You do not need a full stock take after every shift. Count the few expensive items often, the cheap ones rarely, and do one full stock take a month for your close.
A full count every night tires the team, gets rushed and ends up producing numbers nobody trusts. A schedule by category gives you a better picture with a fraction of the work.
Step 1: Split items into three groups
Take last month’s purchases and sort them by value.
- Group A: few items, high value. Meat, fish, seafood, premium cheese, top-shelf spirits. Usually a short list that makes up most of your stock value.
- Group B: mid value. Dairy, vegetables, house wine, soft drinks.
- Group C: many items, low value. Spices, flour, sugar, paper goods, packaging.
Step 2: Set a frequency per group
| Group | When you count | How |
|---|---|---|
| A | At every close or shift change | Quick count, a few minutes |
| B | Once a week | Same day each week, before ordering |
| C | Once a month | With the full stock take |
The Group A count should take minutes. If it takes half an hour, the list is too long: keep only what genuinely hurts when it goes missing.
Step 3: Make counting easy
- Same route every time, following the layout of the walk-in and store room.
- Same unit you buy in (kilos, units, bottles).
- One person counts, another spot-checks two items.
- Count before deliveries arrive, not while the van is being unloaded.
Step 4: Compare against what should be there
A count is only useful when you compare it with theoretical stock: what you had, what you bought, what you sold according to your recipes. A one-off gap is probably an entry mistake. A gap on the same item every week is a pattern: portions, waste or something walking out the back door.
Step 5: Full stock take once a month
The month-end stock take is what gives you actual food cost and what your accountant needs. Do it on the same day every month, before opening or after closing, with the same people. Consistency is what makes the numbers comparable.
What to stop counting
- Group C items every night. They do not change any decision.
- Open packs to the gram. “Half” or “a quarter” is enough.
- Anything you count but never compare with anything. If the number does not lead to a decision, drop the count.
How Galadier helps
With Galadier stock updates itself as you sell, so nobody counts after every shift. You see what you have right now, what is running low before it runs out, and where real stock drifts from what should be there, so you run a targeted check instead of a full count. Read more about restaurant inventory without counting, see all features and Galadier Intelligence, or book a demo.