If you are in the restaurant business, you know that alcohol sales generate the largest profit margin and the biggest return on your investment. But liquor costs can also sink your business if you are not careful.

In the simplest terms, the liquor cost or pour cost is the price you pay to purchase alcohol from a distributor. 

What is a good liquor cost percentage? Generally, most bars and restaurants should shoot for a pour cost between 18% and 24%. 

The average bar has a pour cost of 20%, which means every dollar of beverage sales costs the business 20 cents. The average pour cost varies for different types of alcohol — roughly 15% for liquor, 20% for beer, and between 30% and 40% for wine.

Over-pouring, frequent spillage, unrecorded comps, and theft can cause a high pour cost. Here are some steps you can take to lower your liquor cost and take control of your beverage profits:  

Loss prevention - There are many opportunities for mistakes behind a bar. Bartenders are often busy and work without supervision, and it's nearly impossible to control the temptation of handling large sums of cash and dealing with a liquid inventory. 

• Employees need more time to control spillage. 
• Employees need to remember to enter drinks in the POS. 
• Handling large sums of cash can be tempting.
• Free pouring can't guarantee the calculated portion size of a drink, and drinks are never made the same way because there is no consistency. 

These situations make the difference between financial success and failure for bar owners and managers. To salvage potentially lost profits, eliminate bartender over-pouring, and free drinks given away by employees to solicit larger tips, you should consider a liquor control system.

The advantages of a liquor control system

A liquor control system is a combination of a digital liquor pouring device, liquor control software, and an electronic station to track how much liquor is being poured out of each bottle. 

• A liquor control system reduces liquor losses by pouring only the required amount for every drink.
• Bottles are secured, and everything dispensed is recorded in the dispenser and the management software. 
• Automated control makes consistent drinks every time.
• Less training is required for employees. Recipes are stored in the liquor control system.
• Better working atmosphere – transparent and fair rules for everyone. 
• Manually calculating your inventory is no longer necessary. 
• The cost of the system will pay for itself in savings in 6 to 12 months.

If you are interested in purchasing a liquor control system, Quikstone Capital can help with easy, fast, and flexible working capital.

• It's easy – there is a simple one-page application. No collateral is needed. 
• It's fast – from approval to funding takes 2-5 business days.
• It's flexible – there are no fixed payments that could strain your cash flow. Repayment is a small percentage of your credit card sales that fluctuates based on your card volume. When sales are slow, you pay less. When sales increase, your payment increases. Unlike other companies, Quikstone will never do anything to hurt your business.

We offer you a free consultation to answer any questions you might have and give you an idea of how much you could qualify for.

Contact us today to get started!