Founder POV: Count Stock in Your Team’s Language
Stock accuracy improves when teams count in operational units they understand, not supplier units they have to convert.
Founder, Hops
This article is adapted from a LinkedIn post by Robbie Francis, Founder of Hops.
Great operators count stock in the language of their operation, not in the language of their supplier.
The Core Problem
Many venues buy, use, and count the same product in different units.
If the system collapses those into one unit, stock counts become slow, confusing, and error-prone.
Example:
- bought as 10L tubs
- used in recipes as milliliters
- counted on site as 500ml decanted bottles
When teams must do manual conversion mid-count, data quality drops and actual GP trust drops with it.
What Operators Usually Do
They force supplier unit logic into operational workflows, then wonder why counts are inconsistent or skipped.
What Needs to Change
- Separate supplier-product logic from inventory-item count logic.
- Configure item lists and count order around how teams physically work.
- Support count channels teams actually use (paper, desktop, mobile).
- Use count measures that match site reality, not procurement convenience.
Founder POV
“Your actual GP is only as accurate as your stock count, and stock count only works when friction is removed for the team doing it.”
Why This Matters
Actual GP, variance, and profitability analysis all depend on count accuracy.
If counting is hard, every margin decision downstream gets weaker.
About Robbie Francis
Robbie Francis is the Founder of Hops. He has spent years building and implementing hospitality technology with operators, focused on simplifying back-of-house operations across inventory and finance.
Follow Robbie on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robbiefrancis
View the original LinkedIn post: The best hospitality operators count stock in THEIR language
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