Importance of stock control for pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars (and how tech makes it easier)
If stock control isn't your favourite management task, you're not alone. For many operators, stock control is fragmented, if it happens at all. And this is a problem. UK restaurants create £628 million worth of food waste every year (according to Business Waste UK). With operating costs spiralling and customers demanding more, venues simply can’t afford to let profits drain away.
This is where the right tech comes in. Embracing stock management software not only transforms how you work, but also how you think and feel about stock control. It slashes the hours it takes to carry out those monthly, weekly and daily tasks. It puts you back in control and, dare we say it, you might even start to enjoy it once you notice your venue’s books looking healthier.
Save time and labour with smarter processes
Let's start with the bigger picture. The less time you (and/or your managers) spend on stock management tasks, the more time you have to oversee Front of House, support team members, and do your job more effectively.
Inventory management platform Supy reckons restaurants can reclaim up to 20 hours per month with better systems streamlined by tech. Assuming a manager's rate of £15, that could save you £300 per month – or £3,600 per year.
And that’s before we get into the specific ways stock management tech can save you money...
Simplify supplier orders to cut waste
Business Waste UK estimates that 10% of food bought by venues never reaches customers, and 6% of total sales are lost through food waste.
Most waste stems from over-ordering – either through panic buying when items run out, or simply not understanding your customers’ buying patterns. With robust systems in place, you find out about these issues before it's too late. You stay on top of exactly where your stock is going, and reduce waste and spoilage by ordering the right amounts.
With smart systems such as ours, you can set up 'low stock' notifications so you'll receive email alerts when a product or ingredient is running low. You can also set PAR levels for each product – the system then pulls in your sales data and automatically populates the supplier order form, giving you accurate orders while saving you time.
Lower your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) and maximise profit
BDO's Restaurant & Bars Report 2025 states: 'Rising food costs mean restaurants will need to be even more vigilant in tracking and monitoring costs.'
COGS is one of the most important metrics for profitability. But without real-time data on ingredient costs, portion usage, and waste patterns, you're flying blind on a major expense. Even a small drop in COGS (2–5%) can equal thousands added to your annual profit.
Business Waste UK estimates 17% of food served to diners gets left uneaten. If you notice a lot of leftovers being brought to the potwash, document which products or ingredients are left most often, then test reducing portion sizes gradually while monitoring customer feedback.
With detailed batch and recipe management tools like those in our system, you can edit ingredient amounts and portion sizes precisely and see exactly how much you can save with slight adjustments. This data-driven approach prevents the guesswork that often leads to over-portioning.
Supplier prices also play a key role in COGS. As all operators know, they can fluctuate quickly and significantly, so the ability to adapt quickly to these changes is key. The bulk price update function in our system lets you do this in minutes, giving you automatic GP% calculations.
Make your menu make sense
BDO's Restaurant & Bars Report 2025 notes: "A well optimised menu is the secret ingredient to minimising food waste, reducing costs and enhancing the dining experience. With menu engineering we can calculate which dishes are both popular and profitable. It will also highlight those dishes that are neither [and not worth keeping]."
The most successful venues use inventory insights to inform menu decisions, promotional strategies, and pricing adjustments. You want a feedback loop between what you buy, what you sell, and what drives profit. An article by Menu Cover Depot, cited by many stock management platforms, reckons this ‘menu engineering’ can increase profits by as much as 10-15% (it also has a useful matrix to help you classify your menu items).
Armed with integrated data from effective stock control software, you can optimise your offerings strategically, highlighting the bestsellers and profitable dishes while avoiding overwhelming customers with too many options.
Efficient, targeted stocktakes
Let's be honest – no technology can completely eliminate the human work in a stocktake. But it can take a great deal of pain out of this essential task while making your counts far more impactful.
Generally, the higher the volume of stock that you buy and sell, the more often you should do stocktakes. Large, busy bars should do weekly stocktakes to ensure expensive goods like premium liquors aren't being missold or pilfered. It's also essential for busy food venues with lots of fresh, perishable ingredients to do at least weekly stock checks to catch spoilage early.
If that sounds like too much work, remember this: it doesn't have to be a full stocktake every time. Flexible systems like ours let you focus on selected lines rather than running a full stocktake every time. This is particularly useful if you have high-value products or you've noticed variance issues on certain lines that need closer monitoring.
Data should work for you rather than overwhelming you with irrelevant details. Our system lets you configure which columns display in your stock report. If you only want to see the product and the amount of variance, that's fine – just hide the other columns. If you want to dig down into figures like costs and variance percentages, you can do that too. You control the information flow.
Pinpoint variances and get faster resolutions
When it comes to variances, speed of investigation directly impacts your ability to prevent future losses. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to identify root causes and implement corrective measures.
Our system makes rapid response possible by including a Variances tab on every stock report. It extracts any lines with variances, and allows you to sort them however you like – by cost price, level of variance, percentage loss or gain. This means you can prioritise your investigation efforts where they'll have the biggest financial impact.
Communication is crucial in keeping on top stock, particularly when multiple people are responsible. Develop a consistent note-taking system for common variance patterns. These notes help you spot recurring issues quickly and stop you from re-investigating the same variance multiple times. Our stock reports include a notes section where you can easily highlight any key issues.
Built-in control without the extra cost
Stock control isn't just for big chains or complex spreadsheet systems. With the right approach and tools, any venue can reduce waste, save time, and boost profit – even with a small team. There’s a range of inventory tech available, varying in price, capabilities and usability. Some are standalone platforms, requiring an additional payment on top of your other crucial tech.
But for many venues, a stock management system built into your EPOS offers the simplest path – lower fees, fewer platforms to get to grips with, and faster insights – so you have more time to focus on delighting your customers.
Our system gives you all the tools and reporting capabilities you expect from a standalone stock platform, along with a powerful, intuitive EPOS (£39/month for a single POS license).
Ready to reclaim those 20 hours per month and put them back into growing your business? Our consultants can show you exactly how integrated stock control works in a free demo tailored to your venue's specific needs.
