Bar Cop vs BAR-I.
BAR-I weighs your liquor on a scale and their team does the analysis for you. Bar Cop counts inventory just as fully, and hands you the whole back office to run yourself. Here is the difference, straight.
What each one actually covers.
| BAR-I | Bar Cop | |
|---|---|---|
| Beverage inventory and pour cost | Yes | Yes |
| How you count | Bluetooth scale, by weight | Fill sliders, no scale |
| Recipe and drink costing | Yes | Yes |
| Purchasing and ordering | Yes | Yes |
| Invoice entry | Add-on service | Import or key |
| Labor, scheduling, tips, overtime | — | Yes |
| Shift cash, over and short, voids, comps | — | Yes |
| Profit recovery, leaks priced in dollars | — | Yes |
| On-demand audits that score and price leaks | Their staff | Four, unlimited |
| Menu engineering and pricing | Price updates | Full |
| 13-week cash flow forecast | — | Yes |
| Events and catering | — | Yes |
| Weekly and month-end books, P&L | — | Full books |
| Where it runs | Web and iOS app | Any browser, nothing to install |
| Built for | Weighed liquor inventory | The whole independent back office |
BAR-I's plans, tiers, and features change over time. This compares the two on what each is built to do, based on BAR-I's publicly listed information. Check their site for their current details.
You weigh. They bill.
BAR-I makes a fair case. A scale reads a half-empty bottle to the tenth of an ounce, and their team takes it from there, entering invoices, setting prices, and handing back a variance list. It is accurate, and it is also two things you take on. A scale to buy and weigh with, and an outside service you pay every month to do the reading for you. Grow your sales and that bill grows with them.
Bar Cop hands you the same job to run yourself. You count with a fill slider, to the tenth, no scale and no one to hire, and four on-demand audits score and price your variances in-house, the work BAR-I bills you for. It is one price a month, whatever your sales do, and it is not just liquor. Labor, shift cash, profit, cash flow, events, and the books all sit next to the count. BAR-I weighs your bottles. Bar Cop runs the whole office.