If you run a restaurant, brewery, or winery, you already know how quickly margins can shift. One month your food cost or pour cost looks right on target, the next month it jumps a few percentage points, even though nothing much has changed. When that happens, most operators look to purchasing first or assume it must be a recipe problem. But more often than not, the real issue lies in the inventory count.
Inventory is the foundation of accurate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). If the numbers going in are fuzzy, everything built on top of them becomes fuzzy too. The good news is that once you understand the role inventory plays in COGS, you finally get the clarity you need to make confident decisions about pricing, ordering, and operations.
Let’s walk through why restaurant inventory counts matter so much and how to make them work in your favor.
What Inventory Counts Actually Measure
A full inventory count is more than a list of what you have on hand. It is a snapshot of what your business owns at a specific moment in time. That snapshot, combined with your purchasing records, is what turns inventory into COGS.
The formula is simple.
Beginning inventory + purchases – ending inventory = your COGS for the period.
If you count accurately, you can calculate how much product was actually used.
Why Inventory Counts Are So Important for Correct COGS
Inventory is the only way to know what was truly used
A kitchen or cellar moves fast. Items get opened, transferred, spilled or repurposed. Without a clean count at the start and end of the period, you cannot measure usage with any reliability. Even a small difference in counts can swing your food cost or pour cost by several points.
You catch waste, spoilage, and shrinkage before they grow
Every operation has some level of waste. Produce spoils, bottles break, staff over portions, kegs foam, and a bit of theft happens in almost every industry. Inventory shines a light on those gaps. When your actual usage does not match what your recipes or sales suggest should have been used, you know there is an issue to solve.
You avoid tying up cash in stock you do not need
Too much inventory means cash sitting on shelves instead of working in your business. Too little inventory means stockouts and missed revenue. Regular counts keep your ordering steady and help you maintain the right balance between availability and waste.
It makes your financial reports more trustworthy
Accurate inventory flows directly into your accounting system. When the numbers are clean, your P&L, balance sheet, and COGS calculations all line up. That makes forecasting easier, budgeting more realistic, and menu decisions far more informed.
How to Build an Inventory Count Process That Works
Count on a regular schedule
Weekly or biweekly counts give you better insights than one big month-end scramble. For restaurants with rapid turnover, weekly is ideal. For wineries and breweries with slower usage on certain items, biweekly might be enough. What matters is consistency.
Count the items that affect your margins the most
Not every ingredient needs perfect precision. A partial bag of flour will not move your numbers the way a half bottle of premium liquor or a tub of imported cheese will. Identify your high-cost items and give them extra attention.
Choose counting methods that remove guesswork
Eyeballing might feel fast, but it is also the quickest way to introduce drift. Use scales, add simple volume markings, or standardize the fractions your team is allowed to use. When everyone measures the same way every time, your counts immediately become more reliable.
Make instructions visual and easy to follow
A few photos taped in the dry storage room or keg cooler can save hours of confusion. Show staff what one quarter, one half, or three quarters looks like for your core items. If certain products must be weighed rather than estimated, label the shelves clearly.
Start reducing partials where you can
Portioning ingredients in advance not only makes prep faster but also eliminates those awkward half containers that cause the biggest swings. Restaurants often portion proteins or sauces. Breweries portion hops and specialty grains. Wineries pre-measure certain additives. Every partial you remove is one less variable in your COGS.
Also read: How to Count Partial Containers Without Losing Your Mind
Cross-Check Your Counts With Real Usage
Even with a solid system, you still want to check your counts against what your sales or batch sheets suggest should have happened. If your numbers say you used 20 pounds of cheese, but your POS suggests you only sold enough dishes to justify 15 pounds, it’s not adding up. That gap tells you to investigate portioning, waste, or even price changes from suppliers that you might not have noticed.
This ongoing comparison helps you catch issues while they are still small enough to fix easily.
Why Strong Inventory Habits Protect Your Margins
Accurate COGS is one of the most powerful tools an operator has. When your COGS reflects what actually happened in your kitchen, cellar or brewhouse, you gain a level of control that most owners never experience. You can adjust pricing with confidence, negotiate with suppliers more effectively, and prevent margin surprises that show up weeks after the damage is done.
Some operators see inventory as a chore. But the ones who treat it as a strategic habit consistently run healthier, more predictable businesses.
How Vast Helps Operators Get Control of COGS
Many restaurant owners want better control over their COGS but feel overwhelmed by messy systems, inconsistent counting methods, and unclear processes. That is where we step in.
At Vast, we help owners build simple, repeatable inventory systems that your team can actually maintain. We focus on accuracy, consistency,y and ease of use so you can finally trust your numbers. When your inventory is clean, your COGS becomes a reliable decision-making tool rather than a monthly surprise.
If you want tighter margins, better visibility, and a smoother month-end process, reach out to Vast.
We will help you build an inventory system that works for your operation and gives you the peace of mind you deserve.