How to do a restaurant inventory count, step by step

Your food cost is only as good as your count. Food cost is built on beginning and ending inventory ^[1][2], and if products are undercounted, food cost looks higher than it really is ^[3]. Here’s how to get it right without losing half a shift.

Before you count

• Pick a schedule and stick to it. Count consistently every week or period ^[1]. Taking inventory on the same day each period is what makes the numbers comparable ^[2].
• Decide how often. At least monthly ^[2]; weekly is better for catching problems early ^[1]. Count your five to ten highest-cost or highest-variance items daily ^[1].
• Count before the truck, not during. Check stock levels the day before deliveries, and don’t count with a half-checked-in order on the floor ^[1].
• Set up your count sheet in shelf order. List items in the order staff find them on the shelves ^[1][2]. Nobody should be walking back and forth across the kitchen.
• Decide the counting unit for every item. Count in purchase units — cases, #10 cans, kilograms — including partial units ^[2], and review each item’s unit of measure ^[1]. “3” means nothing if one person counts cases and the next counts bags.

During the count

1. Work in pairs if you can. One person counts, one writes. It’s faster and catches mistakes.
2. Go shelf by shelf, left to right, top to bottom. Same route every time.
3. Count partials honestly. Use tenths of a case or weigh it ^[2]. Guessing “half” on everything adds up.
4. Count what’s in production too. A physical inventory covers food in storage and in production areas ^[3] — diced onions, portioned proteins and sauces in the lowboy included.
5. Spend your time where the money is. Proteins, dairy, produce and specialty items make up most of your spend.
6. Watch storage and rotation as you go. Note wrong temperatures, poor rotation, spoiled product or anything unlabeled ^[1]. Those notes help when the numbers look off.

After the count

• Enter it the same day. Counts sitting on a clipboard get lost or mis-keyed.
• Price it right. Use up-to-date prices ^[1], such as the last price you paid, and use the same method every time ^[2].
• Look for anything that jumped. If you normally carry 4 cases of chicken and you counted 12, check before you trust it.
• Work out your food cost for the period, and compare it with what your recipes say it should be ^[1].

Common mistakes