Tenthing

What tenthing actually means

Tenthing is the speed method bar managers use to count open bottles. You look at a bottle, decide how full it is in tenths, and write it down. A bottle that looks 70 percent full is a 0.7. Half empty is 0.5. A backup bottle still in shrink wrap is a 1.0.

Every bar inventory method that does not involve a scale uses tenthing. It is fast, cheap, and accurate enough for most operators.

How it is used on the floor

Counts happen weekly or monthly. Manager walks the bar with a clipboard or an app, picks up each open bottle, eyeballs it, and calls out the tenth. Some operators write the number on the bottle label in grease pencil so the next count is easier.

The skill is in calibrating your eye. A good bar manager can tenth 200 bottles in under 45 minutes. A new one takes two hours and still misses by a full bottle on the Jameson.

Tenthing in decimals

Standard tenthing uses increments of 0.1:

• 1.0 = full, unopened
• 0.9 = one pour missing
• 0.5 = half gone
• 0.2 = almost dead
• 0.0 = kill bottle, replace tomorrow

Some operators use quarters (0.25, 0.5, 0.75) because they find it more intuitive. The math works the same.

Accuracy and the margin for error

Tenthing is estimated to be accurate within 5 to 10 percent per bottle. Over 200 bottles that evens out. Where it fails: dark bottles (blue curaçao, Jägermeister) and tall narrow bottles (Patrón) where tenths are harder to read.

For high-dollar liquor like top-shelf single malts, some operators switch to a scale. A tenth of Macallan 18 is a real number.

How PourIQ handles it

PourIQ is built around tenthing. You tap a bottle, slide a visual fill slider, and the system calculates ounces remaining automatically. It stores your last count so you can compare week over week and flag variance before it becomes shrinkage. No spreadsheet math, no reconciling two versions of the same count.