Pub stocktaking works best as a short weekly loop. Count your wet stock at the same point each week, record what is physically there, compare it with what deliveries and till sales say should be there, then investigate the gaps that keep repeating. That turns a count into a margin check.
Wet stock rarely disappears in one go. It goes a measure at a time: a generous free pour at last orders, a bottle dropped mid-shift, a delivery signed for but never keyed in, beer pulled through at line cleaning with no note made. Each one looks too small to chase. Repeated every week, together they sit between the GP% you priced for and the GP% you actually bank.
This guide is for independent pub owners and general managers who want a routine they can keep. It covers what to count, how to compare, how to read variance without jumping to blame, and an honest test for when a spreadsheet stops being enough.
A monthly count tells you that something went wrong. A weekly count gives you a fair chance of finding out what. Instead of asking "why are we short on this gin?", you can ask "what happened to this gin since last Sunday?" That is a much easier question to answer.
Timing matters for people too. Within a week, your team still remembers the busy Saturday, the broken bottle and the round that was comped for a regular. Four weeks later, nobody does.
Margins leave little room for avoidable loss. According to the British Beer and Pub Association (5 May 2026), 161 pubs closed across England, Scotland and Wales in the first three months of 2026, almost two a day. When trading is that tight, wet stock that leaves the building without a sale matters.
If you already use a professional stocktaker or receive a periodic stocktake through your pub company, keep it. A weekly in-house check sits alongside it. It simply means you spot a problem weeks before the formal report confirms it.
Wet stock is every drink you buy in to sell. In most pubs that means:
Wet stock variance is the gap between the stock you should have and the stock you actually count. The sum behind it is simple:
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Expected closing stock = opening stock + deliveries − sales (in units) − recorded wastage Variance = counted stock − expected closing stock |
A negative variance means product left without a matching sale or record. A positive one usually points to a counting or recording error rather than a windfall. Either way, variance is a signal to look closer, not a verdict.
Full kegs, full casks and sealed bottles are easy. Open stock is where counts drift. For the keg or cask on the line, pick one method (weighing it, using a dip gauge, or estimating in fixed fractions) and use that same method every week. As a reference, a 50-litre keg holds about 88 pints and a nine-gallon cask holds 72 pints before line and sediment losses.
For open spirit and wine bottles, count in tenths or weigh them. Again, consistency beats precision. A slightly rough method used the same way every week shows trends. A precise method used differently each time hides them.
The Weekly Wet Stock Loop is the five-step routine this guide is built around: Count, Record, Compare, Investigate, Track. Each step feeds the next, and week five builds on week one.
"It was never one big loss. It was the same two optics, every Saturday, for six weeks."
Illustrative example of the note a GM might write after a month of weekly counts. Not a customer quote.
For some independent pubs, a well-kept spreadsheet is enough. If you run one bar, carry a short product list and one person does the count quickly, you may not need anything else. The decision changes as the work gets heavier.
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Spreadsheet and paper |
Pub stocktaking software |
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Counting |
Paper sheets, then typed up |
Counted on a phone or tablet straight into the system |
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Expected stock |
Manual formulas that break when rows move |
Worked out from deliveries and EPOS sales where integrated |
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Variance view |
One sheet per week, hard to compare |
By line and category, week on week |
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Deliveries and prices |
Invoices and stock in separate places |
Recorded against stock, price changes visible |
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Several people counting |
Version confusion and double entry |
One shared count |
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Best fit |
One bar, short range, one counter |
Several counters, larger range, or more than one site |
A quick test: if three or more of these sound familiar, software is likely to earn its keep.
If none of that applies and you already get timely, trustworthy numbers, keep your current method. If the count is eating your week and you still cannot see where margin goes, bar and brewery stock control software is worth a look. StockTake Online runs on any phone, tablet or browser, links with EPOS systems including Lightspeed, Aloha EPOS, TISSL and Grafterr, and reports GP%, variance and waste by line. Operators typically save up to 4 to 6 hours of senior staff time a week once counting and reconciliation move out of spreadsheets.
Use this before your next count:
Finishing the count is not the goal. Making the numbers useful is.
Pick your count time, walk the loop once, and write down what you find. After four weeks you will know your normal and your outliers. Start by working out what each serve should cost with the beverage cost calculator. If counting and reconciling is what is holding you back, book a demo to see pub stocktaking, wet stock variance and beverage costing in one place.
Frequently asked questions
How often should an independent pub do a stocktake? Weekly suits most independent pubs. It is frequent enough to catch problems while staff still remember the shift, and light enough to keep up. Busy wet-led venues may count high-value spirits and top draught lines more often.
What should a pub include in its wet stock count? Count draught beer and cider in kegs and casks, bottled and canned drinks, spirits on optics and the back bar, wine, soft drinks, mixers and post-mix. Include open stock using one fixed method every week.
How do you calculate wet stock variance? Work out expected closing stock as opening stock plus deliveries, minus sales in units and recorded wastage. Subtract that from your physical count. The difference is your variance for the period.
What causes wet stock variance in a pub? Common causes are over-pouring, unlogged line cleaning, breakages, comps and staff drinks not rung through, delivery errors, till buttons mapped to the wrong product and counting mistakes. Theft is only one possibility.
Do small pubs need stocktaking software? Not always. A single bar with a short range and one counter can manage well with a spreadsheet. Software tends to pay when counts take hours, several people count, or you cannot see which lines vary week to week.