Pars that only go up
A playoff week becomes a permanent two-case well vodka par. Cash then sits on the rail all season.
Par levels from usage, not folklore
Par level calculator for a liquor well
Par is coverage plus safety, built from what actually left the bottle. Use the formula, then let ExactPour keep the number honest after each count.
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The week you already know
Why most par sheets are fiction
A par copied from a distributor, a sister bar, or last year's busy month will over-order the well and starve the bottle that actually sells.
Storeroom pars on the rail
A cage par of two cases is not a well par. The rail needs openers and backups that survive Saturday.
No usage behind the number
Without a counted period, par is a guess with a decimal. The formula needs a real usage and a real delivery gap.
Par level formula
Usage, coverage days, safety stock
Par = (usage / period days) * coverage days + safety stock. Use the same unit in every field. Round the result to a bottle or case you can actually buy.
Problem vs ExactPour
Guessed par vs measured par
This calculator is a sketch from your last counted week. ExactPour keeps the sketch current after the next session.
The Monday problem
With ExactPour
The Monday problem
You copy a par from a brand rep or another room.
With ExactPour
You compute par from your usage, coverage days, and safety stock.
The Monday problem
The well and the cage share one number.
With ExactPour
Well pars are bottles on the rail. Cage pars are cases in storage.
The Monday problem
Pars never come back down after a busy week.
With ExactPour
Recount, recompute, and lower the target when the calendar cools.
How ExactPour uses a par after you set it
Measure a counted period
Usage equals beginning plus receiving minus ending for the same SKU. Guessed sales do not belong here.
Apply the formula
Daily usage times days until the next delivery, plus safety stock for a spike night or a late truck.
Order from the last count
A par that is not compared to on-hand is only a poster. ExactPour suggests the gap after you count.
The par level formula, without folklore
A par level is the quantity you want on hand just after a delivery, or just after a restock of the rail. The formula is simple: average daily usage times the number of days you must cover, plus safety stock. Average daily usage is usage in a counted period divided by the days in that period. Usage is beginning plus receiving minus ending. It is not a sales guess and it is not last year's busy month copied onto a card.
/glossary/par-level defines the term. /docs/set-par-levels is the method. This page is the calculator and the well-specific story. Casual bars, pubs, and sports bars should set a well par in bottles on the rail, not a cage par in cases. /solutions/well-liquor-inventory explains why those numbers are different jobs.
Worked example on house vodka
A pub counts well vodka for seven days. Beginning is 10 liters equivalent, receiving is 6, ending is 4. Usage is 12 liters. Daily usage is about 1.71 liters. The distributor comes every four days. Coverage need is 6.86 liters. Safety stock of 2 liters for a late truck or a packed Saturday sets par at 8.86 liters, which rounds to nine 1-liter bottles or the case size you can actually buy.
If that same room copies a two-case par from a brand rep, it will bury cash on the rail. If it never lowers the par after football season, it will keep buying a playoff week in March. Recompute after two counted weeks, and again after a menu or calendar change. The calculator above uses the same arithmetic. ExactPour keeps the number next to the next count so ordering is a gap, not a poster.
What this calculator will not do
It will not invent an industry par. It will not turn a four-week holiday spike into a permanent target. It will not replace a count. If you do not have a counted period, you do not have a par. Use /bar-stocktaking and /blog/how-to-count-liquor-inventory first, then come back.
Pour cost is a different metric. Pour cost is cost used divided by beverage sales. Pars protect availability. Pour cost protects margin. See /pour-cost-calculator and /bar-analytics-pour-cost for that cluster. When you want software that suggests the order after you count, start a 14-day trial or read /pricing.
Par level questions
- What is the par level formula?
- Par = (usage in the period / days in the period) * days of coverage + safety stock. Use the same unit throughout. Round to a case or bottle you can actually buy.
- Is this the same as the set-par-levels guide?
- No. /docs/set-par-levels is the method. /glossary/par-level is the definition. This page is the calculator and the well-specific story.
- How much safety stock should a pub use?
- Enough to survive one late truck or one packed Saturday, not a month of fear. Start with one extra well bottle and raise it only after a stockout you can name.
- Which plan suggests orders from pars?
- Counting and pars can start on Free. POS-backed usage is on Starter at $59/month and during the 14-day trial. See /pricing.
Related: set par levels · par level definition · bar analytics · pricing
Set the par from a counted week
Run the calculator, then start a 14-day trial so the next count can keep the number honest.
14 days free · No credit card · Plans from $59/month