Question 1

What exactly does BarGuard do?

Accepted Answer

BarGuard tracks your bar's inventory and tells you exactly where product is going missing. You enter your stock counts before and after shifts, import your purchases, and BarGuard calculates the variance — what should have been used versus what actually disappeared. It flags which items are losing you money so you can act on it.

Question 2

How long does setup take?

Accepted Answer

It depends on how many items you carry. A small bar with 30–40 products might take an hour to get everything entered. A full liquor program with 150+ items will take longer. The good news: you only do it once. After that, your daily workflow is just stock counts and scanning invoices.

Question 3

Do I need any special hardware or equipment?

Accepted Answer

No. BarGuard runs entirely in your web browser on any device — phone, tablet, or computer. No scanners, no printers, no special equipment required. Your phone camera is all you need for invoice scanning.

Question 4

Does my staff need training?

Accepted Answer

Minimal. Stock counts are straightforward — staff just enter quantities for each item. The AI invoice scanning is one button. The more complex reports and analysis are manager-level tools that one or two people need to learn.

Question 5

How does the free trial work?

Accepted Answer

Every new account gets 14 days of full access — no credit card required. You get everything including Pro features like POS integration and vendor management. At the end of 14 days, you choose a plan or your account is locked (your data is kept for 90 days).

Question 6

Can I switch plans after signing up?

Accepted Answer

Yes, anytime. You can upgrade or downgrade from your profile page. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the start of your next billing period.

Question 7

Can I cancel anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes. No contracts, no cancellation fees. Cancel from your account settings and you keep access until the end of your current billing period. Your data is retained for 90 days after cancellation in case you change your mind.

Question 8

What is the annual discount?

Accepted Answer

Paying annually saves 20% compared to monthly billing. Basic goes from $129/mo to $103/mo, Pro from $249/mo to $199/mo, and Enterprise from $449/mo to $359/mo. Annual plans are billed in full upfront and are eligible for pro-rated refunds if you cancel.

Question 9

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

Monthly plans have a 5-day refund window after each billing date. Annual plans are eligible for a pro-rated refund based on unused months remaining.

Question 10

What POS systems does BarGuard connect to?

Accepted Answer

Toast and Focus POS are live. Square and Clover are built and available via OAuth — contact us if you want early access while we finish testing. Heartland and Lightspeed are coming soon. If your system is not on the list, you can still import sales data manually.

Question 11

What data syncs from my POS to BarGuard?

Accepted Answer

Item names, quantities sold, check totals, timestamps, and modifiers (where supported by your POS). BarGuard uses this to calculate expected inventory usage against your recipes — every drink sold automatically reduces the expected stock of its ingredients.

Question 12

How do I connect my POS?

Accepted Answer

Go to Settings → POS Integrations and select your system. Toast and Focus POS use credential-based connections you can enter directly. Square and Clover use OAuth — click Connect, log in to your POS account, and authorize access. The whole process takes under 5 minutes.

Question 13

How does AI invoice scanning work?

Accepted Answer

Take a photo or upload a PDF of any delivery invoice. BarGuard sends it to Claude AI, which reads the vendor name, every line item, quantities, and unit costs. You review the extracted data, make any corrections, and confirm. It takes about 30 seconds versus 10 minutes of manual entry.

Question 14

What invoice formats does the scanner accept?

Accepted Answer

Photos taken on your phone, PDF files from email, and images from any scanner. The AI handles printed, handwritten, and digital invoice formats. Most distributor invoice layouts are recognized automatically — including Sysco, Southern Glazer's, and Republic National.

Question 15

What happens if a scanned item doesn't match my inventory?

Accepted Answer

BarGuard flags unmatched items on the review screen before you confirm anything. You can correct the match manually right there, and BarGuard remembers that mapping going forward via the alias system. After a few invoices, most items auto-match without any corrections.

Question 16

How often should I run inventory counts?

Accepted Answer

Most bars do weekly counts on high-value spirits and bi-weekly or monthly counts on lower-turnover items. BarGuard supports any cadence — you can run a count as often as every shift.

Question 17

How is variance calculated?

Accepted Answer

Variance is the difference between expected usage and actual usage. Expected usage is calculated from your POS sales multiplied by your recipes. Actual usage comes from your physical count delta. BarGuard runs this per item, per shift or date range, instantly.

Question 18

What variance percentage is considered normal?

Accepted Answer

Industry standard is 3–7% for a well-run bar. BarGuard flags items above 10% by default as a priority for investigation. Variance above 15% on a high-volume item typically means something systematic — not just occasional spillage.

Question 19

What is the difference between Basic and Pro?

Accepted Answer

Basic covers the core inventory workflow — tracking items, stock counts, AI invoice scanning, and variance reports with 30 days of sales history. Pro adds vendor management, automated reorder suggestions, POS integration, full sales history, and data export.

Question 20

Can I track food items, not just alcohol?

Accepted Answer

Yes. BarGuard supports spirits, beer, wine, food, produce, and any other inventory category. You can mix and match in the same account.

Question 21

Can other bars see my data?

Accepted Answer

No. Every bar account is completely isolated at the database level using row-level security. It is technically impossible for another bar's account to access your inventory, sales, or reports.

Question 22

Does BarGuard use my data to train AI models?

Accepted Answer

No. Your inventory data and stock counts stay in your account. The only data sent to an AI model is the invoice images you upload for scanning — and that is only used to extract the line items for that specific request.

Question 23

What happens to my data if I cancel?

Accepted Answer

Your data is retained for 90 days after cancellation in case you reactivate. After 90 days it is permanently deleted. If you request deletion before the 90 days, we will delete it within 30 days.

Question 24

How do I get help if something isn't working?

Accepted Answer

Email us at support@barguard.app. We typically respond within one business day. Enterprise plan customers receive priority response times.

Question 25

Can I get help setting up my account?

Accepted Answer

Yes — email support@barguard.app and we can walk you through getting your inventory entered, your POS connected, and your first variance report run.

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