Running a hospitality business is a constant battle against the "Prime Cost" beast. As a manager or owner, you spend half your life worrying about Labor (that’s where we come in!) and the other half worrying about COGS (Cost of Goods Sold).
At HeyHire, we’re obsessed with helping you build the best teams possible. But even the best bartender in the world can’t save your bottom line if your inventory operational systems are leaking cash.
That’s why we connected with Scott Douthitt at Bar-i. They are doing for bar inventory what we do for hiring: taking a messy, manual process and making it smarter, faster, and more profitable.
The "Make Counting Count" Philosophy
Scott shared a statistic with us that blew our minds: Pro users of their Speed Count system often see a 30% increase in profitability. That isn’t from selling more drinks—it’s from simply stopping the invisible leaks in inventory.
But before you spend a dime on new software, Scott shared 5 completely free strategies you can implement today to tighten up your ship.
5 Ways to Lower Liquor Costs for Free
We highly recommend reading Bar-i’s full breakdown here, but here is the cheat sheet for busy operators:
1. Perfect Your Receiving Process Most loss happens before the bottle even hits the shelf. If you aren't checking every invoice line-by-line against the actual delivery, you are paying for air.
2. The "One Drink, One Button" Rule Stop using generic "Rocks" or "Double" buttons on your POS. If you don't have a specific button for every specific pour, your sales data is useless, and you can't track what’s actually missing.
3. Monetize Your "Free" Goods Distributors often give out sample bottles. Don't just drink them or let them gather dust! Create a 100% profit special or use them as a reward for your top-performing staff member (maybe the one you just hired through HeyHire?).
4. Engineer a Smarter Signature Drink Don't put your most expensive spirit in a cocktail masked by three different fruit juices. Use a quality mid-range spirit to lower the pour cost while keeping the quality high.
5. Stop the "Hook-Ups" (Consistent Portioning) Over-pouring for regulars doesn't make them loyal; it makes your inventory inconsistent. Consistent service is better than a heavy hand.
Why This Matters to Hiring
You might ask, "Why is a hiring platform writing about liquor inventory?"
Because efficiency is a ecosystem. When you stop bleeding money on waste and spillage, you lower your COGS. When you lower your COGS, you have more budget available for Labor.
Saving 30% on inventory efficiency means you can afford to:
- Pay your best staff better wages.
- Spend more time training and less time counting bottles.
- Hire that extra support role you’ve been putting off.
The Next Step
If you are ready to fix your labor costs, Start hiring with HeyHire.
If you are ready to fix your pouring costs, go check out Bar-i’s Speed Count System. They can help you cut counting time in half and finally bridge the gap between what you sold and what you poured.
Special thanks to Scott Douthitt for the insights!