This guide covers how to manage bottled, canned, and draft beer in reciProfity. While alcoholic inventory works similarly to food, there are a few key differences and best practices to keep in mind.
Understanding Pour Cost
Anywhere you see “Food Cost,” you can substitute “Beverage Cost” or “Pour Cost.” The formulas are the same, so the same inventory principles apply.
Inventory Organization Tips
Super Groups and Groups
You have two main options:
- Create a Super Group called Alcohol, with Groups like Bottled Beer and Draft Beer.
- Or, create a Super Group called Beer, with Bottled Beer and Draft Beer as subgroups.
Choose the structure that best aligns with your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) setup in your accounting software. If you’re not using accounting software, just make sure your inventory and COGS tracking match your bookkeeping forms.
Naming Conventions
If you sell both draft and bottled beer from the same brewer, use clear, distinct names to avoid confusion (e.g., “Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – Draft” vs. “Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – Bottle”).
Saleable Items
For bottled and canned beer:
- Use the Saleable Item section at the bottom of the ingredient screen.
- Add the menu price and PLU number to track sales accurately.
Packaging Setup
For bottled and canned beer:
- Purchasing Unit: Case
- Pack Size: Bottle
For draft beer (kegs):
- Purchasing Unit: Keg
- Pack Unit & Description: Floz (fluid ounces)
- Ask your beer supplier for the ounce size/head ratio to calculate keg yield.
Later, you can create serving recipes for glasses and pitchers in the Recipe section.
reciProfity also supports partial keg packaging. Just click the Template in the Packaging section of the ingredient, and the system will auto-fill the correct measurements (e.g., a half keg = 1984 floz).
reciProfity will fill in the correct measurements. For example, a half keg is 1984 floz.