Effective restaurant inventory management involves daily inventory counts, training staff on portion control and food cost awareness, and storing inventory counts in a computer database. Custom inventory sheets and consistent counting values can reduce waste and spot potential problems.
There are many good systems to assist a professional in restaurant inventory management. Keeping a daily inventory count is one way to keep track of food costs, and preparing a designated count sheet with each product simplifies this process. Training each staff member to be aware of food cost and proper portion control is another essential aspect of restaurant inventory management. Storing inventory counts in a computer database also makes tracking cost analysis, product orders, and tracking weekly usage much easier.
Store inventory is often the easiest way to spot issues like theft, abnormal food use, ordering errors, and over-prep. A fundamental key to restaurant inventory management is always knowing exactly what products are available to customers, and this task can be made easier by generating a custom inventory sheet. Pages should contain each item in a separate column and include items such as the previous day’s total and the stock numbers that correspond to the food dispenser. Items should also always be counted with the same value to ensure the highest possible accuracy. Implementing this method will help reduce food waste, simplify ordering, and hopefully help the manager spot potential problems.
Training staff to be aware of the cost of food is another important factor in restaurant inventory management. If a cook doesn’t know the exact portions each entrée and side item should have, at the end of each shift, a huge amount of food ends up being wasted. This not only costs the company money, but also encourages employees to frequently check the kitchen for extra food to eat throughout their shift.
All of this information must be transferred to a computer database to partially automate the restaurant inventory process. By allowing the software to deduct daily inventory counts from the weekly total, a manager can identify potential problems any shift of the week. For example, if the store used 100 pounds of chicken on a busy night and 70 pounds when the store was slow, the manager could go directly to the responsible parties and make the necessary corrections. Using a computer for restaurant inventory management also allows users to see exactly how much of each product has been used during the week, making ordering with food vendors much easier.
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