We know that the wet stocktake is not always the most exciting part of running a pub.

But it’s such an important part of making your pub or bar a success financially. As stocktakers and consultants we wanted to share some top tips with you to help complete a more effective and regular wet stocktake within your business

• Ensure that only your responsible, knowledgeable and trained staff check in your deliveries as they will know what is expected to come in, where it needs to go and how much of it is required. A delivery driver will want to get in and out as quickly as possible so it is important that the person receiving the wet stock knows what they are doing and ensures nothing is missed.
• Check that all displayed price lists and menus are up to date while checking that the correct pricing is on the tills too. Encourage staff to know prices of wet stock too as this will speed up the buying process for the customer but staff will notice if a price is wrong too.
• Make sure you keep a record of all wet stock that is not sold at the full retail price; for example designated driver soft drinks, discounts on multi-buys or any special promotions as this will affect how much of a product you sell for the time it is available at a lower price.
• Train and re-train all staff to ensure that the correct glasses and measures are being used for all drinks; for example some spirits such as Baileys will be 50ml but vodka could be 25ml or 35ml. Also check that the glasses show correct measures too because oversized glasses can lead to excess amounts of beer or wine being given away free of charge.
• Spot-check that all employees know how to use the till systems correctly, that they know how to void a product on the till, the right way to void for different reasons and to log that void so it can be taken into account at full wet stocktaking time.
• Make the time to sit down with your stocktaker to go through the result.
• Make the most of your professional wet stocktaker and the reports that they provide you with. If there is something on the report that you do not understand then don’t be afraid to query it with them and work with them to improve your control, margins and profit.

Remember – reputable wet stocktaking will always pay for itself and more – if your stocktaker isn’t helping your business achieve more then why not drop us a line and see how we could help you?