Inventory management that counts the way a brewery does
A crate of 24 and a single bottle are the same beer on the same pallet. BrewerSync keeps stock on the packaging unit, derives what you can sell from it, and logs every movement: purchase, brew, packaging, pick, transfer and correction.
Why brewery inventory breaks spreadsheets
Brewery stock has three layers that generic inventory tools flatten into one. There is the beer, there is the unit it sits in (a 33 cl bottle, a 44 cl can, a 20 litre keg) and there is what you actually sell: a single bottle, a six-pack, a crate of 24. Count the crate and the bottle as two separate rows and you sell the same beer twice.
On top of that, stock changes from four directions in one day: malt arrives from a supplier, a brew consumes it, a packaging run turns a batch into bottles, and a pick takes bottles out again for an order. A spreadsheet only survives when every one of those is typed in on the spot. That is why inventory belongs in the same system as production and orders.
What BrewerSync does for you
Stock at the right level, in the right place, with a reason for every change.
Beer, unit, product
Stock is counted on the packaging unit: the loose 33 cl bottles of a beer. A crate of 24 and a single bottle are two products drawing on that one pool, so availability is derived and never double-counted. Packing loose bottles into crates is a booked action, in one transaction.
Warehouses and locations
Several warehouses, each with its own locations. Move stock between locations, keep a lot number on every row, put a barcode on a location and scan it. A location that goes negative is flagged, not hidden.
Every movement logged
Purchase, batch use, production in and out, order pick, transfer, packaging, correction, waste, return: each change is a movement with quantity, lot, date, reason and who booked it. The mutation tab is your audit trail.
Reorder points and alerts
Set a reorder point per ingredient and per unit. Anything at or below it shows as low stock on your dashboard and in your notifications, before filling day rather than on it.
Linked to production
Starting a brew deducts the recipe ingredients from stock. Packaging a batch books the finished bottles, cans or kegs into stock, traceable to the brew through the movement log.
Purchasing and sales in the same count
Raise purchase orders to suppliers and receive them into a location. Sales draw from the same unit pool; an order that exceeds stock becomes a backorder instead of a refusal, with a view of what can be released. Pre-selling a batch? Switch the stock check off.
Still on a spreadsheet? Then at least track these six columns
There is no download here, on purpose: a template is not the hard part. If you keep brewery inventory in a spreadsheet, these are the columns it needs to survive more than one brew day.
- 1Item: the beer plus its unit (Pale Ale, 33 cl bottle), or the raw material with its unit of measure (Pilsner malt, kg).
- 2Loose units versus packs: count in loose bottles and let the sheet derive crates, never the other way round.
- 3Location: which warehouse, which rack or cold store. One row per item per location.
- 4Quantity on hand, updated by movements, never overwritten by hand.
- 5Lot or batch number, so a question about one brew does not mean recounting everything.
- 6A movement log on a second tab: date, item, quantity in or out, reason, initials.
The sheet fails on the day a delivery, a brew and an order all touch the same cell. That is usually the day breweries move inventory into the same system as their orders.
Frequently asked questions
What is brewery inventory management software?
Software that tracks raw materials and finished beer per unit and per location, and updates those counts from what happens in the brewery: purchases, brews, packaging runs, orders and corrections. In BrewerSync it is one module alongside orders, production and keg tracking, not a separate tool.
Does it cover raw materials as well as finished beer?
Yes. Ingredients carry a stock level, reorder point, supplier and cost per unit. Finished beer is counted per packaging unit: bottles, cans and kegs of each beer, with the sellable products derived from it.
Can I manage more than one warehouse?
Yes. Create several warehouses, each with its own locations, and move stock between them. Locations can carry a barcode; scan it on your phone to look up what sits there.
What happens when an order exceeds stock?
The order is not refused. The uncovered part is recorded as a backorder on the line, and the backorder overview shows per product which lines are waiting and what today’s stock can release. Breweries that pre-sell can switch the stock check off.
How do kegs fit into inventory?
A filled 20 litre keg of a beer is a packaging unit like a bottle, with its own count. The physical kegs themselves, with serial numbers and which customer holds them, live in the keg tracking module. Filling a keg in that register does not change the unit count; the packaging run of a batch does.
Which plan includes inventory management?
The comparison table on the pricing page lists inventory and warehouse management per plan, together with everything else each plan includes.
Done counting twice?
Set up your beers and units, enter one opening count and see what the movement log does on your next brew day.