Restaurant bar stock register (India)
Daily liquor stock register for licensed bars and restaurants. Set up your bottle inventory once — IMFL whisky, rum, vodka, beer, wine, foreign liquor. Each day: auto-fill opening from the previous night's closing, enter purchases and complimentary pours, count actual closing. Theoretical vs actual variance auto-calculates per brand — negative variance flags in red. Estimated bar revenue from consumption × MRP. Print the daily register with signature blocks for bar manager and supervisor, or export full CSV for monthly excise records. Saves in browser across days. No signup.
Bar stock control and excise compliance in India
Every restaurant and bar licensed to serve alcohol under state excise law is required to maintain a stock register — recording daily opening stock, purchases, consumption and closing stock per brand. State excise inspectors routinely verify that the physical stock matches the register. A shortfall between theoretical and actual stock is the primary indicator of pilferage, short-pours being pocketed, or off-invoice purchases.
The format required varies slightly by state — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Telangana each have their own excise register format — but the core columns (opening, receipt, issues/consumption, closing) are consistent. This tool follows the common format; check your state excise department's prescribed form for any additional columns (e.g. permit number, invoice date) required in your state.
Understanding variance
Theoretical closing = opening + purchases − complimentary. If the physical count is below theoretical, the difference is the variance. In a well-run bar, variance should be close to zero for full bottles. Fractional variances (0.1–0.3 of a bottle) occur because of measurement differences in partial bottles — this is normal. Consistent variances of 0.5+ bottles per brand per day require investigation.
Common causes of variance: pilferage (staff consuming or removing stock), short-pours collected and unreported, bottles broken without documentation, incorrect opening count carried forward from the previous day. The auto-fill from previous day's closing eliminates transcription errors — always use it rather than manually re-entering opening.
Complimentary / wastage policy
Every free pour, tasting sample, spillage or broken bottle should be recorded in the complimentary column with a reason (management approved, spillage, training). This prevents it from appearing as an unexplained variance. Many licensed restaurants set a monthly complimentary limit (e.g. 1–2% of consumption value) and require manager sign-off for any complimentary above a certain value per event.
Where this fits
- Inventory count sheet — for the weekly stock count that covers kitchen raw materials; use this bar register daily for liquor and the inventory count sheet weekly for the full F&B store
- Daily wastage tracker — complimentary and breakage from this bar register feeds into the wastage tracker as a revenue loss; track both together for total waste cost visibility
- Compliance calendar 2026 — state excise license renewal dates and audit windows appear in the compliance calendar; plan your bar stock documentation review before audit season
- Food safety checklist — for restaurants with a bar, the HACCP checklist covers beverage storage temperatures (wine and beer refrigeration) alongside food safety
- P5 — Compliance pillar — all articles on FSSAI, GST, excise, labour law and local body compliance for Indian restaurant operators