Definition
Actual usage
The quantity of inventory that records indicate left on-hand stock during a defined period, computed from opening count, receipts, transfers, and closing count.
Formula
Actual usage = beginning inventory + received + transfers in − transfers out − ending inventory
Worked example
Monday open: 12.0 L vodka. During the week you receive 9.0 L and transfer 1.5 L to a satellite bar. Sunday close: 8.0 L. Actual usage = 12 + 9 + 0 − 1.5 − 8 = 11.5 L. That is what left the counted locations, regardless of what the POS says you sold.
When operators use this
Use actual usage as the physical side of a weekly well review. It is the number you compare to projected usage after the stocktake. Sports bars should compute it after a game week the same way they do after a quiet Tuesday so the comparison stays fair. See bar inventory counting basics and bar stocktaking for the count that feeds it.
Common mistakes
Calling actual usage 'what we sold' is the usual error. Sales are a different ledger. A missed receiving line, a transfer that never got a ticket, or a fill rounded to half on every well bottle will move actual usage without a guest ever seeing a drink. Fix the count and the cutoff before you coach the rail.
How ExactPour handles it
ExactPour closes each count session with sealed units and fill levels, then rolls receipts and transfers into the same period. Actual usage appears on variance reports beside projected usage so you can see the physical movement before you interpret the gap.
Qualification
The result inherits errors in counts, receiving, transfers, units, and cutoff timing. A clean actual-usage number still does not name a cause.