Restaurant Inventory Count Checklist

Pull count sheets from MarginEdge or R365 in storage-location order — walk-in, freezer, dry storage, bar — so counters move through the kitchen once instead of crisscrossing. Confirm new SKUs added since the last period are on the sheet; missing lines are the most common reason theoretical and actual diverge.

Notify Sysco, US Foods, and produce vendors that the back door is closed for the count window. A case received mid-count and signed for but not yet entered as a PO is the single largest source of phantom variance.

Weigh open cases of beef, pork, and seafood on the platform scale; full unopened cases count by case. Note any product past the use-by date in the variance notes — it gets written off, not rolled forward.

Pull the FIFO front-rotation forward and count by case, bag, or weight as the unit-of-measure column dictates. Wilted or moldy product is pulled to the prep table for write-off, not counted as good inventory.

Open cases get weighed; sealed cases count as full. Verify walk-in is holding 41°F or below before you start — temperature out of range during count is a documentation problem you'll want flagged in the same session.

Count from the back wall forward so newer drops don't get double-counted. Freezer-burned product (white edges, ice crystals through the bag) gets pulled and written off; do not roll it forward as good stock.

Use the bar scale or visual tenths against a graduated chart — half-full eyeballed is the largest source of pour-cost noise. Count the well, the back bar, and the liquor room separately so missing bottles are traceable to a station.

Tap-line kegs are weighed against the empty-keg tare on the bar par sheet — full, three-quarter, half, quarter. Bottled and canned beer count by case and singles. Note any blown lines or kegs short on CO2 in the bar log.

Cocktail and dinner napkins, to-go clamshells, deli cups, lids, and bags count by sleeve or case. Flag anything below par against the bar par sheet so the next vendor order goes out the morning after the count.

Three-bay sink sanitizer, dish-machine detergent and rinse aid, degreaser, glass cleaner. Concentrate must stay locked in the chemical closet per OSHA — count what's in the closet plus what's at the dish station, not just the pour bottles on the line.

Plates, glassware, ramekins, silverware. Subtract breakage from prior count to derive current par; replacement orders go on the same vendor PO as paper goods. Persistent breakage at one station usually traces to a tray-stacking habit.

Key counts into the inventory module the morning after — fresher in memory and any handwriting questions can be resolved with the counter still on shift. Save and lock the period before running the variance report.

Pull the theoretical-vs-actual report from the POS sales mix against the count. Anything inside 2% is normal noise; 2-5% means a category is leaking; over 5% means stop and investigate before closing the period.

Sort the variance report by extended dollar impact and start at the top. Common culprits: an invoice keyed to the wrong unit-of-measure, a recipe change that wasn't pushed to the POS, comp-and-void abuse at one server, or a station that's over-portioning. Document the root cause per line item.

Variance over 5% on prime cost is a financial event, not a kitchen note. Loop in the GM and owner-operator the same day with the line-item findings; do not close the period until ownership signs off on the writeup.