One of the most common questions we get from new Backbar users is, "How often should I take inventory?" It makes sense to ask how often other bar programs take liquor inventory because restaurant operators want to make sure their beverage operations are in line with industry standards. We asked over 11,000 bar industry professionals how often they take inventory and the results surprised us.
After asking 11,240 restaurant and bar workers how often they take inventory, we found out that the most common inventory freqency is weekly. 52% of those surveyed selected Weekly. We see that same information reflected in Backbar user data, with inventory most comomonly being taken every 10 days or less.
The second most common cadence for taking inventory was monthly, with 26% of users surveyed selecting Monthly.
Take a look at the results from our survey.
| Inventory frequency | Percentage of responses | Total responses |
| Weekly | 52% | 5,880 |
| Biweekly | 7.5% | 848 |
| Monthly | 26% | 2,884 |
| Quarterly | 2.5% | 282 |
| Other | 12% |
1,346 |
There are a lot of benefits to taking inventory more often. It will help you track costs and inventory usage more easily. Any issues with excess inventory can be addressed faster. And in general, you'll be more in tune with your beverage program.
Ultimately, how often you take inventory will depend on the type of restautant you are and how feasible it is to take inventory. You'll need to analyse your own business limitations to understand how often you can take inventory. Hereare a few things to look at when detemining your own inventory cadence.
Factors that affect how frequently you take inventory