full on weekends. Everything feels like it is working. So the assumption is that the inventory side of the operation must be working too. That assumption is costing most of them somewhere...

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Profit Guide · September 09, 2019 · 6 Min Read

The Top 25 Ways Bartenders Steal And the Control System That Makes Every One of Them Visible

If your numbers do not add up, there is a reason. Not because the bar business is inherently unpredictable. Not because variance is just part of the game. Because something specific is happening somewhere specific in your operation, and until you build a system that makes it visible, it will keep happening on every...

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Profit Guide · September 09, 2019 · 6 Min Read

How to Use a Spreadsheet for Bar Inventory with The Right Framework and Why Pre-Built Systems Outperform Starting From Scratch

A spreadsheet is the most powerful inventory control tool available to an independent bar operator. Not because it is the most sophisticated option on the market. Because it is the most practical one. No vendor relationship. No monthly subscription. No platform that goes down during service. No learning curve that ...

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