Running a bar or lounge in Kenya: control drinks stock and tabs
ShelfWise ·
In a bar, stock is cash in bottles. A few beers a night that aren't rung up, a tab that walks out, or a brand that runs dry on Friday all come straight off your profit. These habits keep the bottles and the money together.
1. Every drink goes on a tab or a sale
No drink leaves the counter unless it's recorded: on a tab for a table or a named customer, or as a quick sale paid on the spot. When every bottle sold comes off stock, the shelf and the system should agree.
2. Keep tabs open, and visible
Start a tab per table or customer and add each round to it. The owner or manager should be able to see every open tab and what it owes at any time, especially near closing. A tab nobody is watching is how customers leave without paying.
3. Lock served rounds
Once a round has been served, staff shouldn't be able to quietly remove it. Let only owners or managers change or cancel served items, and record who did it.
4. Count bottles at closing
Count your top brands of beer and spirits at closing, or at least at every shift change. Compare with what your records say is left. A gap shows up on the same night, with the same staff.
5. Regulars on credit, written down
Many bars let regulars pay later. Fine, as long as it's recorded: a credit sale under their name, and their payment recorded when it comes. Check the list of who owes you every week.
6. Restock before Friday
Running out of the brand your customers want on a busy night sends them to the next bar. Set a reorder level for each brand and order from your distributor before stock reaches zero, allowing for delivery time. Count deliveries by the crate and bottle before the driver leaves.
7. Cash up every shift
Count the float at the start of each shift. At closing, cash plus M-Pesa received should equal the night's sales. Matching M-Pesa to sales automatically makes this quick: see connecting M-Pesa.
Common questions
How do I stop bartenders from stealing drinks?
Record every drink on a tab or a sale, lock served rounds so only managers can cancel them, count top brands at closing, and cash up each shift against recorded sales.
How do I manage customer tabs in a bar?
Open one tab per table or named customer, add each round, keep all open tabs visible to the manager, and close each one with a single payment.
Can a bar POS track stock by the bottle?
ShelfWise can: set the unit to bottles, crates or cartons, and each sale takes stock off by the bottle.
Read next
- Running a restaurant in Kenya: stop lost orders, unpaid bills and kitchen mix-upsHow Kenyan restaurants, hotels and cafés can stop lost orders and unpaid tables, control the kitchen, price dishes on food cost and cash up every shift.Read
- How to stop stock loss and theft in your shop: 8 habits that workPractical ways for Kenyan dukas, minimarts and hardware shops to stop stock loss: counts, records, cash and M-Pesa checks, supplier deliveries and staff habits.Read