Inventory counts: Weekly vs monthly and why it matters

Most operators count inventory because they "have to" for accounting or tax purposes. But here's what they miss: regular stock counts aren't just about compliance. They're your early warning system for theft, waste, over-ordering, and menu costing errors. The question isn't whether to count, it's how often.

The answer? It depends on the item. Some ingredients need weekly attention. Others can wait a month. Getting the frequency right means you catch problems early without drowning your team in busywork.

Why inventory frequency matters more than you think

Imagine you count monthly and discover a $2,000 variance in your protein stock. What happened? Was it theft? Over-portioning? Bad yield from a supplier? A recipe costing error? Good luck figuring it out four weeks after the fact.

Now imagine you count high-value items weekly. You spot a $300 variance in lamb on Tuesday. You can immediately check last week's prep logs, review portion sizes during weekend service, and talk to staff while they still remember. That's the difference between guessing and fixing.

The core principle: Count frequency should match the speed at which problems can spiral. High-value, fast-moving items need weekly visibility. Low-value, slow-moving items can wait.

Periodic vs perpetual: Two different approaches

Before we talk about weekly versus monthly, understand these two systems:

Periodic inventory: You count everything at set intervals (weekly, monthly, etc.). Between counts, you have no idea what's on hand. This is what most small venues do because it's simple.

Perpetual inventory: You track every item in real time. Every delivery, sale, and waste event updates your "theoretical" stock level. Physical counts verify accuracy. This is what larger operations and venues with POS integration use.

Most restaurants use a hybrid. They track high-value items perpetually and count everything else periodically. That's the sweet spot for most businesses.

Weekly counts: What needs constant attention

Count these categories weekly without fail:

1. High-value proteins (beef, lamb, seafood): A 5% variance on $10,000 of monthly protein spend is $500 gone. Weekly counts let you spot problems when they're still $100, not $500.

2. High-theft items (alcohol, premium spirits): Booze walks out of kitchens. Count it weekly, reconcile with POS sales, and investigate any gaps immediately.

3. Short-shelf-life perishables (fresh herbs, berries, specialty greens): These spoil fast. Weekly counts help you right-size orders before you're binning $200 of microgreens every Thursday.

4. High-turnover items with thin margins (chicken, produce staples): You're moving volume. Even small portioning errors or yield issues compound quickly.

Monthly counts: What can wait

These categories don't need weekly attention:

1. Dry goods and staples (flour, rice, oil, canned goods): Long shelf life, predictable usage, low theft risk. Monthly is fine.

2. Cleaning supplies and consumables: Unless you suspect theft, count monthly to manage ordering and budget.

3. Low-value items with stable usage (condiments, spices in bulk): A $50 variance on spices won't move your P&L. Count monthly, but set par levels to avoid stockouts.

4. Non-perishable beverage inventory (soft drinks, bottled water): If it's not walking out the door, monthly counts are adequate.

Why this matters: Your team has limited time. Spending 30 minutes counting rice when you should be counting ribeye is a misallocation of resources. Monthly counts for low-risk items free up time for high-value weekly counts.

How to structure an efficient count process

Counting doesn't have to be painful. Here's how to make it fast and accurate:

1. Count at the same time every week: Mondays before deliveries or Sundays after close. Consistency reduces variables and makes variance comparisons meaningful.

2. Use two-person teams for high-value items: One person counts, the other records. Reduces errors and theft opportunities.

3. Organise storage by count frequency: Keep weekly-count items together (ideally on a single shelf or in one walk-in section). Speeds up counts and reduces missing items.

4. Use a digital form or app: Ditch the clipboard. Mobile forms with barcode scanning cut count time by 50% and eliminate transcription errors.

5. Pre-populate expected counts: If you have a perpetual system, show staff the "theoretical" stock level. They count the physical stock and flag discrepancies. Much faster than counting blind.

Using variance reports to catch problems early

Here's where weekly counts pay off: variance analysis. Variance is the difference between what you theoretically should have (based on purchases and sales) and what you physically counted.

How to use variance:

• Variance under 2%: Normal. Rounding, small spills, sampling.
• Variance 2–5%: Worth investigating. Check portioning, prep logs, and waste records.
• Variance over 5%: Red flag. Likely theft, major portioning errors, or recipe costing problems. Investigate immediately.

Weekly variance tracking: Spot trends you'd miss with monthly counts. If chicken variance is 6% three weeks in a row, you have a systemic issue (maybe your supplier's weights are off, or your POS recipes are wrong). Monthly counts would hide that pattern for 90 days.

Balancing accuracy with practicality

Perfect inventory accuracy is a myth. You're running a kitchen, not a pharmacy. Some variance is inevitable from sampling, spillage, and measurement error. The goal isn't zero variance; it's catching meaningful problems fast.

Practical targets:

• Weekly-counted items: Aim for 95%+ accuracy (variance under 2%).
• Monthly-counted items: 90–93% accuracy is realistic (variance under 5%).

If you're consistently hitting these targets, your processes are working. If not, the count frequency isn't the problem. Look at portioning, training, FIFO discipline, and whether recipes match reality.

What to do when variance spikes

A big variance doesn't always mean theft. Here's a checklist to work through:

1. Check for data entry errors: Did someone key in the delivery wrong? Did a sale not ring through the POS? Simple mistakes cause most spikes.

2. Review portioning: Pull prep logs and compare actual yields to recipe specs. If your salmon recipe assumes 85% yield but you're only getting 75%, there's your 10% variance.

3. Audit waste logs: Was there a big spoilage event no one recorded? A dropped tray? A fridge failure over the weekend?

4. Cross-check with staff schedules: If variance correlates with specific shifts or team members, you may have a training issue or a theft problem.

5. Reconcile with sales mix: Did you sell way more of a high-protein dish than usual? Check if your theoretical usage calculations account for that spike.

Most variance has a boring explanation. But weekly counts help you find it while the trail is still warm.

The bottom line on count frequency

Count weekly for items where problems escalate quickly: high-value, high-turnover, high-theft, or short-shelf-life goods. That's your 20 most critical SKUs. Count monthly for the long tail of stable, low-risk items.

Weekly counts aren't about micromanagement. They're about catching a $300 problem on Tuesday instead of a $3,000 problem six weeks later. The earlier you spot variance, the easier it is to diagnose and fix.

Make counts fast with digital tools, consistent scheduling, and smart storage organisation. Focus your team's time on items that move the P&L. Done right, a weekly count process takes 30 minutes and saves thousands.

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About the author: The Equimise team is dedicated to helping hospitality operators run smarter, waste less, and grow profitably with intelligent back-of-house systems.