Restaurant inventory software that matches stock to what you sell
Most restaurants know how much chicken they bought. Few know how much they should have left. ArfaPOS links every menu item to its recipe, so stock moves with sales and the gap shows up early.
Kitchen and warehouse sections
Keep separate stock for the kitchen and the godown, and record stock transfers between locations and branches.
Recipe-based deduction
When a chicken tikka sells, the chicken, marinade and spices it uses are taken off stock automatically.
Purchase orders and supplier ledgers
Order from suppliers, receive stock against the order, and see what you owe the chicken wala, sabzi wala and gas supplier.
Low-stock alerts
Get warned before oil, cheese or boxes run out, in the admin portal and on your phone with the owner app.
Stock history and audit trail
Every stock movement is recorded, so when a count is short you can see what came in, what went out and when.
Why restaurant stock is harder than shop stock
A kiryana store sells the same bag of sugar it bought. A restaurant buys 50 kg of chicken, cuts it, marinates it, cooks it, and sells it as karahi, tikka, biryani and sandwiches. The thing on the bill is never the thing on the purchase invoice. That is why most restaurant owners in Pakistan track purchases carefully and then lose sight of stock the moment it enters the kitchen.
Restaurant inventory software closes that gap with recipes. You tell ArfaPOS that one chicken karahi (full) uses 1 kg of chicken, 500 g of tomatoes, a measure of oil and so on. Every time the cashier bills a karahi, those quantities come off stock. Purchases add stock, sales remove it, and the system always knows what should be on the shelf. Inventory and recipes are part of the Growth plan (Rs 9,999 a month) and the Business plan. To work out the cost side of the same recipes, see recipe costing software.
Where stock lives
| Location | What it holds | Typical problem |
|---|---|---|
| Warehouse or godown | Bulk rice, oil tins, flour bags, packaging | Bags go out with no record of where they went |
| Kitchen | Today's chicken, vegetables, marinades, drinks | Wastage and over-portioning go unseen |
| Another branch | Stock sent from the central godown | Nobody can say what was sent and when |
ArfaPOS keeps kitchen and warehouse sections apart. When ten bags of rice move from the godown to the kitchen or to another branch, you record the transfer, and both locations show the right figure. Food chains that buy centrally for several outlets get the most out of this.
A worked example: where did 5 kg of chicken go?
A karahi restaurant in Faisalabad runs a weekly chicken check. Here are its figures for one week:
| Item | Kg |
|---|---|
| Opening stock (Monday morning) | 40 |
| Purchased during the week | 60 |
| Used according to recipes of items sold | 78 |
| Expected closing stock | 22 |
| Physical count (Sunday night) | 17 |
| Unexplained difference | 5 |
At Rs 650 per kg, the missing 5 kg is Rs 3,250 in one week, or about Rs 13,000 over a four-week month for one ingredient. The cause could be heavy portions, spoilage, staff meals that were never recorded, or chicken leaving through the back door. You cannot fix it until you can see it, and with paper records most owners only find out when the monthly profit looks thin.
Once the gap is visible, the fixes are simple: weigh portions for a week, record staff meals as their own entries, and start counting the expensive items more often. The stock history shows every entry behind the expected figure, so you can rule out a missed purchase before you blame the kitchen. Our guide on running a restaurant inventory count shows how to do a count in under an hour.
What to track first
You do not need to link every pinch of salt on day one. Start with the items that carry most of your cost:
- Meat and chicken, which are usually the largest share of food cost.
- Cooking oil and ghee, which disappear fast and are easy to over-use.
- Cheese, for pizza shops and fast food outlets.
- Soft drinks and water bottles, which are easy to count and easy to steal.
- Packaging such as boxes and bags, which delivery-heavy kitchens go through quickly.
Once these are under control, add the smaller ingredients. Many owners find that five or six items account for most of the money, so tracking them closely pays off quickly. Set a low-stock level on each of them so the alert reaches you before the Friday rush, not during it.
Purchases and supplier balances
Raise a purchase order, receive the goods against it, and stock goes up while the supplier ledger records what you owe. If your chicken supplier delivers on credit and you pay him every Saturday, his ledger shows each delivery, each payment and the balance. When he says you owe Rs 85,000 and your record says Rs 78,000, you have the delivery list in front of you to settle it. The payment history also shows what you paid last month against this month when rates change.
If you run more than one outlet, inventory becomes even more important. See multi-branch restaurant management for how stock and sales roll up across branches.
Questions people ask
Which ArfaPOS plan includes inventory?
Inventory, recipes, purchase orders and supplier ledgers are on Growth (Rs 9,999 a month) and Business (Rs 14,999 a month). Starter covers billing, expenses and reports without stock tracking.
Do I have to enter a recipe for every menu item?
No. Start with your high-cost items like chicken, mutton, oil and cheese. Add the rest when you are ready. Stock deduction works for whatever recipes you have linked.
Can I track stock in a separate warehouse?
Yes. ArfaPOS has kitchen and warehouse sections and stock transfers between locations, so you can record stock moving from the godown to the kitchen or to a branch.
Will I know before something runs out?
Yes. Set a low-stock level per item and ArfaPOS alerts you in the admin portal, and on your phone if you use the owner app.
Can I see what I owe each supplier?
Yes. Purchases and payments go into each supplier's ledger, so you can see the running balance and payment history for every supplier.
Related solutions
Recipe costing software
When chicken goes up by Rs 100 a kilo, which of your dishes stops making money? Recipes in ArfaPOS link each menu item to the ingredients it uses, so you can answer that with your own numbers.
Restaurant POS software
ArfaPOS gives your cashier a fast billing screen that keeps working when the internet goes, and gives you an admin portal to control the store. Orders reach the kitchen on a screen, stock deducts by recipe, and every day closes with numbers you can check.
Multi-branch restaurant management
When you open a second or third branch, you can no longer stand at every counter. ArfaPOS puts every outlet under one login, so you can see which branch is doing well and which one needs a visit.
Petty cash software
A restaurant spends small amounts of cash all day, and most of it is never written down. ArfaPOS records every expense next to sales, so the drawer and the books agree at night.
Tell us about your business.
We reply with a price, a demo time and the setup that fits your branches, counters and users.