Question 1

How often should a stocktake be completed?

Accepted Answer

Stocktaking enables you to identify weaknesses in stock control processes.  Regular stocktakes throughout the year will help identify and reduce the amount of shrinkage commonly associated with the food and beverage industry due to the sale of a desirable product.  Often, frequency will depend on the volume of trade you have.  The more you sell, the greater the risk.  It also depends on the losses seen from previous reports and your desire to increase profitability by reduced losses and controlling your stock. Stocktakes ideally will be completed monthly, and at the very least, quarterly. The longer the interval between stocktakes, the less able you are to identify issues and react to them. For example, a quarterly stocktake can only tell you what happened in the last three months. It is therefore difficult to pin down when the issue actually occurred during that time, and how to prevent the issue occurring over the next 3 months.

Question 2

How do you stocktake open bottles/containers?

Accepted Answer

Counting of partially opened wines and spirits is judged in tenths of a bottle. A professional stocktaker will have an experienced eye for this and it is amazing to see 2 similarly experienced stocktakers will judge an amount to the same number. The margin for error is quite slim, so for example a 70ml spirit bottle counted at 6/10 compared to at 7/10 will have a maximum difference of just 70ml. Traditional cask beer can be measured by a measuring rod commonly called a ‘Dip Stick’.  This reads the number of gallons remaining in the cask.  Kegged products can be measured by a specific weighing device.  This will measure the volume of a container by weight using a kind of spring system. All Roslyns stocktakers carry a full range of tools to help accurate counting. They even carry spirit testing kits to make sure no one is watering down your spirit stock.

Question 3

How much should I charge for a product?

Accepted Answer

The price you should charge is the price that allows you to make a profit. Many businesses will focus solely on competitors’ pricing, or on feedback from regular customers. If you sell for too low a price, you may be busy, but you’ll not make any money. Speak to your stocktaker, they are experts and can advise on pricing. You can also access our easy to use GP tool on our website’s toolkit page.

Question 4

What does stock yield mean?

Accepted Answer

Basically, yield is the calculation of what you expect to obtain out of a bottle/keg etc, compared with the amount sold.  This is calculated as a percentage.  As an example, if you have a 70cl bottle of Vodka, selling at 25ml, you would expect to achieve 28 measures out of that bottle, that is a 100% yield. If you only sell 26 measure out of a fully consumed bottle, you will achieve a 92.86% yield.  When it comes to draught beer for example, if you have 88 pints in a barrel and sell all 88, that is 100% yield. However, you will inevitably waste some through spillage and line cleaning, meaning perhaps only selling 80, this is a 91% yield. But a draught beer may well have a 5% head, so a pint is actually a little under. This will then raise your 91% yield to a 96% Yield information is very important to understanding your profitability. Your stocktaker is an expert and can talk it through with you.

Question 5

What does a stocktaker do?

Accepted Answer

Essentially, a stocktaker will count the stock you have onsite, then return after a set period of time and recount. Then, factoring in sales, deliveries and wastage records, they will produce a stocktaking report. This report will illustrate your G.P.% (gross profit margins), yields, value of stock, and much more. Crucially your stock report will highlight stock deficits in products, showing where your business is losing stock and therefore, potential profit. You will also get action plans to help improve your next result.

Question 6

What is stocktaking?

Accepted Answer

For any hospitality business, stocktaking is vital. Essentially, a stocktaker will count the stock you have onsite, then return after a set period of time and recount. Then, factoring in sales, deliveries and wastage records, they will produce a stocktaking report. This report will illustrate your G.P.% (gross profit margins), yields, value of stock, suppliers breakdown and much more. Crucially your stock report will highlight stock deficits in products, showing where your business is losing stock and therefore, potential profit. You will also get action plans to help improve your next result.

Question 7

Do I need a stocktaker?

Accepted Answer

It is vital that you have a solid understanding of the movement of your stock. Your profits can be severely impeded by unknown stock deficits. A business owner can do regular stocktakes themselves, however a properly trained stocktaker will inevitably do a better job. They have the experience in counting large amounts of stock using specialist software and tools. They also are experienced in interpreting result and can therefore identify not only what products have a deficit, but why this could be and how the issue could be addressed. It is best to use a professional on a regular basis and to supplement this with inhouse line checks (checking specific stock items of concern between stocktaker visits). We do not advise relying solely on managers or staff member with stocktaking as one of the purposes of stocktaking is to highlight stock loss through poor practice. The best of both worlds is to have them involved with stocktaking and then when our independent auditor arrives, they can compare their results with any internal results.

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