2) Prepare your staff for the inventory routine

It’s important that there are dedicated people on your team who are in charge of inventory management, but all team members should also be aware of what the procedures and expectations are so they can ensure they’re supporting the process in their day to day tasks.

For best results, you’ll want a minimum of two people who are designated with this task, as that helps to ensure accurate stock counts and reduces the chance of human error. Consistency is key, this ensure that whoever oversees inventory management is confident and knows exactly what to do evert time. Avoid training all staff in this and stick to a main few who you can rely on.

3) Take stock of your surroundings

Now, that you’re ready to go, you’ve got to get going counting all the items you’ve currently got on hand. This is the first stocktake of the rest of your life, so you need to hit everything and make sure you have an accurate read on where you’re at.

You’ll be able to perform the stocktake right from your POS system, this ensures that there are accurate records and it’s all in one place. Count everything that can be counted. Weigh everything that needs to be weighed. Update all the quantities and save the changes. Then, and this is really important, get someone else to do it again. When all your numbers add up correctly, then you can call it a day.

4) Create a schedule for manual stocktakes—and then follow it

The idea of a daily, manual stocktake might seem like a waste of time if you’re using a system that’s automatically updating inventory with each purchase order and customer sale, but POs and sales don’t always tell the whole story when it comes to inventory.

Jars break, leafy greens wilt, meat can spoil, and meals can be sent back, so it’s important to check ingredients and verify assumptions to get a true picture of where you’re at. Besides, your inventory data is valuable, long past the point where the inventory is consumed. When you stick to your schedule, you’ll have weeks, then months, then years of data to go back and analyse and use in your decision making.

As for doing the manual stocktakes, perishable items need to be checked daily for quality, so you might as well count them while you’re there. Non-perishable items should be counted once or twice a week, depending on how fast you go through them. The more you supply your POS system with regular, reliable data, the more insight you’ll get into your business and the more you can put your purchasing on autopilot.

5) Record waste (and why it happens)

Any time food gets deducted from your inventory; you should know the reason why – make note of it. Most of the time, that reason is found in sales reports. But when food doesn’t get sold and still gets taken off the shelf? You need to know that, too. Train your staff to write down things as they happen.

As you do your manual stocktakes, don’t just throw out expired ingredients and update your inventory. Record the waste in the system and note the reason for best practice. The same applies when something is spilt, or a customer sends something back. Great inventory tracking is not just about knowing what you have on hand. When you know what you’ve wasted, you can put dollar signs to those losses and make sense of the impact. When you know why, you can take measures to prevent it from happening again.

6) Make sure inventory is up to date before taking deliveries

Whenever you are taking deliveries, make sure you’re starting from a brand-new count. This prevents the possibility of confusion when adding new stock in with what is already on the shelves and ensures the information in the system is accurate.

7) Obsess over your data

If you follow all these steps, you’re going to find that the way you manage your inventory and tracking is smoother, easier and cleaner.

With a stronger understanding of best practices under your belt you will be well-equip to track what is coming in, going out, wastage, reasons for wastage and more. The data really is everything with this and that’s why having a modern POS system that can handle the information simply and efficiently is key.

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