Blog

The PourIQ Blog

Practical guides for bar managers who count. Pour cost, shrinkage, variance, menu engineering, and the numbers that keep your bar profitable. No fluff, no marketing slop.

14Articles 5Topics FreeAlways
Featured
Cashier handing a receipt to a customer at a point of sale counter, the kind of tech integration bar inventory apps connect to Featured
Operations

The 7 Best Bar Inventory Apps of 2026

The 7 best bar inventory apps in 2026 ranked. PourIQ, Backbar, MarketMan, Bar-i, Partender, Craftable, and WISK compared on price, features, and fit.

The PourIQ Team 9 min read
Modern restaurant dining room with dark wood tables and warm lighting, the kind of room where menu engineering decisions drive profit
Featured Menu Engineering

Menu Engineering for Bars: Stars, Puzzles, Plow Horses, Dogs

Menu engineering for bars applied to cocktails, BTG wine, and draft. The 4 quadrants, a worked example, and what to do with each category.

The PourIQ Team 13 min
Bartender measuring a pour with a jigger under purple bar lighting, the kind of precision that controls pour cost
Featured Pour Cost

5 Reasons Your Pour Cost Is High (and How to Fix Each)

Your pour cost is over 24 percent and you want to know why. Here are the 5 most common causes, the math behind each, and how to fix them this week.

The PourIQ Team 10 min
More Posts

Keep Reading

Rows of liquor bottles behind a bar, ready for a weekly inventory count
Operations

PourIQ vs Backbar: Quick Buyer's Guide for Bar Operators

PourIQ vs Backbar compared in under 5 minutes. Free tier realities, feature gaps, and which bar inventory tool fits which operator in 2026.

5 min read
Bottles lined up on a backbar shelf ready to be counted and weighed
Operations

PourIQ vs Bar-i: Quick Buyer's Guide for Bar Operators

PourIQ vs Bar-i in under 5 minutes. Self-serve software versus concierge scale weighing, total cost, and which one fits which bar in 2026.

5 min read
Bar manager at a laptop reviewing inventory reports in a dimly lit cocktail bar
Operations

PourIQ vs Bevager (Now Craftable): Quick Buyer's Guide

PourIQ vs Bevager compared in under 5 minutes. The Craftable rebrand, upmarket shift, pricing math, and which bar inventory tool fits which operator.

5 min read
Bartender reviewing inventory counts on a phone behind a stocked back bar
Operations

PourIQ vs MarketMan: Quick Buyer's Guide for Bar Operators

PourIQ vs MarketMan in under 5 minutes. Pricing, feature gaps, and who each tool actually fits. A neutral quick reference for single-unit bars.

5 min read
Ornate vintage bar interior with stained glass and a fully stocked back bar shelf
Operations

PourIQ vs Partender: Quick Buyer's Guide for Bar Operators

PourIQ vs Partender compared in under 5 minutes. Visual tenthing lineage, pricing, POS integration, and which bar inventory app fits which program.

5 min read
Bartender free-pouring clear spirit from a speed pourer into a rocks glass behind a busy bar
Shrinkage

How to Catch a Bartender Over-Pouring: 7 Detection Methods

How to catch a bartender over pouring without hardware. 7 detection methods, a worked pour test, and the variance math that finds the leak fast.

9 min read
Guests seated at a bar with a fully stocked back bar shelf behind them, the wall of bottles a manager counts during manual inventory
Inventory

How to Do Bar Inventory by Hand: A No-Software Guide

How to do bar inventory by hand, step by step. Count sheets, tenthing, keg math, wine math, real time estimates, and zero software pitches.

10 min read
Silhouettes of liquor bottles on a warm backlit bar shelf, the shapes a bar manager reads when tenthing inventory
Inventory

Tenthing Bottles Explained: How to Count Partials Fast

Tenthing bottles is how bar pros count partial liquor fast. Here is the method, the tricky bottles, and when to trade it for a scale.

8 min read
Back bar cabinet lined with liquor bottles, the inventory a bar manager counts each week
Inventory

Bar Inventory Spreadsheet Template (Free, No Email)

Free bar inventory spreadsheet template you can build in 10 minutes. Columns, formulas, and the honest reasons most bars outgrow it at 50 SKUs.

9 min read
Bartender holding a lineup of colorful craft cocktails during peak hours at a bar
Pour Cost

What is a Good Pour Cost Percentage for Bars? (By Category)

A good pour cost percentage is 18 to 24 percent overall, with 20 percent as the target. The real answer depends on your bar style. Full breakdown inside.

8 min read
Amber spirit pouring into a clear shot glass in a moody craft cocktail bar
Pour Cost

How to Calculate Pour Cost: The Formula Bar Managers Use

How to calculate pour cost in under a minute. The formula, worked examples, category benchmarks, and five fixes to shrink your number without raising prices.

9 min read
Take the Next Step

Tired of spreadsheets and guesswork?

PourIQ tracks every bottle, every pour, every variance automatically. $75/month, no hardware required.

Request Free Demo Calculate Your Savings
No credit card required. Full access demo.