A stock count tells you what you really have on your shelves. Done regularly, it is also the only honest way to know your food cost. This guide walks through how to count, how often, how to turn the count into a food cost figure, and how to read the result. There is a free stocktake template at the end.
What is a stocktake?
A stocktake (or stock count) is a full count of everything you hold in stock on a given day, from the cold room to the dry store. You write down how much of each item you have and what it cost you. Add it all up and you have the value of your stock on that day.
On its own, one count only tells you what is on the shelves. The value comes from comparing counts: what you had at the start, what you bought, and what was left at the end tells you what you actually used.
How often should a restaurant count stock?
There is no fixed rule, but most kitchens settle on one of these:
- Weekly for food. Fresh stock turns over fast, so a weekly count catches problems while you can still do something about them.
- Monthly at the least, so your stock value lines up with your monthly accounts.
- Daily spot checks on your most expensive items, such as meat, fish and cheese.
Whatever you choose, keep the period the same length every time and count on the same day and at the same time, ideally before a delivery and after service. Otherwise the numbers are not comparable.
How to do a stock count in a restaurant, step by step
- Pick a quiet time. Before deliveries arrive and after service, when nothing is moving.
- Tidy first. Put away deliveries, group the same items together and turn labels to the front. A tidy store counts twice as fast.
- Use a count sheet that follows your shelves. List items in the order they sit in each area (cold room, freezer, dry store, drinks, cleaning), so the counter walks one route and never jumps back.
- Count in the unit you buy in. If you buy rice in 10 kg bags, count bags, and write part bags as a fraction (0.5 bag). Use the same unit every time.
- Count in pairs if you can. One person counts, one writes. Swap halfway on large stores.
- Don’t forget the open items. Opened containers, prep in the fridge and stock at the pass all count.
- Add the price. Use the last price you paid per unit. Quantity times unit price gives the value of each line.
- Check before you finish. If a number looks odd compared with last time, recount that item now. It takes a minute now and saves an argument later.
Count what matters most more often (the 80/20 rule)
In most kitchens a small share of items makes up most of the stock value. That is the 80/20 rule in inventory: roughly 20% of your items carry about 80% of the value. Find those items (usually proteins, cheese and a few premium ingredients) and count them more often, even daily. Count the cheap, slow items less often.
Use FIFO while you count
FIFO means first in, first out: older stock goes to the front and gets used first. The count is the best moment to check it. Move older stock forward, and note anything close to its use-by date so the kitchen can plan it into a dish instead of throwing it away.
How to work out food cost from your stocktake
This is where the count pays off. For any period (a week or a month):
Opening stock + purchases − closing stock = cost of food used
Cost of food used ÷ food sales × 100 = food cost %
An example with round numbers:
| Opening stock (last count) | €8,000 |
| Purchases this month (from supplier invoices) | €12,000 |
| Closing stock (this count) | €7,500 |
| Cost of food used | €12,500 |
| Food sales this month (from the till) | €40,000 |
| Food cost | 31.3% |
Only use invoices for goods that arrived in the period, and food sales without drinks if you only counted food.
What is a good stocktake result?
A good result is one where what you used matches what you sold.
Your till tells you what you sold. Your recipes tell you what those dishes should have used. Your stocktake tells you what was actually used. The difference between the last two is your variance.
Some variance is always there: trimming, a dropped tray, staff meals, a generous portion on a busy night. So the question is not whether there is a gap, but:
- Is it stable? A gap that is about the same every period is part of how your kitchen works. A gap that grows is a signal.
- Which items drive it? Sort by the value of the gap, not the quantity. Ten missing portions of steak matter more than a missing bag of onions.
- Is there a simple reason? Most gaps have one: a delivery not booked, a recipe that changed, a price that went up, waste nobody wrote down.
Treat a gap as a question for the team, not a verdict on a person. The fix is usually a process, not a culprit.
Free stocktake template
Download the free template and print it or fill it in on a laptop. It is laid out by storage area, counts in buying units and adds up the value for you.
Between counts: where Tyll helps
A stocktake shows you the gap once a week or once a month, usually after the money is gone. Tyll fills in the days between. Your team counts stock on a phone, and Tyll works out what should be left from your last count, deliveries and sales, so you see what runs out next and where the numbers stop adding up. It reads the systems you already use and changes nothing in them.
We start with a free stock count together with your team, then a free 30 day pilot on your own data. See the stock page, try the demo or book a 15 minute call.
Quick answers
How long does a stock count take? It depends on the size of your stores and how tidy they are. What makes it fast is a sheet that follows your shelves and counting in the same order every time.
Should the same person count every time? It helps to have one person own the process, but rotate who counts with them. A fresh pair of eyes spots things a regular counter stops seeing.
Do I count prepped food? Yes, if it has real value (sauces, portioned proteins, stocks). Value it at the cost of its main ingredients, and do it the same way every time.
What is the difference between stock control and a stocktake? A stocktake is the count itself. Stock control is everything around it: ordering the right amounts, receiving deliveries properly, storing with FIFO and comparing usage with sales.