Gilligan’s Pub is a small neighborhood pub. Full occupancy is about 50 people. However, the importance of inventory control doesn’t diminish due to the size of the operation. Inventory control is my job and I’ve lost a tremendous amount of revenue due to theft.
This system gives anyone using it time, which is one of the most important assets anyone can gain using this system. Balancing the cost of the system versus the size of my operation was the single biggest concern when arguing the point of size (revenue) versus budget. Yes, the cost was a major concern. With annual revenues below $250k, my justification is that weekly inventories are possible and the ability to do daily inventories (which I have done) are productive to my business. Since purchasing AccuBar, my inventory costs have reduced by as much as 50% and theft has dropped to almost 0%. This system has kept my staff honest; it’s that simple. It’s a major deterrent to theft.
This system is accurate and time saving. My old way of inventory control was to mark down the amount of liquor in a bottle in quarter increments and count all the beer bottles, mark those figures down on a Excel sheet, go home and transfer everything onto my computer. I would then know approximately how much I was losing. However, the old system had many flaws. For instance, when the inventory results were poor you always assumed you made a mistake in the process. Inevitably I sometimes redid the inventory 2-3 times just to make sure I was accurate. Since the old system took almost 3 hours to do with help, when you have doubts about the accuracy of your results that meant spending the whole day on inventory. And, if you did make a mistake that meant next week’s results were going to be off too. Since this way of doing inventory takes around 3-4 weeks to balance itself out before results can be relied upon, errors are devastating. Excluding keg beer, my inventory takes an hour and a half, alone. Most of that time is pulling bottled beer from the coolers to count. I consider that incredible.
Before you start making accusations to staff concerning theft, being sure of your figures is paramount. That’s especially true in an operation that is small because you tend to make relationships with your staff beyond employer/employee. That forces you to consider your data when a friendship relationship exists, and you can be assured that with AccuBar your data is accurate. Your count is directly input into a PDA which you transfer to your PC and then upload to the website. Inside the website you enter your sales for the period. Within minutes your results are waiting for you. Instantaneous results, no errors and no arguments. Proof, or evidence if you will, should an unfortunate occasion arise.
I employ 5 bartenders. One week prior to purchasing AccuBar, my inventory was horrible. I made a very distinct agenda to point out the abilities of AccuBar to that staff. When it arrived I showed it to them and showed them its functions along with a copy of exactly what I had on hand in inventory at that time so that they could count the bottles or eyeball the liquor bottles if they deemed it necessary to verify accuracy and my intentions. That week 4 bartenders resigned. All of them we considered friends. Just showing them the results of the old way of doing inventory and the new way of doing inventory was enough to scare them off. Because there are no errors with this system, it takes away all doubt in your results, leaving those responsible to explain their actions.
Overall, I won’t operate another bar without this system. This system is capable of handling inventories in multiple locations as well. If the cost alone is the prohibitive factor, reevaluate your position before giving up on the purchase. They will work out payments with you too, that’s how I purchased.
This system is by far the best that I have seen and I’ve been looking a long time. If you are in Tucson, AZ or close enough to take a look for yourself don’t hesitate to contact me and I will show you how it works; its ease of data entry, its ease of entering bottle volume, its ease of entering counts for everything else beyond liquor and beer, it’s ease of counting empties and receivables, its ease of eliminating errors and its ease of obtaining profit reports. Not only that but, another benefit is reordering which is time saving and has reduced my costs as well. If you are serious about your inventory, this is a great answer to your concerns. I’ll be available to anyone who wants to see how this system works before making the purchase.
Kevin Gilligan, owner
Gilligan’s Pub, Arizona
