Inventory, stock take and food cost guides

Practical, free guides for people who run restaurants, bars, cafés and stores: how to count stock, what to put on the sheet, how to work out food cost and COGS, where to set par levels, and how to look up any barcode.

Barcodes

Barcode lookup: type the number, see the product — Free barcode lookup, no sign-up: enter a UPC or EAN and get the product name, brand, category, size and photo. Unknown code? Our AI finds…
UPC lookup: find the product behind a 12-digit code — Free UPC code lookup: paste the 12 digits and see the product, brand, category and photo. Why UPCs have no country code and what the…
EAN lookup: find the product behind a 13-digit code — Free EAN lookup: paste an EAN-13 or EAN-8 and get the product name, brand, category and photo. How the 13 digits work and what to do when…
Barcode lookup UK: type the 13 digits, see the product — Free UK barcode lookup: enter a 13-digit EAN and see the product name, brand, category and photo. What the 50 prefix means and why Tesco…
Barcode country codes: the complete GS1 prefix list — Every GS1 barcode prefix by country — 0 USA, 50 UK, 690 China, 893 Vietnam — as a full table and free CSV/PDF, plus why the prefix means…
UPC vs EAN vs GTIN: what the difference really is — UPC vs EAN vs GTIN explained: 12 vs 13 digits, where each is used, how GTIN-8, 12, 13 and 14 relate, and what it means when you count and…

Counting & stock take

Stocktaking Companies UK: Cost vs Doing It In-House — Hiring a stocktaking company in the UK or doing your own stock take: what stocktakers do, how they charge, and when an app is enough for a…
Stock control app: scan it, count it, know what you have — A stock control app for shops, pubs, cafés and restaurants: scan barcodes to count, record deliveries and waste, set par levels and get an…
Restaurant inventory template: free download for Google Sheets, Excel and PDF — Free restaurant inventory template you can open in Google Sheets or Excel, or print as a PDF count sheet: locations, categories, units,…
Restaurant inventory sheet: free template and how to use it — Free restaurant inventory sheet you can download and open in Excel or Google Sheets, with the columns that matter, how to organize it by…
Restaurant stock take template: free sheet and how to use it — Free restaurant and pub stock take template (Excel and Google Sheets) with opening stock, deliveries, closing stock and usage, plus how to…
Inventory count app: count stock by scanning, not typing — What to look for in an inventory count app for restaurants, bars and stores: barcode scanning without setup, counting by location, partial…
Stock take app: do the stocktake yourself by scanning — A stock take app for pubs, restaurants, cafés and shops: scan barcodes, count by area, measure part bottles and get usage and GP without a…
How to do a stock take, step by step — How to do a stock take in a pub, bar, restaurant or shop: preparation, counting by area, part bottles, deliveries and the calculation that…
How to do restaurant inventory, step by step — How to do inventory in a restaurant: when to count, how to organize the walk-in and bar, units and partial items, pricing the count and…
Restaurant stock control: a practical guide — Restaurant stock control explained for UK kitchens, pubs and cafés: ordering to par, recording deliveries and waste, weekly stock takes and…
Restaurant waste log: free template and how to track waste — Free restaurant food waste log template (Excel and Google Sheets) with the reasons to track, how to get staff to use it and how waste data…
Best restaurant inventory app: how to choose one that gets used — How to choose the best restaurant inventory app: the features that matter, the questions to ask, how the main types of software compare and…
Restaurant inventory management: the complete guide — Restaurant inventory management from receiving to reporting: counting, par levels, ordering, waste, FIFO, food cost and the software and…
Inventory shrinkage: meaning, formula and how to reduce it — Inventory shrinkage explained for restaurants, bars and stores: the shrinkage formula, typical rates, the main causes (theft, waste,…
Kitchen Inventory List: Template and Routine — Commercial kitchen inventory list: what to count in the walk-in, freezer and dry storage, a template, how often to count and how to value…
Produce Inventory: Sheet, Shelf Life and Waste — Produce inventory for restaurants and grocers: how to count fresh fruit and vegetables, a produce inventory sheet, shelf life, FIFO and how…
FIFO Inventory Method: Restaurant Rules and Example — FIFO inventory (first in, first out): the costing method with an example, FIFO stock rotation in restaurants and stores, and FEFO for…
Cycle Counting: How to Do Inventory Cycle Counts — Cycle counting explained: how to schedule inventory cycle counts with ABC classes, an example calendar and why it beats the annual…
Perpetual vs Periodic Inventory: Differences — Perpetual vs periodic inventory systems: how each works, pros and cons, how COGS is calculated in each and which one a restaurant or small…
Inventory Variance: Formula, Report and Causes — Inventory variance: the formula (actual vs expected), how to build an inventory variance report, acceptable variance levels and how to find…

Food cost & COGS

Sales Tax on Inventory: Resale Certificates Explained — Do businesses pay sales tax on inventory? How resale certificates work in the US, when use tax applies to items you consume, and how to…
Food cost percentage: formula, examples and targets — Food cost percentage formula with worked examples, typical targets by type of restaurant, the difference between plate cost and actual food…
Food cost calculator — Free food cost calculator: enter beginning inventory, purchases, ending inventory and sales to get your food cost percentage and see how it…
Restaurant COGS: how to calculate cost of goods sold — How to calculate cost of goods sold (COGS) for a restaurant, with the formula, a worked example, industry averages and what to include and…
Restaurant inventory turnover: formula and industry average — Restaurant inventory turnover ratio: formula, days of inventory on hand, typical ranges for food and beverage, and what a turnover that is…
Actual vs theoretical food cost: how to find the gap — Actual vs theoretical food cost explained: how to calculate each, the variance between them, a worked example, what a normal variance is…
Restaurant prime cost: formula, target and calculator — Restaurant prime cost formula (COGS + total labor), the target percentage by type of restaurant, a free prime cost calculator and how to…
Recipe costing: how to work out the cost of a dish — How to cost a recipe step by step: ingredient cost, yield, cost per portion, food cost per plate and menu price, with a free recipe costing…
Menu engineering: the matrix and how to use it — Menu engineering explained: the stars, plowhorses, puzzles and dogs matrix, how to calculate contribution margin and popularity, a free…
Food yield percentage: formula, chart and calculator — Food yield percentage formula (edible portion ÷ as-purchased weight), a yield chart for common ingredients, a free yield calculator and how…
Restaurant gross profit and GP %: formula and calculator — How UK restaurants, pubs and cafés calculate gross profit and GP %: the formula with VAT, typical GP targets for food and drinks, a free GP…
Beginning and ending inventory: formulas and examples — Beginning and ending inventory explained: the formulas, how they connect to COGS, how to value them (FIFO, latest cost, average) and a…
Pizza Food Cost: Percentage, Calculator and Example — Pizza food cost: the typical percentage for a pizzeria, a worked example for a 14-inch cheese pizza, a calculator and how to control…
Burger Food Cost: Percentage and Example — Burger food cost: what percentage is healthy for a burger restaurant, a worked example for a cheeseburger, a calculator and where burger…
Bakery Food Cost: Percentage, Calculator and Example — Bakery food cost percentage: typical range, a worked example for a dozen croissants, a calculator and how to cut waste on unsold bread and…
Coffee Shop Food Cost Percentage: Latte Example — Coffee shop food cost percentage: typical range for drinks and food, a worked example for a 12 oz latte, a calculator and how to control…
Food Truck Food Cost Percentage: Example — Food truck food cost percentage: what is normal, a worked example, a calculator and how to control inventory event by event with little…
Catering Food Cost: Per Person and Per Event — Catering food cost: how to calculate it per person and per event, a worked wedding menu example, a calculator and how to cut leftovers, the…
Sushi Restaurant Food Cost: Percentage and Example — Sushi restaurant food cost: typical percentage, a worked example for a salmon roll, a calculator and how to control fish yield, the biggest…
Food Cost vs COGS: Are They the Same? — Food cost vs COGS: the difference between food cost percentage and cost of goods sold, how each is calculated for a restaurant and why…
Inventory Valuation Methods: FIFO, Average, Specific — Inventory valuation methods explained: FIFO, weighted average cost, specific identification and LIFO, with a worked comparison and what…
Restaurant Break-Even Point: Formula and Calculator — Restaurant break-even point: the formula with fixed costs and contribution margin, a worked example, a calculator and how to lower your…
Markup vs Margin: Difference, Chart and Calculator — Markup vs margin explained: formulas, a conversion chart, a calculator and the markups restaurants, bars and retailers use to hit their…
Restaurant Profit Margin: Averages and Levers — Restaurant profit margin: average margins by restaurant type, how to calculate net and gross margin, and the inventory levers that move…
Menu Pricing Formula: How to Price Menu Items — Menu pricing formula: price menu items from plate cost and target food cost, a calculator, psychological pricing tips and how often to…

Par levels & ordering

86 List in a Restaurant: Meaning and How to Avoid It — What "86" means in a restaurant, how an 86 list works in the kitchen and on the POS, and how par levels and counts keep items off…
Par level template: a free sheet for kitchen, bar and hotel linen — Free par level template (CSV for Google Sheets and Excel) with item, unit, par, on hand and order-quantity columns, plus worked examples…
Par level: meaning, formula and calculator — What a par level is, the par level formula with safety stock and lead time, a free par level calculator, and how to use pars to order in a…
Reorder point formula, with and without safety stock — Reorder point formula with and without safety stock, worked examples for restaurants and stores, how to set safety stock and how reorder…
ABC Analysis in Inventory: Example and Steps — ABC analysis for inventory control: how to classify items into A, B and C with the 80/20 rule, a worked example and how often to count each…
Safety Stock Formula: Calculation and Example — Safety stock formula: the simple max-minus-average method and the service-level (Z score) method, worked examples and a calculator for…
Stockout: Meaning, Cost and How to Prevent It — Stockout meaning, what a stockout really costs a restaurant or store, the usual causes and how to prevent stockouts with par levels, safety…
Inventory Days on Hand: Formula and Benchmarks — Inventory days on hand (DOH): the formula, how it relates to inventory turnover, benchmarks for restaurants and retail, and a…

Bar & liquor

Beverage Cost Percentage: Formula and Calculator — Beverage cost (bev cost) percentage: the formula, targets for liquor, beer, wine and non-alcoholic drinks, a calculator and how to lower…
Drinks GP Calculator: Pints, Spirits and Wine (UK) — Drinks GP calculator for UK pubs and bars: GP% with VAT for pints, 25ml and 50ml spirits and wine by the glass, target margins and how to…
Bar Stock Take: Template and Routine for UK Bars — Bar stock take for UK bars and pubs: how to count spirits in tenths, kegs by weight and bottled stock, a stock take sheet and how to turn…
Liquor inventory app: count every bottle by scanning — A liquor inventory app for bars, restaurants and home bars: scan the bottle barcode, count full bottles and tenths of open ones, weigh if…
Bar inventory: how to count liquor, beer and wine — How to do bar inventory: counting liquor in tenths or by weight, beer and kegs, wine, the usage formula, pour cost and the variance that…
Liquor inventory sheet: free template for bars — Free liquor inventory sheet for bars and restaurants (Excel and Google Sheets) with full and open bottles, value, par and order columns,…
Pour cost and liquor cost: formula and calculator — Liquor pour cost formula, a free pour cost calculator per drink and per period, typical targets for liquor, beer and wine, and how to lower…
Wet stock management for pubs and bars — Wet stock management for UK pubs and bars: what wet stock is, weekly stock takes, yield per keg and bottle, measuring wastage and ullage,…
Keg inventory: how to count and weigh kegs — How to count keg inventory: keg sizes and pints, full and empty keg weights, weighing partial kegs, a free keg inventory spreadsheet and…
Wine Inventory: Spreadsheet, App and Routine — Wine inventory for restaurants, bars and wine shops: how to count bottles and by-the-glass pours, spreadsheet columns, valuation and how to…
Beer Inventory Sheet: Kegs, Cans and Bottles — Beer inventory sheet for bars and taprooms: how to count kegs by weight, cans and bottles by case, what columns to use and how to find the…
Pub Stock Take: Template, Method and How to Stop Losses — Pub stock take guide for UK licensees: how to count cellar and bar, open bottles and kegs, calculate wet-stock yield and GP, and how often…
Cellar Management: Pub Cellar Routine and Stock — Cellar management for pubs and bars: temperature, line cleaning, keg rotation, cellar stock control and how cellar practice affects…

By type of business

Coffee shop inventory: what to count and how — Coffee shop inventory made simple: the inventory list by category, how to count beans, milk and cups, par levels for a café and the numbers…
Convenience store inventory: how to count and control it — Convenience store inventory: the product categories, how to count thousands of SKUs by scanning, cycle counts, shrink and par levels for…
Pharmacy inventory management: counting the front store — Pharmacy inventory management for the front store: counting OTC, health and beauty by barcode, expiry dates, par levels and cycle counts,…
Pet store inventory: how to count and control stock — Pet store inventory: organizing food, treats, litter, accessories and health products, counting by barcode, handling heavy bags and expiry,…
Liquor store inventory: how to count and control stock — Liquor store inventory: counting spirits, wine and beer by barcode, full counts vs cycle counts, shrink on high-value bottles, par levels…
Bakery Inventory: Template, List and Routine — Bakery inventory made simple: what to count (ingredients, finished goods, packaging), how often, a template list and the mistakes that make…
Food Truck Inventory: List and Template — Food truck inventory list and template: what to stock, how to count before and after every event, par levels for a small space and how to…
Catering Inventory: List, Template and Control — Catering inventory list: food, beverages, rentals and disposables per event, a template, and how to count what goes out and comes…
Franchise Inventory Management: Multi-Unit Control — Franchise inventory management: standard counts across units, par levels per location, comparing food cost between stores and what…

Count your stock by scanning barcodes

Point the camera and the product comes up complete: name, brand, category, size and photo — the mise AI finds it from the barcode or a photo. 7-day free trial, no card.

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