2026-10-30 · 1 min read

Bar Inventory and Pour Cost: How to Control Spirits, Beer and Wine

How to run bar inventory and calculate pour cost: counting spirits by the tenth, keg control, variance, and the habits that stop shrinkage.

Bars lose money quietly: over-pouring, free drinks, spillage and theft. Bar inventory and pour cost show where.

Pour cost formula

Pour cost percentage = cost of drinks used / drink sales x 100

Cost of drinks used = opening stock + purchases - closing stock, valued at cost.

If you used 120,000 of stock and sold 500,000, pour cost is 24 percent.

How to count a bar

• Bottles: count full bottles and estimate partial ones to the tenth, or weigh them.
• Kegs: track by the keg and estimate the remainder, or use a flow meter.
• Wine: count by the bottle and record glasses sold.
• Count at the same time each week, ideally after close.

Variance: the gap that matters

Variance is the difference between what your sales say you should have used and what you actually used. Calculate it per product. A consistent shortfall on one spirit points to over-pouring or theft; a spike after an event points to unrecorded comps.

Habits that stop shrinkage

1. Use jiggers or measured pourers.
2. Record complimentary drinks, wastage and breakages.
3. Separate the person who orders, receives and counts.
4. Review variance weekly, product by product.
5. Keep the licence and event registers up to date.

Software that understands the bar

DineTide tracks spirits and kegs, records event registers and licence windows, and costs cocktails from live prices. See how bars use it or start a free trial.