Reduce Your Liquor Cost
Without Cutting Corners
The average bar runs a liquor cost of 22–28%. Most should be at 18–22%. That gap isn't a pricing problem — it's a tracking problem. BarGuard finds exactly what's driving it up.
Why your liquor cost is higher than it should be
Most bar owners assume the problem is pricing. Usually it's not. High pour cost almost always traces back to one of these four categories:
Bartenders who free-pour add 10–30% more than the recipe calls for. Without oz-level tracking, you can't see it until the bottle is gone and the cost is already absorbed.
Drinks made wrong, poured out, or intentionally given away create losses that look identical to legitimate usage in your POS reports.
Your menu says 1.5 oz. Your staff pours 2.0 oz. The cost of that 0.5 oz extra, multiplied by every drink sold, is where margins go to die.
Manager comps, spilled drinks, and testing new recipes all consume product. If they're not logged, they show up as unexplained variance.
How BarGuard reduces your liquor cost
BarGuard doesn't just tell you your cost is high — it tells you why it's high and which items to address first.
Link recipes to every drink on your menu
Set the exact pour for each spirit, modifier, and ingredient. BarGuard uses these recipes to calculate expected usage from your POS data.
Count your bottles at shift change
Run a quick count before and after a shift. BarGuard calculates how much should have been consumed vs. how much was actually used.
Identify the over-poured bottles by name
The variance report doesn't say "high pour cost." It says "Tito's Vodka: +4.7 bottles variance — Critical." You know exactly where to start.
Track the change over time
Re-run reports after corrective action. See if variance on specific items is decreasing. Hold staff accountable with data, not guesses.
3–5%
typical pour cost reduction
For a $1M revenue bar, that's $30,000–$50,000/year back.
30 days
to see measurable results
First variance report usually surfaces the biggest problem item within a week.
$129/mo
starting price
Less than the cost of one over-poured bottle per day.
Related
Bar Inventory Software →
The complete BarGuard platform — tracking, reporting, and analytics.
Stop Bartender Theft →
When variance is too high to be over-pouring alone, here's what to look for.
View Pricing →
Plans from $129/month. ROI typically hits week one.
How It Works →
See real screenshots of variance reports and pour cost analytics.
Find out what's driving your liquor cost up
Run your first variance report in under 30 minutes. See exactly which bottles are over their expected usage.
14-day free trial · No credit card required