Beer Inventory Software: What to Know and Top 5 Providers

Do you ever have nightmares about stockouts? If so, you’re not alone. 

Managing beer inventory is a challenge for many liquor stores. One moment, the shelves are stocked to the brim, and the next, you're scrambling because the game-day crowds cleared out your light beer selection.

With the right beer inventory software solution, you can avoid these challenges, anticipate changes in demand, and keep your shelves stocked. But how can you find the right solution for your store?

In this post, we'll explore what you should know about beer inventory software and five leading providers:

• What Is Beer Inventory Software?
• What Are the Benefits of Beer Inventory Software?
• 5 Beer Inventory Software Features to Look For
• Top 5 Beer Inventory Software Solutions
  

Whether you're a small corner shop or a retail giant, these tools will help you manage your stock, avoid those dreaded out-of-stock situations, and keep your customers' favorite brews chilled and ready.

What Is Beer Inventory Software?

Beer inventory software is a specialized tool designed to help you manage and monitor your beer stock levels in real time. By automating the inventory tracking process, this software eliminates the need for time-consuming manual counts and reduces the risk of human error.

What Are the Benefits of Beer Inventory Software?

The benefits of maintaining accurate inventory with beer inventory software go far beyond just saving time. Some other advantages of finding the right beer inventory software solution are:

• Lower operating costs. By monitoring your inventory levels closely, you can avoid overstocking or running out of popular beers, reducing waste and minimizing excess inventory costs.
• Higher customer satisfaction. With accurate inventory data at your fingertips, you’ll always have the right products in stock to meet your customers' needs. Plus, you can more easily and quickly answer customers’ stock questions.
• Data-driven decision-making. Beer inventory software provides valuable insights into your sales data and trends, helping you identify your top-selling products and make informed decisions about what to stock in the future.
• Regulatory compliance. Accurate inventory records are essential for complying with local and state regulations related to alcohol sales, and beer inventory software makes generating the necessary reports and documentation easy.

With a dedicated beer inventory software solution, you can better manage your package store, serve your customers, and turn a profit.

5 Beer Inventory Software Features To Look For

1. Point of Sale Functionality

While you could adopt separate point of sale and inventory management systems, choosing an integrated solution lets you manage all of your package store’s operations from one convenient place.

In addition to inventory management, a system with point of sale functionality can help you:

• Expedite checkout with integrated payment processing
• Remain compliant with age verification features
• Promote your business by offering customer loyalty programs and sales
  

Plus, with an integrated solution, you can keep all sales and inventory data together for better insights, rely on one support team, and only have your team learn one system, saving time and strengthening your business decisions.

2. Real-Time Inventory Tracking

Instead of tracking inventory on a simple spreadsheet, rely on a beer inventory software solution that updates automatically. With a real-time overview of your stock, you can:

• Accurately answer customers’ questions, such as whether you have enough stock to support a purchase for a large event
• Make informed decisions about what to order
• Keep bestsellers in stock
  

Cloud-based inventory systems also give you access from anywhere, so you can check up on your business no matter where you are.

3. Automated Inventory Management Tools

As a busy package store owner, you may not always have time to replenish and update your inventory manually. Luckily, some beer inventory software providers have created automation features that consider your specific needs.

Look for automated reordering features that identify when you’re running low on a popular brew and automatically generate a new purchase order. Then, all you’ll have to do is approve the order, and the system will handle the rest. When new inventory arrives, your system should also update your stock records to save even more time.

4. Reporting and Analytics

A spreadsheet can help you organize data, but it can’t produce powerful insights for you. Let your beer inventory software lead the way and create reports that help you analyze metrics like:

• Product performance so you can reorder bestsellers and avoid purchasing underperforming brews in the future.
• Inventory turnover rate so you can further strengthen your restocking strategy.
• Sales trends so you’re prepared for game-day spikes and seasonal shifts.
• Shrinkage rate so you can pinpoint and address breakage or theft issues as soon as possible.

With advanced analytics, you can make more informed inventory decisions that appeal to customers’ preferences and boost your bottom line.

5. Case Breaking

Let’s say you want to sell full cases, six-packs, and single beer cans and bottles to give customers more choice in how much beer they’d like to purchase. However, this sales method quickly becomes an inventory tracking nightmare.

With the right beer inventory software, you can track and sell full cases, partial cases, and individual cans or bottles. That way, you can know exactly how much of each quantity you have left, speed up checkout, and offer innovative promotions like mix and match or build your own six-pack deals.

Top 5 Beer Inventory Software Solutions

1. BottlePOS

Bottle POS is a comprehensive point of sale solution for liquor and package stores. With a user-friendly interface and robust inventory management tools, our solution helps you track stock, manage customer loyalty programs, and streamline daily operations without breaking a sweat.

Top Features

• Automated purchase orders: Bottle POS ensures you're always well-stocked with customer favorites while minimizing excess inventory. Automating the ordering process can save time and reduce the risk of overstocking or understocking.
• Reorder points and thresholds: Set up reorder points and thresholds to receive low-stock alerts and keep shelves full, preventing missed sales. This feature helps you maintain optimal inventory levels and avoid stockouts.
• Detailed reporting and analytics: Bottle POS provides detailed reporting and analytics, allowing you to quickly identify which products are top performers and which are slow movers. You’ll know exactly what to order more or less of, and create a profitable product mix.
  
• Auto ranking liquor store inventory: To help you identify your top products, Bottle POS automatically grades them from A to D and color-codes them based on sales patterns. That way, you know exactly which products you should reorder with a single glance.
  
• Case breaking: Whether you’re selling full cases, partial cases, or individual brews, keep a careful track of all inventory with Bottle POS’s case-breaking feature. Run mix and match or build your own six-pack promotions with ease.

Bottle POS also offers a range of other features, such as customer loyalty programs, online sales capabilities through BottleZoo and DoorDash, and marketing tools to help you promote your business and drive sales. You’ll also get access to all of our point of sale functionality, including features like age verification, integrated payment processing, and a centralized liquor product database.

Pricing

Get a custom quote for your ideal solution online using our Build and Price tool.

2. KORONA POS

KORONA POS is a point of sale system for retail stores and quick-service businesses. It ensures efficient and effective store management with a range of features tailored specifically for liquor store owners.

Top Features

• Reorder levels: Users can set reorder levels for each product, and KORONA POS will automatically alert them when stock is running low. This helps avoid stockouts and ensures stores always have the products their customers want.
• Shipment tracking: Keep track of incoming shipments and easily update inventory when new stock arrives.
• Multiple product codes: KORONA POS allows users to assign multiple product codes to each item, making it easy to track and manage inventory across different channels and locations.

Pricing

KORONA POS's  Core package starts at $59 per month.

3. mPower Beverage

mPower Beverage's POS system for beer, wine, and liquor retailers simplifies inventory management and handles various pricing structures like mix and match and case-break pricing. Plus, with its multi-location support, users can manage purchase orders and pricing adjustments from one central place, no matter how many stores they have.

Top Features

• Intelligent ordering: mPower's intelligent ordering system allows users to create ordering and transferring alerts based on business metrics. For example, a business owner can make weekly suggested transfer reports that alert them to products with a shortage at one location and a surplus at another.
• Inventory adjustment merge tool: mPower's inventory adjustment merge tool lets users combine multiple inventory adjustments into a single transaction. This tool is useful for making several simultaneous adjustments to inventory levels, such as after a physical inventory count or when reconciling discrepancies.

Pricing

mPower Beverage’s pricing starts at $1,000 upfront plus $120 per month.

4. Cheers POS

Cheers POS is a cloud-based point of sale system built specifically for package stores. Offering streamlined inventory management, automated purchase orders, and detailed sales reports, Cheers POS helps package store owners maintain optimal stock levels and make informed purchasing decisions.

Top Features

• Purchase order creation: Cheers POS simplifies purchase order creation by automating many steps. Generate purchase orders based on current inventory, sales trends, and desired stock levels.
• Advanced reporting: Cheers POS provides detailed sales reports that give valuable insights into business performance. Easily track top-selling products, identify slow-moving items, and monitor profit margins.
• Live view of markups and margins: With Cheers POS, users can easily view their product markups and margins in real time. They can quickly identify underperforming or overpriced products and make adjustments as needed.

Pricing

Contact Cheers POS directly for pricing.

5. BrewNinja

BrewNinja is a brewery management software designed to help your brewery grow and increase profitability. While not for package owners, brewery owners can manage inventory, track sales and distribution, plan production schedules, and streamline bookkeeping, all from one management platform that your entire team can use.

Top Features

• Built-in inventory counting: BrewNinja's built-in inventory counting features make it easy to keep track of inventory levels. Users can quickly and accurately count their stock, ensuring they always have accurate data.
• Intuitive import features: BrewNinja offers intuitive import features that allow users to quickly and easily add new products to their inventory. Users can import product data from spreadsheets or other sources, saving time and reducing the risk of errors.
• Production schedule planning: Plan your production schedule and send purchase orders to suppliers based on that schedule, reducing supply chain delays and unlocking just-in-time inventory on raw materials and finished goods.

BrewNinja also simplifies brewery accounting and compliance by making all of the relevant accounting entries behind the scenes through direct integration with QuickBooks Online.

Pricing

BrewNinja’s pricing starts at $289 per month.

Get the Best Beer Inventory Software for Your Package Store

The five solutions listed in this post all offer strong features and functionality for beer stores looking to get a better handle on their inventory management processes. But, while inventory management features are undoubtedly critical to your store, they shouldn't be the only factors you consider.

The quality of support, integration capabilities, ease of use, and price are all equally important aspects that can make or break your experience with beer inventory software. After all, what good are fancy features if you can't get help when you need it or if the system doesn't play nicely with your other tools?

That's where Bottle POS shines. We offer powerful, real-time inventory tracking, streamlined purchasing processes, and customizable pricing features tailored to your store's unique needs. Whether you're managing a single shop or juggling multiple locations, Bottle POS simplifies your daily operations while giving you the insights you need to make smarter, data-driven decisions.

Schedule a demo with us today and see how Bottle POS can help you manage beer inventory at your package store like a pro. 

If you want to learn more about beer inventory management, check out these additional resources:

• 10 Most Popular IPA Beers To Stock in Your Bottle Shop. Explore top beers to stock in your shop that customers will love.
• Liquor Store Inventory Management: 8 Do’s and Don’ts. Learn the do’s and don’ts of inventory management to optimize your operations.
• Liquor Store Inventory Costs: How Much To Stock Your Store?. Answer the questions posed in this guide to determine your liquor store inventory costs.