Guide contents
Useful restaurant inventory explains every change between two counts. When the closing quantity differs, you should be able to return to receipts, sales, recipes, waste, transfers and corrections that produced it.
The essentials in 30 seconds
- Each ingredient has one stable identity, one base unit and documented purchase conversions.
- Expected stock = opening + receipts − theoretical consumption − waste ± transfers and corrections.
- Investigate variance in quantity first, then value it with a documented cost method.
01 · Item baseOne ingredient, one identity and one reference unit.
Begin with the twenty ingredients carrying the most value or stockout risk. Give each a stable record: name, base unit, supplier pack, conversion, current cost, storage zone and usual supplier.
Chicken may arrive in variable-weight cases but be tracked in kilograms. Oil may be purchased in containers and consumed in millilitres. A can remains a unit. Do not allow the same ingredient to appear as “tomato”, “kitchen tomatoes” and “maticha” depending on who receives it. Search aliases should find one record, not create three inventories.
Create these identities before the first delivery. The restaurant opening guide places them in the complete sequence: suppliers, recipes, opening inventory, POS and service rehearsal.
02 · Movement ledgerEvery quantity enters or leaves with a reason.
A receipt adds inventory after delivered quantity is checked, not when the purchase order is sent. A sale consumes ingredients from its recipe. Waste removes a quantity with a reason. A transfer leaves one location and enters another. Manual adjustment remains exceptional, signed and visible.
The ledger should retain time, quantity, unit, person, source document and balance after movement. Without those fields, a closing number cannot be explained.
An adjustment that overwrites stock fixes the screen. A movement that explains the difference fixes the operation.Inventory principle · Kiwi Guides
Connect every sale to a recipe
A tagine sale does not remove “one tagine” from ingredient inventory. It consumes chicken, onion, oil, spices and garnish in the recipe. Extras, half portions and voids must apply or reverse the correct movements exactly once.
03 · CountingLet risk determine frequency, not habit.
You do not need to count every shelf each night. Classify ingredients by value, velocity, volatility and stockout risk. Count the sensitive group daily or after a critical service, cycle through another family weekly and perform a complete count on a stable schedule.
| Group | Risk examples | Starting frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | Meat, oils, high-value or frequently unavailable items. | Targeted daily |
| Fast | Drinks, packaging and high-velocity ingredients. | Two or three times weekly |
| Stable | Dry spices and low-movement references. | Weekly or cyclic |
| Complete | All zones, same time, movement stopped. | Monthly, then adapt |
This is a starting point, not a universal rule. Count in the same unit, at the same point in the operating cycle and without receiving or issuing during the count. Otherwise you measure movement as if it were inventory.
04 · ReconciliationCalculate expected, compare counted, then value the result.
The operating formula is expected inventory = opening inventory + receipts − theoretical consumption − waste ± transfers and corrections. Quantity variance is counted inventory minus expected inventory.
Chicken example: 18 kg opening + 42 kg received − 35.4 kg consumed by recipes − 1.2 kg recorded waste = 23.4 kg expected. The physical count finds 21.9 kg. Variance is −1.5 kg. At a documented cost of 42 MAD/kg, indicative value is −63 MAD.
| Step | Question | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Unit | Were case, piece, litre and kilogram converted correctly? | Ingredient record |
| Receiving | Was delivered quantity entered instead of ordered quantity? | Signed receipt |
| Recipe | Does theoretical portion match kitchen weights? | Three weights |
| Waste | Were trim, breakage, staff meals and expiry recorded? | Reason ledger |
| Count | Did both counts occur at the same point in the cycle? | Time and signer |
Variance is not evidence of theft. It is a process alert. Accusing someone before checking unit, recipe and receiving damages trust without repairing the data.
05 · ReorderingOrder from actual usage and supplier lead time.
A simple reorder point starts with average usage during supplier lead time + safety stock. Suggested order quantity then replenishes to the chosen target after current on-hand and open receipts are considered.
If the kitchen uses 8 kg of chicken daily, the supplier takes two days and safety stock is 4 kg, required coverage is 20 kg. With 6 kg available and no open receipt, suggested quantity is 14 kg. Adapt safety for closing days, Fridays, Ramadan, events and supplier reliability.
A reorder point is not a permanent number. It is a service promise built from usage, lead time and uncertainty.Replenishment principle · Kiwi Guides
06 · RoutineTwenty consistent minutes beat one monthly cleanup.
- Before service: review stockout alerts and expected receipts.
- At delivery: weigh or count, compare the document, then enter received quantity.
- During service: record breakage, trimming, staff meals and transfers immediately.
- At close: count critical ingredients after activity stops.
- Weekly: rank variances by value and investigate the top three.
- Monthly: review conversions, yields, recipes and reorder settings.
Give each step an owner. “The kitchen handles inventory” is not a role. Name who receives, approves corrections, counts and authorizes reordering.
07 · Common questionsDecisions that make inventory usable.
What is the expected inventory formula?
Opening inventory + receipts − theoretical consumption − waste ± transfers and corrections. Compare the result with the physical count.
How often should a restaurant count inventory?
Frequency follows risk. Count expensive, fast or critical ingredients more often, then use cycle counts and a regular complete inventory.
How should inventory variance be valued?
Calculate variance in the base unit first, then multiply it by a documented, stable cost method. Value prioritizes investigation; it does not replace quantity analysis.
How should waste and staff meals be recorded?
Record separate movements with quantity, reason, author and time. Mixing them with sales distorts theoretical consumption.
Is a spreadsheet enough?
It can be enough to start when units, responsibilities and movements are disciplined. It reaches its limit when multiple people or locations edit the same inventory and sales must consume recipes automatically.
Official sourcesOperational inventory does not replace the fiscal count.
Perpetual inventory and recipe deductions are operating controls, not substitutes for the fiscal year-end inventory. For taxpayers within scope, article 145-II of the 2026 General Tax Code requires a detailed inventory in quantities and values, while article 211 requires accounting records to be retained for ten years. Article 12 of Law 28-07 requires traceability of suppliers and recipients. None of these texts prescribes automatic recipe depletion or a reorder formula.
- Moroccan Tax Administration · 2026 General Tax Code, articles 145-II and 211.
- ONSSA · Law 28-07 on food safety, article 12.
Verification: official sources checked on August 24, 2026. Tax, food-safety and local rules can change; confirm how they apply to your activity with your accountant and the competent authorities before acting.