Bar A club s bar is a main source of income and needs to generate profit. It does carry big responsibilities and needs to be well run to ensure maximum benefit to members. Principal Responsibility The principal responsibility for the bar at the club sits with the Bar Manager. Risk Areas Profit/Pricing Licensing Bar Manager Patron behaviour Bar stock Hospitality Staffing Hygiene Profit/Pricing It is important to remember profitability (gross profit or GP) is based on pricing. Small percentage changes in GP can result in large swings in Net Profit. Clubs need to understand what may influence the results. Three main components which may be influenced are: Sales Purchases Stock Prices Cost changes Incorrect stocktake Product sales mix Efficient purchasing Shrinkage/pilferage Sales incorrectly recorded Sales volume Level of discount Wastage Purchase incorrectly recorded Clubs should be profit driven, not volume driven. You therefore need to recognise the impact on sales revenue of discounted pricing. Work out a profit margin that is acceptable to your committee (industry standards for a rugby club would be around 50-55%). Communicate to club members that all profits sustained through bar takings are in the end used to maintain and improve club facilities.
Licensing At the commencement of each year licenses should be checked (and any law changes considered) to ensure the correct licenses are in place for the forthcoming season. Consideration should be given to any temporary licenses, changes of licensed times etc, which may be required for differing events and a timeline drawn for when they should be obtained. Bar Manager A bar manager must be appointed. The bar manager should have input into who the bar staff will be. Patron Behaviour A minimum standard of behaviour and/or dress for bar patrons should be set and staff are responsible for ensuring this is maintained. Bar Stock Bar stock must be kept secure. Spirits may only be served from the overhead pourers. Bar purchases will normally only be bought once per week with inwards stock being physically checked on receipt against the delivery dockets. The delivery dockets will be initialled for goods received and placed in the Bar Book for the person completing the Bar Assessment and then passed to the Treasurer for checking against invoices and payments. Hospitality Any hospitality will be recorded in the Bar Book for the appropriate day, showing the normal selling price of the product. Hospitality is not rung up on the cash register. It is essential bar staff know to complete the hospitality record as it is needed for the Bar Assessment. All drinks given and not paid for must be included in hospitality and must be appropriately authorised. Staffing Staff must be kept informed of all ground rules in relation to their duties. Some clubs pay staff with alcohol rather than wages it is advisable to review this and consider wages. If not, a clear guideline must be set as to allowances and all complimentary drinks should be recorded.
Matters to consider: Are responsibilities clearly defined and understood? Is there a proper segregation of duties? Do staff understand the level of customer service required? Is rostering structured? Are staff levels appropriate for the various peaks? Hygiene The quality of the product being offered is a critical factor in being able to charge at retail price points that are comparable to other licensed outlets. Factors to consider are: Glassware: Beer lines: Tanks: Bar area: Only one type of glass for each category. If possible used glasses should be exchanged for clean when the patron returns to the bar for a fresh drink. Glasses should be put through cleaning solution at least fortnightly. Regular checks to confirm dishwasher is working effectively and has plenty of cleaning liquid in supply bottle. These should be cleaned on a fortnightly basis. Your local New Zealand Brewery sales executive can recommend a beer systems technician to provide this service or help to set up your own CIP system. If your club has tank beer these must be cleaned thoroughly before each fill. Once again, your local New Zealand Brewery sales executive can help to set up your own CIP system. It should take less than seven days to empty a tank. If it takes longer then you may want to consider a switch to keg beer. While many sports clubs do not have modern facilities it is important that the first point of contact for patrons is presented in the best possible light. The area should be free of spillage and grime, cleared of unused glassware and serviced by well presented bar staff. The bar area should be patrolled for dirty glassware and table cleaning on a regular basis. Running Your Bar: A Few Handy Tips Appoint a bar manager, responsible for the overall running of the bar. Limit the number of people who enter the behind-the-bar area. Have a set mark up rate, eg 33%. You may need to vary the rate for different products eg keg beer, packaged beer, spirits, chips. Don t hold too much stock behind the bar. If you have a function on a Saturday, buy in the alcohol on Friday or Saturday morning and return what is not sold. This makes calculating and paying for the alcohol a lot easier.
Have all the chillers and the bar area lockable. Many people/volunteers believe that their alcohol should be free. One crate of unpaid beer going out each week equates to about $1,500 a year that the club will be in debt to. Have all bar keys coded as security keys for which anyone will need to have approval from the club to have duplicates cut. Note in the bar book all freebies and costs into bar assessments so you know how much you are giving away. Ensure you are buying supplies at the best price. Seek special prices and regularly check invoices to be sure you are being charged the best prices negotiated. Stocktake Bar Assessments To detect stock or cash shrinkage: Bar Assessments should be completed regularly. These will be completed by someone independent of the bar manager and bar staff, responsible to the Treasurer. A Bar Assessment sheet is to be completed. A template follows this section. For each bar, closing stock from the previous week is brought forward onto the new form. Stock into the bar from invoices or transfers from elsewhere (including complimentary product) is shown as additions and together these give the total stock available for sale. A physical stocktake of the bar stock is made and subtracted from the total stock available for sale. This shows the physical stock that has been used. The sum of this, multiplied by the selling price, less hospitality (taken from the bar book), gives the theoretical takings. Theoretical takings compared to cash banked provides a figure which enables you to assess whether shrinkage is occurring. Hospitality will be accumulated elsewhere for the season so you have a figure for annual accounting purposes. The Bar Assessment sheets should go to the Treasurer who will report on them to the Committee. Catering All food preparation needs to adhere to local council licensing rules and meet health regulations. You are required by law to serve food while the bar is operating.
Many clubs still operate on a total volunteer staff in the kitchen while other clubs sublease or contract the kitchen out to private businesses. It is still tradition in most clubs for the home and visiting teams to be fed after the game. This is usually done by a ticket system, where each team is given a certain number of tickets that allow them a free meal. This is also a good system to allow the Kitchen Manager to meet budget and manage preparation of food. Visit www.nzrugbynet.co.nz for more information. Download and tailor documents and templates for your club.
Bar Assessment Worksheet (Example) PERIOD COVERED FROM [date] STOCK OPENING INWARDS TOTAL CURRENT USED UNIT PRICE VALUE USED RED KEGS 200 200 100 100 4.60 460.00 RED QUARTS 3 120 123 115 8 4.7 37.60 RED CANS 1620 1620 210 1410 2.00 2820.00 STEINLAGER KEGS - - - - - - - STEINLAGER CANS 12 120 132-132 2.00 264.00 MEDIUM WINE (LITRES) 8 3 11 6 5 7.50 37.50 BLACKHEART RUM 0.3 1 1.3 1.3-94.50 WHISKY 0.2 2 2.2 1.3.9 94.50 85.05 GIN 0.7 1 1.7 0.9.8 94.50 75.60 VODKA 1 1 0.9.1 94.50 9.45 BRANDY 1 1.9.1 94.50 9.45 BOURBON 0.1 2 2.1 1.7 0.4 94.50 37.80 COCA COLA CANS 72 72 21 51 1.00 51.00 COCA COLA 1.5 15 12 27 14 131 3.00 39.00 SPRITE CANS 48 48 4 44 1.00 44.00 SPRITE 1.5 LT 12 12 24 19 5 3.00 15.00 TONIC WATER 15 15 6 9 1.00 9.00 SODA WATER 22 22 19 3 1.00 3.00 GINGER ALE 30 30 22 8 1.00 8.00 ORANGE JUICE (LITRES) 4 4 3 1 37.50 37.50 BAGS ICE 2 2 1.96 CHIPS 184 184 96 88 1.00 88.00 PEANUTS 20 20 9 11 1.00 11.00 PIES 72 72-72 1.80 129.60 TOTAL VALUE USED 4271.55 LESS HOSPITALITY ASSESSED SALES BAR BANKINGS TOTAL BANKED LESS ASSESSED SALES VARIANCE(favourable/under) NZRU CLUB BEST PRACTICE MANUAL UNIT 2: OFF-FIELD DAY TO DAY TEMPLATE
Bar Stocktake (Example) Product Stock Total Stock Cost Value STEINLAGER KEGS STEINLAGER CANS MEDIUM WINE (LITRES) BLACKHEART RUM WHISKY GIN VODKA BRANDY BOURBON COCA COLA CANS COCA COLA 1.5 LT SPRITE CANS SPRITE 1.5 LT TONIC WATER SODA WATER GINGER ALE ORANGE JUICE (LITRES) TOTAL NZRU CLUB BEST PRACTICE MANUAL UNIT 2: OFF-FIELD DAY TO DAY TEMPLATE