Inventory is where most restaurant profit is won or lost. Too much stock and it spoils; too little and you turn customers away. The good news: a simple routine, done consistently, solves most of the problem. Here is a system any restaurant, café or cloud kitchen in Pakistan can start this week.
Step 1: List every item you buy
Create one list of everything you purchase: meat, poultry, vegetables, dairy, spices, oil, flour, rice, beverages, packaging and disposables. For each item note the unit you buy in (kg, litre, carton, piece), your main supplier and the current price.
Step 2: Group items by value
Not every item deserves the same attention. Split your list into three groups:
- A items: the 10–15 most expensive ingredients, such as chicken, mutton, beef, cooking oil, cheese, basmati rice. Count these daily.
- B items: mid-value items such as vegetables, dairy and sauces. Count weekly.
- C items: spices, packaging and cleaning supplies. Count monthly.
Step 3: Set par levels
A par level is the minimum amount you should have before the next delivery. Look at average daily usage, multiply by the days until your next delivery, and add a small buffer for busy days. For example, if you use 40 kg of chicken a day and get deliveries every two days, your par might be around 90 kg. Whenever stock falls below par, it's time to order.
Step 4: Receive stock properly
Most losses start at the back door. On every delivery:
- Weigh meat and poultry, don't trust the slip
- Check quality and expiry dates
- Match quantities and prices against what you ordered
- Record the delivery the same day
Step 5: Store with first in, first out
Label containers with the date received or prepared. Place new stock behind old stock in the fridge and cold room. In Pakistani summers, this one habit prevents a large share of spoilage.
Step 6: Compare usage with sales
This is the step most restaurants skip, and it matters most. If you sold 200 chicken karahis and each uses 250 g of chicken, you should have used about 50 kg. If your count shows 62 kg used, 12 kg is lost to waste, over-portioning or theft. Without this comparison, you never know.
Step 7: Record waste
Keep a simple waste log: what was thrown away, how much and why (burnt, expired, returned by customer). Within a few weeks the patterns become obvious, such as over-prepping on slow days.
Making it automatic with a POS
Doing these steps on paper or in Excel works, but it takes time and slips when the restaurant gets busy. A restaurant POS with inventory, like Kashio, handles most of it for you:
- Recipes deduct ingredients automatically with every sale
- Low-stock alerts when items fall below par
- Purchase orders and supplier records in one place
- Expected versus actual stock reports that show losses instantly
- Stock transfers between branches and a central kitchen
Start small
You don't need a perfect system on day one. Start by counting your A items every night and comparing them with sales. Add par levels next, then a waste log. Within a month you will know exactly where your stock goes.
Want inventory that runs itself? Try Kashio free for one month. We set up your items and recipes for you.