FAQ’s

Stocktaking is so much than “counting bottles”, we process all purchases and sales and produce a detailed financial report that is adjusted to reflect all allowances, promotions and wastage.

Since we specialise in stocktaking to the Hospitality Industry we carry out this process for both Liquor and Food stocks, and for the Liquor stock we can provide a detailed variance report vs sales recorded by your till.

See our sample reports to understand better what you will received.

External Stocktaking is crucial to a hospitality business, as it gives the operator regular updates on how well their business is performing. However it doesn’t stop there, because our stocktakers are so experienced they don’t just rely on their PC to produce a report, they advise on ways to reduce waste, identify theft or loss, and ensure accurate financial reporting. Regular stocktaking also helps manage costs effectively and maintain optimal inventory levels.

It’s recommended to conduct stocktakes about once a month. However, some smaller operations may opt for bi-monthly or even quarterly stocktakes. Extended stock periods are not recommended as it becomes harder for us to help you identify and correct issues.

If you are only interested in stock inventory values, we can provide one off valuations for business transfer, and year/half year accountancy needs.

The time required for a stocktake depends on the size of your business and the volume of inventory. However we would suggest the following is true

4 hours, typically a liquor Stocktake at a small pub, restaurant or hotel.

4 – 6 hours, would accommodate a larger liquor stock audit, or a small food and liquor Stock audit.

Full day (up to 8 hours) might cover a cocktail bar, larger Hotel/Public house where Food and Liquor forms a large proportion of sales.

We do also provide stocktaking services at significantly larger establishments, where either more than 1 stocktaking day is required.

No two stocktakes are the same, and our stocktakers prefer to provide every client with a tailored quote to suite the business. However basically the following factors affect the price of our stocktakes.

Length of time it takes to complete the stocktakes (see above), basically the quicker the cheaper it will be!

When you want the stocktake. Many clients want the a month end visit (to tie in with financial period ends), however we can’t visit everyone on 1st month. Therefore, the closer you want a visit to the 1st of the month, the more expensive it will be (and the less availability we will have to offer you).

Where your premises are. As you will know the costs associated with travelling into and working in Large City Centres are significantly greater than in the suburbs. Likewise if you are in a less accessible area (e.g. Scottish Highlands or Isles), then we will have more travelling to get to you.

Please call us and we will be more than happy to prepare a tailored quote for your business.

Our reporting can be exceptionally detailed, or very simple. Essentially you can choose, so long as you can provide us with the necessary information.

A detailed liquor report can include (costs may vary)

• Operations Report – including Stocktakers notes re your stock result, their findings and suggestions for the future. Any compliance reporting will be included on this, e.g. Spirit tests etc.
• Financial Summary – All the financial info you need in one place. Surplus/Deficit, GP, Stock on Hand, Stock Yield, Allowance.
• Detailed inventory – including product pricing and GP
• Cost Price Change report, including suggested new retail prices to maintain GP
• Purchase details and summary.
• History Summary – showing performance over time
• EPOS Variance report – detailing gains/losses compared to EPOS sales
• Cash Count/Reconciliation
• Revaluation – If you have a set period end date, we can revalue the overall stock on hand forward/back to that date.
• For group customers we can tailored stock reports to your requirements and provide Group Summaries.

Typically a simplified report (often used for valuation purposes), will include

• Operations report
• Valuation Certificate
• Detailed Inventory

Food stocktaking is generally a simpler reporting set than liquor, and will include

• Operations Report
• Financial Summary – GP, stock on hand, and Allowances
• Stock inventory
• Purchase Information – by supplier, there is no product breakdown with food.
• History Summary

Don’t panic, our stocktakers are experts in their field, and they will take you through all stock results (good and bad) and help explain where your stock control can be improved. Given that we perform thousands on stocktakes every year, our stocktakers will have seen every scenario possible, and should you chance upon something new, they have the backup of our Head Office and network of 70+ other stocktakers to help them out.