Excel vs. BarBrain - Which solution is better for your inventory?

Excel turns stocktaking into a DIY project: you can set many things, but you are responsible for every step yourself. BarBrain takes this work off the restaurateur's hands - from data entry to evaluation. The table shows that BarBrain scores particularly highly in terms of user-friendliness and reliability, while Excel does not incur any software costs, but has inherent inefficiencies.

Practical comparison: From Excel chaos to smart stocktaking

Let's take a look at two real-life situations:

• Inventory with Excel: A restaurant without a special inventory system has developed a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet over the years. This contains several spreadsheets: one for drinks, one for food and one for consumables. On inventory day, the manager prints all the lists from Excel to do the count with his team - nobody wants to take expensive laptops into the damp cellar, and using Excel on a tablet is cumbersome. So everyone writes down their results on paper to transfer them to the file later. After all the figures have been laboriously typed in, the manager realizes that there must be an error somewhere: The totals formula shows a negative stock level. The search begins - perhaps a typing error? After some time, he finds an item that has been entered twice and corrects it. An employee suggests counting directly on the tablet in Excel to save typing. No sooner said than done the next time: however, it turns out that working in parallel is difficult - only one person at a time can use the spreadsheet to avoid conflicts. So it comes down to counting one after the other again instead of in parallel. By the skin of your teeth, you end up with an inventory list. Evaluations beyond this (e.g. shrinkage compared to the target according to sales) are not provided for in the Excel template or are outdated because nobody keeps the complicated formulas up to date. The knowledge gained from the inventory remains low, except for the absolute stock list.
  
  
• Inventory with BarBrain: The introduction of BarBrain in this restaurant shows that it can be done differently. The entire Excel incoming goods catalog was transferred to the app once by the BarBrain team, including all items and units. On the inventory date, the manager and two employees open the BarBrain app on their devices. Everyone selects a storage area (bar, kitchen, storeroom) and starts recording at the same time. No one has to worry about formulas or setting up tables - the app guides them through the process. While the manager scans the liquor shelf and enters the fill levels using the slider, the chef counts the stockroom. The data is collated in real time in an inventory list. When the last compartment has been counted, the manager taps on "Complete inventory". BarBrain immediately generates a comprehensive report: he can now see not only the current stock levels, but also the changes since the last stocktake. The valuation of stock levels is also available at the touch of a button, making the financial accountant's work easier. The manager's conclusion: for him, stocktaking has shrunk from an Excel "monster" to a lean routine. The time required by the team has been noticeably reduced and the figures are reliable.
  
  

"The introduction has not only made our stocktaking faster, but also more accurate." In particular, the exact recording of opened bottles, which was always a guess in Excel, has significantly improved his stock control.