When you are a restaurant owner, conducting inventory is just what you do. It’s as big a part of the business as cooking food to order for all of your guests. By keeping track of your restaurant inventory, you can actually increase revenue more effectively.
Get Rid of Expired Foods
Your restaurant inventory should be conducted once a week. By going through everything that you have, it’s a chance to look to see what you have a lot of. You can also look to see what items have expired. If the food is expired, get rid of it. Otherwise, you run the risk of getting your customers sick. Anyone who gets food poisoning from your restaurant is unlikely to return.
It’s also a good idea to make a few daily specials with food that is close to expiring. If it’s been sitting on your inventory for a while, it’s best to sell it before you have to throw it away. When you get in the habit of calculating food cost on a regular basis, you will see what kind of impact throwing food away will do to your overall food cost. You can increase revenue considerably if you’re making better use of your ingredients.
Find Out What Items Aren’t Selling
Within your restaurant, the goal should be to sell food that is popular. With POS system technology, you can find out what menu items aren’t very popular (or not selling at all). These items should be taken off of the menu, especially if they require a few menu items that aren’t utilized anywhere else.
Your restaurant inventory may look stagnant based on having menu items that simply aren’t selling. For example, if you have veggie burgers sitting on your inventory week after week and your inventory reports show that you haven’t sold one all month, it might be time to switch things up a bit. Your inventory reports can provide you with the hard facts that you need to convince everyone that it’s time to create a new menu.
Revamp Your Menu
Many restaurants are boosting their revenue by creating seasonal restaurant menus. People are more likely to visit your restaurant more often if you don’t have the same things all year long. They may come in during the fall months to try your pumpkin or apple-spiced menu items. They may come in during the spring months to try your fresh produce. Get creative.
When you’re constantly tracking your restaurant inventory, you can make adjustments here and there. Know what sells and what doesn’t sell. Cross-utilize your menu items so that you don’t have a long list of ingredients that can only be used on one or two items. By revamping your menu, you give people a reason to come into the door and try new food. Plus, you’re less likely to throw ingredients away because you’re using them more effectively.
POS system technology can help you every step of the way. Better inventory can be conducted. More comprehensive reports can show you what dishes need to be cut, too, in order to make room for better and more popular dishes. You’ll see your revenue increase when you start to use your inventory more effectively.
