RESTAURANT AI MANAGERNEW

Restaurant Stock Control: Counts on a Phone, Stock That Keeps Itself Up to Date

Restaurant stock control means knowing what is on the shelf, what it is worth and where the rest went. In Restaurant AI Manager, deliveries checked off at the door add stock to the right storage area, POS sales take it off through your recipes, and the team counts on a phone in shelf order — cartons, inners, singles and open bottles on one line, with barcode scanning and no signal needed. The count is reviewed in dollars before it is posted.

Count cartons, inners, singles and open bottles on one line
Phone camera, Bluetooth and handheld barcode scanners
Finish a count in the cool room with no signal
Variance reviewed in dollars, with recounts, before it posts

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Built on Open Pantry ordering — free, and used by 5,000+ venues

Image needed: phone stock count screen (shelf order, pack mix on one line, scan button) from the production demo.

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Built for hospitality venues of every kindRestaurants Cafes Bars Pubs Quick service Catering Production kitchens Fine dining

The count takes all Sunday, and nobody trusts it on Monday

Counting a carton and four loose bottles means two lines and a calculator

The cool room has no signal, so counts are written on paper and typed in later

A 4 that should have been 40 goes straight into the food cost

Stock on hand is only right on the day of the count

Nobody knows which venue the missing case went to

Use-by dates live on masking tape, not in the system

From the delivery door to a count you can post

Deliveries add stock

When a delivery is checked off at the door, the quantities actually received go into stock, in the storage area each item usually lives in — not what was ordered and not what was invoiced.

Sales take it off

POS sales are matched to your recipes and the ingredients come off stock as dishes sell. Waste, staff meals and transfers to another venue are logged on a phone and come off too, at cost.

The team counts on a phone

Counts run in shelf order, area by area, with several people counting different areas at once. Each line takes any mix of cartons, inners and singles, open bottles by the tenth, and a barcode scan to find the item.

You review it in dollars, then post

The count freezes at a point in time. Big gaps are shown in dollars, odd numbers are flagged while counting ("four times what we expected — recount?"), and you can send a line back for a recount before approving and posting.

Try it live as head chef

No sign-up — a demo restaurant group with a guide that shows you around

One line for a carton, an inner and three singles

Each item has a pack ladder — carton, inner, single and the measure it is used in — so a counter types what they see and the system does the arithmetic. Open bottles are counted by the tenth. The same pack ladder decides how deliveries are received and how dishes use the stock, so a carton received is a carton counted.

Cartons, inners and singles counted together
Open bottles by the tenth
Per-supplier pack differences handled on the item

Image needed: one count line with a carton, inner and singles entered, from the production demo.

Scan it, say it, or count with no signal

Counters can find an item with the phone camera, a Bluetooth scanner or a handheld scanner, or by scanning the QR shelf labels Restaurant AI Manager prints for each storage area. Voice counting takes several items in one breath. A count can be finished with no signal in the cool room and is sent when the phone is back online, without being counted twice.

Phone camera, Bluetooth and handheld scanners
Printable count sheets and QR shelf labels
Offline counts that sync once, safely

Image needed: count screen with the scanner open (or a printed QR shelf label) from the production demo.

A count you can check before it changes your numbers

While someone counts, the app flags lines that look wrong — a figure several times what was expected, a carton entered as a single, a high-value line missed. After the freeze point the variance is shown in dollars, the reviewer can ask for a recount, and only an approved count is posted. Blind counts hide the expected figure from the counter, and an owner can switch on count controls for a second person to check.

Live checks while counting
Variance in dollars, recount requests and approval
Blind counts, and a second checker when you want one

Image needed: count review screen with dollar variance and a recount request, from the production demo.

Stock that moves between venues at cost

Transfers between venues and storage areas are requested, sent and received, with the cost carried across and anything short recorded on arrival. Moving stock between your own storage areas always works; transfers between venues come on for groups with two or more venues. For a group with several kitchens or function rooms, an owner can switch on Stock by area to land deliveries in each item’s usual area and see cost by area.

Request, send and receive, with the cost carried
Something short? Recorded on the transfer
Optional Stock by area for multi-kitchen venues

Restaurant AI Manager stock transfers: four sourdough loaves in transit from one venue’s dry store to another’s, with the cost at cost, Something short and Receive all buttons

What stock control is built from

Deliveries checked off at the doorPOS sales matched to your recipesYour recipes and menu costingWaste, staff meals and transfers logged on a phonePhone camera, Bluetooth and handheld scannersPrinted count sheets and QR shelf labels

Built by the team venues already order with

Chefs Love Open Pantry

Junior Malvern crew x

Thank you OPEN PANTRY, we used to have to use 6 apps to get access to ordering from our suppliers, the fact we can do it all in one has saved an incredible amount of time & effort! We love you!

Tom Pearson

We’ve been using Open Pantry for a few months now and it’s been an absolute lifesaver. We’re short staffed so being able to place all of our orders with all of our suppliers in the one spot is a massive help.

James Evans

So glad this service exists. Has made it so easy for my manager & chefs to order & all payments are settled in one go. The recurring orders & pantry lists are amazing time savers!!

Why not keep counting on a spreadsheet?

Because a spreadsheet only knows what was on the shelf on the day you counted it. Everything between counts — what arrived, what sold, what was binned, what went to the other venue — is a guess until the next count, and the count itself has no check on a slipped decimal. When deliveries and sales keep stock moving and the count is reviewed in dollars before it posts, the number on Monday morning is one you can order from.

Restaurant stock control — questions chefs ask

How do I count cartons, inners and single bottles at the same time?＋

Each item has a pack ladder — carton, inner, single and the measure it is used in. On the count screen you enter whatever you can see, such as two cartons, one inner and three singles, on one line, and Restaurant AI Manager adds it up. Open bottles are counted by the tenth.

Can my team do a stocktake on their phones in the cool room with no signal?＋

Yes. A count can be started and finished with no signal. It is held on the phone and sent once it is back online, and it is only ever recorded once, even if the phone tries to send it again.

Which barcode scanners work with Restaurant AI Manager stocktakes?＋

The phone’s own camera, Bluetooth scanners and handheld scanners that type into the screen like a keyboard. You can also print QR shelf labels for each storage area and printable count sheets for anyone who prefers paper.

Does stock go up when a delivery arrives and down when a dish sells?＋

Yes. Deliveries checked off at the door add the quantities actually received to stock, in the item’s storage area. POS sales are matched to your recipes and the ingredients come off as dishes sell. Waste and transfers are logged on a phone and come off too.

How does it stop a wrong number going into the stocktake?＋

Lines that look wrong are flagged while you count, such as a figure several times what was expected or a carton entered as a single. After the count is frozen, gaps are shown in dollars, the reviewer can ask for a recount, and only an approved count is posted.

Can several people count different storage areas at once?＋

Yes. A stocktake can be split by storage area so several people count at the same time, each in their own area, and it comes back together as one count. Blind counts hide the expected figure from the counter so the count is not anchored to it.

Can I move stock between venues in the group?＋

Yes. A transfer is requested, sent and received, with the cost carried across and anything short recorded on arrival. Moving stock between storage areas in one venue always works; transfers between venues are on for groups with two or more venues.

Can I see the stock count screens before I sign up?＋

Yes. The live demo signs you in as the head chef of a three-venue demo group, with stock, deliveries and counts already in it, and a guide shows you around. There is nothing to sign up for and no free trial; the demo is the whole product.

Count a demo cool room on your phone

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