Estimate the period
Run pour cost, variance, or days-on-hand with numbers you already trust from a count or invoice.
Public tools
Transparent beverage inventory calculators
Change the inputs and inspect the math. Calculations run in your browser and are not saved to an ExactPour account. These are simplified teaching versions (no transfers, credits, or multi-location rollups). ExactPour applies the fuller identities from your counts and POS. See bar inventory software.
Pour cost calculator
Estimate period beverage cost used and express it as a share of beverage sales. A shorter Toast-owner planner also lives at /pour-cost-calculator.
Formula
Cost used = beginning inventory cost + purchases − ending inventory cost
Pour cost % = cost used ÷ beverage sales × 100
Assumptions and limits
All values cover the same period, location, and beverage categories. This simplified version assumes transfers, credits, and returns are zero or already reflected in the entered values. Beverage sales exclude any amounts your accounting policy does not treat as beverage revenue.
Read the methodPar level calculator
Turn counted usage into a well or cage par. A dedicated planner also lives at /par-level-calculator.
Formula
Daily usage = usage in the period / days in the period
Par = daily usage * coverage days + safety stock
Assumptions and limits
Usage must come from a counted period (beginning plus receiving minus ending). Coverage days should match the real delivery gap. Safety stock is extra units for a late truck or a spike night, not a month of fear.
Read the methodVariance diagnostic
Compare measured usage with recipe-based usage in one consistent quantity unit.
Formula
Actual usage = beginning quantity + received − ending quantity
Projected usage = items sold × recipe quantity
Usage variance = actual usage − projected usage − documented waste
Assumptions and limits
Transfers and returns are zero or already reflected. Every quantity uses the same unit. A positive result indicates excess measured usage after the entered waste adjustment; it does not determine a cause.
Read the methodShrinkage dollar impact
Translate the gap between actual and projected beverage cost into dollars and percent of sales.
Formula
Cost gap = actual beverage cost used − projected beverage cost
Gap % of sales = cost gap ÷ beverage sales × 100
Gap % of projected = cost gap ÷ projected beverage cost × 100
Assumptions and limits
Projected cost should come from recipe-mapped POS sales for the same period as actual cost used. A positive gap is unexplained cost pressure, not a proven theft figure.
Read the methodInventory days on hand
Estimate how many days of beverage usage your ending inventory represents.
Formula
Daily usage = beverage cost used ÷ period days
Days on hand = ending inventory cost ÷ daily usage
Assumptions and limits
Cost used and ending inventory must use the same valuation method and beverage scope. Results are planning averages, not a reorder recommendation by themselves.
Read the methodInventory cadence planner
Estimate the recurring labor implied by a chosen count interval.
Formula
Average counts per month = 30.44 ÷ days between counts
Labor hours per month = counts per month × minutes per count × people ÷ 60
Labor cost per month = labor hours per month × loaded hourly labor cost
Assumptions and limits
30.44 is the average number of days per month in a 365.24-day year. Results are planning averages, not a schedule or a recommendation. They exclude setup, review, correction, and follow-up time unless included in minutes per count.
Read the methodFull-page tool
Bar ROI calculator
Estimate what shrinkage and manual count labor could be costing your bar each year. Three sliders, transparent assumptions you can audit, and results that update live in your browser (no email required to see them).
Open the ROI calculatorOptional
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Calculator FAQ
- Are these calculators free to use?
- Yes. They run in your browser, are not saved to an ExactPour account, and do not require a trial signup.
- How do these tools relate to ExactPour bar inventory software?
- They teach the same formulas ExactPour computes automatically from barcode counts and POS sales. Use them to sanity-check a period, then see the full workflow on /bar-inventory-software.
- Does a positive shrinkage gap prove theft?
- No. A gap between actual and projected cost can come from over-pouring, comps, transfers, recipe errors, timing, or measurement error. Investigate before assigning a cause.
Related: Bar inventory software · 2026 inventory research notes · Guides
These educational estimates are not accounting, tax, legal, or employment advice. See the methodology and corrections policy.
Estimate, investigate, then automate
Investigate the gap
Use the diagnostic views and linked guides before you assign a cause like theft or over-pour.
Automate the loop
ExactPour computes the same formulas from barcode counts and POS sales so you are not retyping them weekly.
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Stop retyping the same formulas
These calculators are the same math ExactPour runs from barcode counts and POS sales. Book a walkthrough to see it on your bar.
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