Food inventory management is one of the trickiest parts of running a hospitality business. Mistakes are common, and they can quietly eat away at your profits. A well-structured Food Stocktake helps reveal and prevent these costly errors.

Mistake 1: Overordering Perishable Goods

Fresh produce, dairy, and meats have short shelf lives. Ordering too much often leads to spoilage and unnecessary waste.

Mistake 2: Failing to Track Shrinkage

Shrinkage comes from theft, wastage, spillage, or incorrect portioning. Without proper monitoring, these losses add up significantly over time.

Mistake 3: Guessing Quantities

Some businesses rely on staff to estimate stock levels. This often leads to inaccurate records and inconsistent menu output.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Regular Stocktakes

Doing a count once a year is not enough. Regular monthly or quarterly stocktakes ensure ongoing accuracy.

Mistake 5: Over-Reliance on POS Data

While sales systems provide useful data, they don’t account for spoilage or wastage. Only physical counts give the full picture.

Mistake 6: Not Monitoring Supplier Price Changes

Ingredient costs fluctuate regularly. If you don’t adjust for price changes, your profit margins can be skewed.

The Fix: Professional Stocktaking

An independent food stocktake highlights issues you might miss internally. It gives you accurate figures, reveals blind spots, and provides solutions to cut waste and improve efficiency.