Using an effective inventory management system is crucial for Restaurant Owners in Dubai. Neglecting your inventory can have dire consequences for your business. Your customers will notice if their favourite meals aren’t as good as they remember, or simply aren’t available.
We have five invaluable tips for Restaurant Owners in Dubai, on how to save on food purchasing costs, by more effectively keeping tabs on their spend and avoiding waste.
Establish prime vendor relationships
Rather than always buying from the same supplier out of habit, compare prices from a number of vendors. Enquire about how your vendor can customise your order to suit your needs.
Negotiate the best deals possible for regular supplies, and try to lock them in for a fixed period. You’ll get a better deal from a supplier who will get all of your annual spend rather than only a portion of it. Touch base with your vendors regularly and find out what special deals or seasonal offers that have.
Record waste and Re-purpose leftovers
Whenever food gets deducted from your inventory, you should know the reason why. While you do your manual stock-takes, record any waste and add the reason why. Inventory tracking isn’t just about knowing what you have on hand. When you know what you’ve wasted and why, you can effectively quantify your losses and take measures to prevent it from happening again.
If you have leftovers of certain ingredients, due to unused stock for the week, don’t be afraid to change up your menu at the last minute to accommodate them. Add some flair and variety to your offering with ‘Specials of the day’ and you’ll avoid wasting otherwise unused stock.
Review your menu items regularly
Review of your menu items should be done on an ongoing basis. Take note of which meals are being sent back uneaten, whether there are trends around certain serving sizes or preferences around specific ingredients that your customers are showing.
Incorporate this as a regular talking point at staff meetings. Ensure your staff notice what’s being eaten and what’s not, and that they give regular reports to you and your chef.
Maximise your Point-of-sale inventory system
In order to effectively manage your inventory, we recommend that Restaurant Owners in Dubai should be running a hospitality-specific, point-of-sale system with advanced inventory capabilities. Once you have this running, every ingredient used in your menu items needs to be loaded.
Define minimum levels of each ingredient, and when stock gets low, the point-of-sale can alert you and even generate a purchase order.
Follow this up with a manual stock-take – it’s important to double check the actual quantity of all ingredients. Designate responsibility for a daily inventory routine and assign two people to ensure accurate counts. Perishable items should be checked daily, and non-perishable items counted once or twice a week.
Conduct regular budget reviews
Schedule time every week to review your purchasing budget, and keep an eye on any spending trends or abnormalities. Checking your accounts must also include checking off goods received against goods ordered for discrepancies. Check for quality on what you’ve received too and don’t be afraid to send back produce that doesn’t meet your standards.
Following these simple guidelines will ensure that as a Restaurant Owner in Dubai, you have a handle on your business like never before.
Xcel accounting offer comprehensive accounting and finance outsource services to small and mid-sized restaurants and can bring financial expertise to your business. We’re committed to helping Dubai businesses take the reins on their financial strategy, by taking care of all their accounting needs.
Let us help you save on your restaurant running costs. Book a consultation session today, and let us assist with a review of your accounts or advice on inventory management systems. We’ll ensure you have all the info you need to run your restaurant more effectively.
