Restaurant Inventory Count Checklist

If an inventory count looks wrong, recount the item before changing the record. Check its unit, every storage area, and the deliveries or transfers around the count cutoff. Leave an unexplained difference open until someone checks the records behind it.

Use this checklist alongside your existing count process. The count sheet captures what staff found. The review fields capture what still needs an answer.

Before the count

Choose a repeatable point before or after service. Write down the business date and exact cutoff, especially when a shift ends after midnight. Restaurant365's inventory guide recommends consistent count timing and including prepared food. Source: Restaurant365 inventory guide; checked September 22, 2026.

Prepare a sheet in the order staff walk through storage. Include the walk-in, freezer, dry storage, bar, and service stations that hold the items in scope. Add new items before staff start.

Agree on a count unit for each item. Write the pack conversion beside it. Do not ask the reviewer to guess whether an entry means cases, bags, pounds, or individual pieces.

Assign a counter and reviewer. Decide how to handle movement during the count. If stock moves after its shelf was counted, record the item, quantity, time, and direction so the reviewer can reconcile it to the cutoff.

[ ] Business date and exact cutoff written down
[ ] Areas and items in scope listed
[ ] Count units and pack conversions confirmed
[ ] Counter and reviewer assigned
[ ] Receipts and transfers near cutoff available
[ ] Stock movement during count recorded separately

During the count

Count what is present. Record a zero when an item is absent; mark a skipped item as uncounted. Keep those entries distinct.

For an open pack, use the agreed measurement method and record the remaining quantity. If weighing food, exclude the container's weight. Flag an estimate so the reviewer knows it needs checking.

Record prepared batches separately. Confirm how your existing inventory method converts them into ingredients before combining totals. Avoid counting the same food once as a prepared batch and again as raw ingredients.

Keep delivery records beside the sheet. Mark whether a delivery was received before or after the cutoff and whether it entered the physical count. Apply the same check to transfers between locations.

Copy this count sheet

Use a separate row for each item and storage area. Save the original entry when correcting a count.

Business date:
Location:
Count cutoff, including time zone:
Storage area:
Item and item code:
Count unit:
Pack conversion:
Sealed quantity:
Open quantity and measurement method:
Total in count units:
Cost per count unit and cost-source date:
Receipt/transfer references near cutoff:
Counter:
Reviewer:
Recount result:
Correction, reason, and supporting record:
Unresolved question / owner / due date:

Hypothetical example, for worksheet use only:

Review before approval

Recount an unexpected item first, then check units, missed storage areas, receipts, transfers, and cutoff timing. Review the starting count too. A correction needs a reason and a source record; do not change a quantity merely to make a report balance.

Restaurant365's count-review documentation checks quantities, units, invoices, missing items, and count timing before approval. Its screens and settings are product-specific. Source: Restaurant365 count review; checked September 22, 2026.

Assign an owner and due date to any remaining difference. Record the evidence needed to close it. An inventory difference alone does not establish theft or explain where the food went.

For the next step, read restaurant food cost variance. If the question keeps returning, Marty's paid Cash Recovery Plan reviews authorized records and proposes findings and actions. Confirm the records and scope before purchase. Optional ongoing manager follow-through is agreed separately.