Trevor Knightcontinues hislook at theNewGenerationof brewers.

In this issuehe visits WestYorkshire.

Full story page 8

www.iltsa.co.ukStockAuditorTHE MAGAZINE FOR THE INSTITUTE OF LICENSED TRADE STOCK AUDITORS ISSUE 82 April 2009

In This Issue Page 3 From the ChairPage 4 Site RegistrationPage 7 The Beer TiePage 8 New Generation Page 10 Food stocktakingPage 12 Ivor Deficit speaksPage 14 The 56th A.G.M.Page 15 Job Opportunities

ISSN 1471 - 0471

Duty 36p

VAT @ 15% is 34p

What the pub

pays for the beer

( Excluding duty )

94p

Staff wages 12p

Rent, rates 38p

Variable costs - utilities, insurances,

laundry etc 30p

Net Profit before tax 14p

What isGoing On !At a time when the ‘average’ pint ofbeer in Britain is £ 2.58, with moreinflation busting increases to come,more and more publicans arecalling last orders for the final time- Why ?

Whilst closures are affecting thetrade in general, the tied housesseem to be far worse hit. Puttingthe rent aside for the moment itwould appear that the PubCo isgetting the lions share of the profitfrom the sale of the average pint.Discounts are said to be in excessof £200, of which little, if any, ispassed to the licensee. In thiscase the brewers would make 25pwith the PubCos raking in a massive58p whilst the government takes afurther 70p in duty and VAT. Thepoor landlord manages to comeaway with a paltry 14p before tax,but after accounting for hisoverheads.

Small wonder then that licenceesare finding it increasingly difficultto make ends meet - this has aknock on effect on our professionas our clients seek to cut costs.Ironically this leaves them farmore vunerable and likely to see

their margins erode still further.

See page 7 for more calculations

Average £ 2.58

56th AGM - 15th & 16th May 2009, Wareham, Dorset

Listening to members who contactthe office, I am struck by the‘polarisation’ of our members.Some have never been as busy,others are struggling to find workoften because of outside influences.The policy of ‘open book’accounting seems to be at the heartof the problem with many membersreporting losing clients because ofthis policy. However othermembers seem to be picking up thework and thriving. The trade inwhich we operate is changing and Ido feel that we have to be flexible inour approach to the alteringsituation.

Rumours abound at the moment!Are Punch and Enterprise going tomerge ? Is the Government going toabolish the beer tie ? Is the OFTgoing to be tasked with examiningthe brewing industry? Who is goingto take over at the BBPA ? Whichcompany will go into administrationnext ? What cannot be doubted isthat the trade cannot carry on as itis. Many of my own clients arestruggling, and I am talking aboutexperienced operators here with

good turnover

STOCKAUDITOR2

This magazine is published by the Institute of Licensed Trade Stock Auditors. Whilst welcoming any contributions, the editorreserves the right to alter or amend them if necessary.

Any opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Council and are accepted only on that understanding. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or transmitted without written permission of the publishers.

Printed by :- Pickles Printers, Halifax, West Yorkshire 01422 353239All Subsciptions payable in advance. Published 6 times per year post free Annual Subscription £24.00

© Institute of Licensed Trade Stock Auditors 2009

FromTheEditorChris Swift

Tel:- 01422 833003chrisswift@iltsa.co.uk

Many thanks to the members andothers who have made this issuepossible:- Gordon Andrews, Rita Broadbent, IvorDeficit, George Giles, GreyeyeTechnology, Le Chef, Trevor Knightand Diane Swift.Thanks also to Peter Hodgson, RitaBroadbent and Amy Swift for proofreading this issue. Deadline for the June issue is 19thMay 2009.

ContributorsTakingStock

Copies of the2nd editionof ‘TakingStock’ are

now availablefrom the Secretary at a cost

of :-Members

£ 16.00 ( Plus £1.30 p.& p. )Non-Members

£ 19.95 ( Plus £1.30 p.& p. )

Steve BerryF.I.L.S.A.� 01968 670600

President� steveberry@iltsa.co.uk

Trevor PerrottF.I.L.S.A.� 01483 829437

Treasurer� trevorperrott@iltsa.co.uk

Ron FosterF.I.L.S.A.� 01793 704186

Regional Reps.� ronfoster@iltsa.co.uk

Rita BroadbentF.I.L.S.A.� 01274 870989

Taking Stock

� ritabroadbent@iltsa.co.uk

Mike MurdochF.I.L.S.A.� 01254 247496

Chair, Exam & Training

� mikemurdoch@iltsa.co.uk

Chris SwiftF.I.L.S.A.� 07768 962354

Marketing, Mag Editor

� chrisswift@iltsa.co.uk

Anton EllenderF.I.L.S.A.� 01303 277382

Membership Benefits

� anton@premierstock.co.uk

Richard GraftonF.I.L.S.A.� 01305 813225

� rmgrafton@tiscali.co.uk

houses, but they are all hoping for agood summer. Whilst I do not wantthe beer tie to be abolished, I feelthat enough is enough Thediscount obtained from the brewersshould be distributed where it wasearned and that is over the bar. Iam convinced that the beer tieindirectly has increased the costprice of beer for all outlets. As thebrewers have had to increasediscounts to the larger players i.e.PubCos and supermarkets, theyhave increased the wholesale priceto everyone else to compensate.The alleged discounts that areavailable cannot be sustained –what is the true value of a barrel ofbeer ?

On a personal level I havesubmitted a paper to the BECdetailing the recent price increasesand the disparity with ‘free trade’outlets buying the same beer.Whilst it may not have any markedeffect I do hope that it is taken noteof.

Di and I look forward to seeingmany of you in Dorset next month –hopefully the good weather will liftour spirits.

“We are in danger of losing ourcommunity pubs within a generationif we do not take urgent action tosave them.“

This is something we in the tradehave seen coming for a long time. Upuntil 2007 the decline was slow. In1871 there was one pub for every 201people. By 1971 that ratio had shrunkto one pub for every 704 people. In1986 we had 86,000 pubs but since2007 the rate of closures haveaccelerated faster than aLamborghini. We now learn that theGovernment, having bailed out thebanks and started to sell off the Royal Mail, plan to hit the licensed tradewith a rolling tax rise. A report for the pub industry found that prices at thebar would climb a staggering 17% as a result of a planned 8% rise in exciseduty over the next four years, putting a staggering 50p on a pint. Thesupermarkets on the other hand continue to sell cheap alcohol. Whyshould punters go to the pub when they can buy it at the Supermarket forthe same price as a decent box of tea bags? The supermarkets should bepaying more tax on higher priced products and the pub industry could nowdo with the same bailing out as our inherent bankers have received forgetting us all into this economic mess in the first place. Politically correctmodernists would probably say that the traditional British local is a flat-capped dinosaur which has past its sell-buy-date. They would be so wrong,the local pub is still the centre of most communities.

Open Book Accounting raises its ugly head again with the major pubcompanies at its hub. They are not satisfied with the information they get from

Brulines, now they want to view every aspect of theleaseholders business. One of my York clients, who

recently went bust because of a £60K rent and the highcost prices they were being charged, told me very

recently that the new leaseholder would get largediscounts. Their weekly rent of £1 for the next six

months would rise to £100 for the following sixmonths, there would then be a review. This is all

tied into the open book accounting dealabout which, I am assured, they can’t have

much idea. Let us hope they are quicklearners!

The next view “From the Chair” will bethe new chairman, Trevor Perrott and I

hope that you will support Trevor in thesame way you have supported me over thepast six years.

Thank you all !

ViewFromTheChair

Taking Stock BooksGoods Received BooksBar Requisition Books

Allowance BooksFlexible Dipsticks

Sectional DipsticksInstitute Ties

Membership ListsSelf - inking stamps

Lapel badgesBlademaster

OFFICE DETAILS

Tel :- 01422 833003dianeswift@iltsa.co.uk

Brockwell HeightsBrockwell Lane

TriangleSowerby Bridge

HX6 3PQ

George Giles Tel:- 0191 386 7699

georgegiles@iltsa.co.uk

ILTSA CALENDAR 2009

AVAILABLE FROM THESECRETARY

F E L L O W S H I P

STOCKAUDITOR 3George Giles

Any member, with the requiredseven years full membership, canapply for fellowship. Pleasecontact the Secretary for details.Any applications will then beplaced on the agenda for theApril Council Meeting.

April 17th Council meeting

May 15th 56th AGM Dorset

October 21st Refresher Day

“ 22nd Examination

“ 23rd Training Course

Step THREE

You are then asked to fill in yourown details. This gives you achance to select a user-name andpassword exclusive to you. YourEmail address allows the systemto send you a confimationmessage that your account hasbeen opened.

If you do not know yourmembership numberjust leave it blank.

Your user-namecannot have anyspaces in but can bebetween five andsixteen characters.

Once you are satisfiedthat you willremember your user-name and passwordpress ‘Submit’.

Registering on the new website isrelatively simple - it is importantthat you re-register as the oldcodes do not work on the newsite. To register visitwww.iltsa.co.uk

Step ONE

On the home page click on the‘members area’ icon.

Step TWO

Register initially using the username ‘stock’ and password‘auditor’ and then click on LOGIN.If you have exclusive access toyour computer check the boxabove - remember me.

STOCKAUDITOR4

NewWebsite Chris Swift F.I.L.S.A.

www.iltsa.co.uk www.iltsa.co.uk - Register as a member !

Once you have sent your details ittakes about 24 hours for youraccount to be set up andactivated. You will be sent aconfirmation Email when it hasbeen set up.

Once registered you will be ableto view back copies of the ‘StockAuditor’, download price lists andview documents not available tothe general public.

iltsaWebsite

STOCKAUDITOR 5

Chris Swift Qualification: F.I.L.S.A.Town: SOWERBY BRIDGECounty: West Yorkshire

Telephone: 01422 833003Mobile: 07768 962 354Email: chrisswift@iltsa.co.uk

About Us: Formed in 1987 C.F.S. Associatesoffers stocktaking services throughout theNorth of England. Drawing on experiencein hotel management and as a tenantlicencee, Chris Swift is able to offer adviceon many aspects of the business. Now,more than ever, there is a need foraccurate and timely advice for the hardpressed licencee.

Location: Covering the North of Englandparticularly Yorkshire. Halifax, Leeds,Huddersfield, Wakefield, Bradford,Sheffield, York, Keighley, Skipton

Services Offered: Periodic stock audits,changeover valuations, year endvaluations, business planning and analysis.

The menu strip to the left of mostof the screens give access to thevarious pages within the website.If you click on ‘interactive’ afurther sub-menu drops down.

The downloads are further splitinto ‘public’ and ‘ILTSA’downloads. At the moment weare attempting to compile adatabase of all major price lists soif you are able to please sendprice lists to the office to beuploaded.

If you have a price-list storeddigitally you can use the ILTSAdropbox feature to send the file

Once registered you can alsochange your database entry. Tothe right is my entry by way ofexample. The most importantfeature is the ability to add in anyareas, towns that you work within.This enables anyone searching fora stocktaker in a particular townto find you irrespective of whereyou actually live.

Because the old site becamecorrupted it has been decided thatchanges to the database will onlybe made through the office.Therefore if you require anychanges, additions or deletions toyour entry just Email them tochrisswift@iltsa.co.uk or use oneof the many links within the site.

In the coming months furtherfeatures will be added to the site -if you have any ideas of anythingthat will be of benefit to ourmembers please contact me.

Chris Swift F.I.L.S.A.

www.iltsa.co.uk

STOCKAUDITOR6

leche

fSMOKED HADDOCK RISOTTOWITH SAGE BUTTERServes : 4 Prep. time : 20 mins.Cooking time : 45 / 50 mins.

Arborio rice is a medium-grain orrisotto rice. It is important to usethis type of rice for a risotto. Itshould retain a slight bite whencooked.

Ingredients : 500 g skinless smoked haddock 600 ml milk

2 bay leaves125 g butter

1 onion , finely chopped 2 garlic cloves , crushed 1 tblspn chopped fresh sage

300 g arborio rice 150 ml dry white wine

20 sage leaves salt & Pepper

Cooking :

Wash and dry the fish and pull outany remaining bones. Place in alarge frying pan with the milk and

bay leaves. Bring slowly to theboil, then simmer gently for fiveminutes. Lift out the fish, flake intolarge pieces and set aside. Strainliquid into a jug and make up to 1.2litres / two pints with water andtransfer to a saucepan. Bring to avery gentle simmer.

Melt half the butter in a separatesaucepan and fry the onion, garlicand chopped sage for five minutesuntil softened but not brown. Addthe rice and stir fry for one minuteuntil all the grains are glossy. Pourin the wine and boil rapidly forthree minutes until absorbed.

Add a ladleful of hot stock to therice and stir until absorbed.Continue adding the stock andstirring the rice for about 20minutes until the rice is tender andall liquid is absorbed. Add theflaked fish and salt and pepper totaste. Stir well and remove fromthe heat. Leave to stand for fiveminutes

Heat the remaining butter in afrying pan and fry the sage leavesfor one minute until crispy and thebutter golden. Spoon the risottointo bowls and top each with thebutter and sage leaves .

And finally Enjoy

Message in aMessage in abottle !bottle !International rock star Sting ispreparing to launch a red wineproduced from his Tuscanvineyard.

Around 30,000 bottles of wine willgo on sale in September, mainlyin Britain and the United States,Paolo Rossi, his estate managerhas confirmed.

A name has not yet beenannounced but it will be a 2007vintage based on the Sangiovesegrape, with a touch of Cabernetand Merlot. In 1997 the formerPolice frontman – whose realname is Gordon Sumner –snapped up a 16th century villacalled Il Palagio near the smallvillage of Figline Valdarno.

Five years later he bought a182ha farm adjoining the Palagioestate and over the years he hasturned it into an organic farm.

‘The reason why I purchased thisproperty and farm the land, isbecause I wanted to nourish myfamily with genuine qualityproducts and live in a healthyenvironment,’ said Sting at alocal conference in the town ofFigline Valdarno.

Table as supplied by a member showing the massive

differences between cost prices - over £50K annually.

TradeFocus Chris Swift F.I.L.S.A.

STOCKAUDITOR 7

Before I go any further I would like tostate that I firmly believe that it is upto both parties to adhere to anycontract – specifically a tenant /leasee signs an agreement that ‘ties’him to specified products. I cantherefore not condone ‘buying out’.

That said I have very strongsympathies with licencees who nowfeel that it is the only way that theycan survive. The recent round of costprice increases have come at a verybad time for the industry and thedifferences between ‘tied’ prices andwholesale prices are quite franklyoutstanding. Instead of relying onBrulines perhaps PubCos should starttackling the source of the problem.An experienced BDM once statedthat he thought ‘Brulines’ would bethe final straw, many of his housesrelied on ‘buying out’ to survive, byremoving that safety valve they werepushing the licensee into a corner.

Increasing cost prices have beenwith us for years but I cannotremember a series of such cripplingincreases as we have seen in recentyears. Beer price increases inparticular have been severe – beerused to go up by a penny or two, nowit is in multiples of ten pence.Coupled with the cost priceincreases, is the widening gapbetween what the PubCo chargesand the prices obtained from localwholsalers. Bear in mind thatwholesalers will still be making aprofit and that their prices from thebrewery are often controlled. One ofour members recently calculated thesavings on a weekly basis and hisfindings are tabulated here.

The cavalier approach to priceincreases can best be seen in thelatest increase where for instancethe PubCo wrote to their licenseesstating clearly that ‘prices wouldincrease by an average of 6%.’ Oneof my clients has Theakstons Bitteras his best seller. On the 11thFebruary a cask containing 11gallons would have cost him £ 103.22

but a week later, on the 18th Februarythat same cask would have beencharged at £ 113.99 – an increase of£ 10.77 or 10.43 % . This wouldamount to an amazing £ 35.25 perbrewers barrel. Prior to the increasehe was charging £ 2.55 whichresulted in a 47.1% Gross Profit. Thisis lower than his target GP% of 50%but he feels it is all that the marketwill stand. In this case an increaseof at least 27p – 28p would be neededmerely to maintain margins. Thesame beer direct from the breweryhas a list price of £ 110.32 accordingto their February 2009 price list. Howthe PubCo can justify charging morethan the brewery is difficult tounderstand particularly as fewoperators will pay the list price – oneof my true ‘free trade’ accounts paysjust £ 57.15 for the same beer.

Based on the figures laid out below itwould appear that the ‘wet rent’ inthis particular house would be well inexcess of £ 50k over the year. I amreluctant to use the term ‘wet rent’ as

this implies some validity to theprocess – remember the rent hasalready been set at market rent. Thediscount obtained from the brewersshould surely be passed to where it isbeing earned – by sales over the bar.I feel that it is no coincidence that ata time when, if Bruline damages areto be believed, massive discounts toPubCos are a contributory factor inthe above inflationary increases inthe cost of beer.

Until this is addressed pubs willcontinue to close at the presentrate.

PubCo Local Difference Av Saving

w’saler Wk

Carling 22 £252.65 £156.86 £95.79 3 £287.37

Fosters 22 £234.59 £173.57 £61.02 2 £122.04

Becks Vier 11 £132.23 £84.99 £47.24 2 £94.48

Stella 10 £136.43 £84.99 £51.44 2 £102.88

Guinness 11 £133.83 £103.00 £30.83 1 £30.83

Strongbow 11 £121.60 £66.49 £55.11 1 £55.11

Bulmers 11 £131.17 £76.89 £54.28 1 £54.28

John Smith 22 £222.58 £142.25 £80.33 2 £160.66

Tetleys 11 £112.64 £59.99 £52.65 1 £52.65

Boddingtons 10 £104.06 £63.35 £40.71 1 £40.71

Trophy 10 £100.56 £63.99 £36.57 2 £73.14

Btl Beers 24 £30.13 £17.35 £12.78 2 £25.56

Can Coke 24 £10.20 £6.99 £3.21 3 £9.63

W.K.D. 24 £30.30 £20.45 £9.85 2 £19.70

BIB Cokes bx £36.73 £26.99 £9.74 4 £38.96

£1,168.00

BreweriesofBritain Trevor Knight F.I.L.S.A.

STOCKAUDITOR8

The New GenerationThe New GenerationTrevor Knight continues his journey tofind the new generation of Britain’sbrewers.

I resume my journey in a part of thecountry that has left us with starkreminders of the 19th CenturyIndustrial Revolution. West Yorkshiresaw rapid expansion of the benefitsof the age in the industries of wool,iron and steel and coal mining. Thisis still a “green and pleasant land”and the mill and factory buildingswere thoughtfully built in the rivervalleys. The availability of water wasa prime requirement in the expansionof the industries and the greytentacles of the rivers and canalsspread from the Humber to theMersey. The industrial barons of thetime became extremely wealthy andbuilt their grand country houses inthe most desirable locations.

Weaving and the wool trade wereestablished in Wakefield soon afterthe Norman Conquest and the townwas the capital of Yorkshire’s woollen

industry for more than 700 years -many fine Georgian houses reflectthe prosperity of those days. Whenthe factory age arrived, the wooltrade moved north to Leeds andBradford. Cloth manufacture stillplays a part in Wakefield’s life but thetown has diversified into chemicalsand engineering. On the medievalbridge over the Calder is the best ofonly four bridge chapels remaining inEngland.

To the west of Wakefield lies thethriving market town of Ossett with itsorigins recorded in the DomesdayBook. OSSETT BREWERY was set upin 1997 by Bob Lawson - a brewer forover forty years - and a partner. Asmall micro-brewery with a 5 barrelbrew plant was built at the rear of theBrewer’s Pride Public House inOssett. The first beer brewed inAugust 1988 - Bobby Dazzler - was aninstant success. For several monthsall beer brewed was retailed throughthe Brewer’s Pride pub but there wasdemand from local free houses.

Within three years the Brewery’sreputation had grown and capacityhad increased to 40 barrels a week.In early 2001, Bob became soleowner of Ossett Brewing Companyand in late 2002 was joined by his sonJamie, previously a successfulinvestment banker in Japan, turningthe Brewery into a family business.

After a short time working in thebusiness, Jamie took responsibilityfor finding suitable pubs as tiedhouses for the Brewery. TheMasons Arms in Ossett was takenover in February 2007 and re-openedafter refurbishment as The OssettBrewery Tap. Fernandes BreweryTap and brewery were added to theestate in August 2007 bringing thenumber of Ossett pubs to ten withtwo independent micro-breweries.

During this time the original brewerywas operating at a level beyond itsoriginal design specification andproducing forty brewers barrels a

Part 32 - West Yorkshire

www.ossett-brewery.co.u

k

A.B.V. 4.3%A.B.V. 4.3%

www.ossett-brewery.co

.uk

A.B.V.A.B.V. 3.8%3.8%

PALE GOLD 3.8% abv. A light, refreshing pale ale with a light, hoppy aroma.

SILVER KING 4.3% abv.A larger-style beer with a crisp dry flavourand citrus fruity aroma.

A.B.V. 5.2%

www.ossett-brewery.co

.uk

EXCELSIOR 5.2% abv.A strong pale ale with a full mellow flavourand fresh, hoppy aroma with citrus/floralcharacteristics.

STOCKAUDITOR 9

BreweriesofBritain

week. Bob decided to look for largerpremises to cope with the expansionin trade and suitable property wasfound less than 80 metres away. Thefirst beers were brewed on the newplant in April 2005 and in August allproduction moved to the new sitewhich has a capacity of 140 brewersbarrels per week.

The brewer says “At Ossett we havea very distinct house style. Ourbeers are all generally light coloured,hoppy, flavoursome and have a citrusor floral aroma”.

In 1851 the industrial town ofBradford, north of Ossett, was anunhealthy place to live in and whenTitus Salt wanted to expand hisfactories he decided to relocate hisentire business to a green-field sitenear Shipley. The model village ofSaltaire is named after its founderand the River Aire which runsthrough the village. Titus Salt hadthe village built so that he could makefine woollen fabrics using the mostefficient methods available whilstproviding a healthy environment forhis workers. A religious man and afirm believer in education, the villagehad its own church, school andinstitute.

SALTAIRE BREWERY Tony Gartlandhad enjoyed a 20 year career as alawyer when, in 2004, he decided toabandon it all to train in the art ofbrewing at Brewlab, University ofSunderland. Once qualified, Tony

became founder and Head Brewer ashe established Saltaire Brewery in avast Victorian building which hadonce housed the generators toprovide electricity for the local trams.The building restoration took fifteenmonths before it was ready toaccommodate the state of the artbrewing equipment - a speciallycommissioned, German manufacturedtwenty barrel brew house. TheBrewery held its official openingparty on 26 June 2006. Derek Todd,formerly a chemist and also trainingat Brewlab in 2004, joined Tony asBrewer whilst Paul Simpson,Managing Director, previouslyworked for larger brewers Whitbreadand Holsten.

The brewery uses traditional methodsand ingredients for its brews but ismodern in its recipes. Only wholehop flowers are used and malts froma long established local maltster.The beers are all named after thedominant hop varieties used or thestyle of beer produced and threehundred pubs are supplied acrossWest Yorkshire and the North ofEngland The brewers firmly believethat as wine drinkers know thedifference between chardonnay andchablis it is time that beer drinkersknew the difference between theflavours of Fuggles and Goldingshops.

The Visitor Centre has a wealth ofinformation - facts, figures and trivia -in an exhibition of the science andhistory of brewing and the actualbrewing process can be observedfrom the mezzanine floor bar.

Titus Salt’s original mill building hasnow been converted to shops and the1853 Gallery which houses acollection of the works of local artistDavid Hockney. Sympathetic to thetemperance movement, Salt did notbuild either a public house or saloonbut, in addition to the Brewery,Saltaire now has a pub calledappropriately Don’t Tell Titus.

BLONDE 4% abv.Straw coloured light ale with softmalt flavours

CASCADE PALE ALE 4.8% abv.American-style pale ale with floralaromas and strong bitterness

YORKSHIRE PALE BITTER 3.8%abv.Pale bitter with citrus flavours.

My thanks to the two breweriesfeatured for permission to downloadtext and beer labels from theirwebsites.

Join me next time when I will bevisiting the southern dales of NorthYorkshire

Screen A - Ingredients

The unit size, supplier andcategory are identified bytheir first letter from datapreviously completed in theAdmin Data screens. Unitsizes can be created to fit,e.g. teaspoon…thenteaspoon can be given aweight e.g. 4 grams, just asa size would be created in aliquor programme.

STOCKAUDITOR10

MasterClass Rita Broadbent F.I.L.S.A

Is it worth it ?Is it worth it ?Food costing by computer - part 1

Food control can be a muchneglected area of the smallcatering operation. In somecases, no one person hasresponsibility for the control,except possibly the Chef.

Recently I was asked to installa food costing program in a 44bed-roomed hotel with one bar,one restaurant, a café bar andconference/function facilities.The software had been“sussed” on the Internet and Istarted from scratch inputtingthe admin data on the demoprogram. The company inquestion gives access for a15day trial period and will thenactivate the demo, retaining allthe data inputted at that point,on receipt of your hard-earnedcash!

But is it worth the time, money(£550 + vat) and effort? We’llsee. This article intends to takeyou step by step and you canmake up your own mind.

In this kind of program, thedevil is not in the detail but inthe building bricks proscribedby the writers of the program.For instance, there was afacility to produce stock sheetswhich had been “formatted” toinclude the suppliers…I askyou? They showed products,firstly under the name of thesupplier then sub-headed,“Ingredient Category”, so whena category – say Meat hadbeen supplied by two or morecompanies, the items and

category appeared on morethan one page of the stocksheets. Ridiculous! There hadto be a way round that whichwould not involve the hotel incostly progam re-writes!

But I am getting ahead ofmyself. The object of theexercise is to produce

a) Menus from b) Dishes from c) Ingredients from d) Suppliers.

The program requires yourtarget gross profit percentagesby department (called outlets inthis program) and will flag upwarning signals when dishesdo not produce the target GP%because of cost priceincreases. Sounds ok so far!

The owner of the hotel wasconcerned because his overallfood GP had fallen over thepreceding three years; not bymuch but he’s no fool and withlimited accounting staff andproducing monthly food GP’sbut using stock sheets whichhad not been re-costed sincelast October, he was looking foradditional control (andammunition) to support his

MasterClass

STOCKAUDITOR 11

contention that with theircurrent selling prices he shouldhave been getting a muchbetter GP%. The Chef wasshowing interest but hadneither the time nor theinclination, to “feed” acomputer. Pardon the pun!

You can work up a reasonablespeed when completing thedata for each ingredient!

The database will storethousands of ingredients. The“tree” is always visible on theleft-hand side of the screenand can be viewed in variousways, e.g. by supplier, bycategory or by item. Thefeature “Usage” enables you tosee every dish in which an

ingredient is used and theingredient may be shown inImperial or Metric measures ora mixture of both. There is alsoa converter which allows youto switch from one to the other.

Of course it is absolutelynecessary to have the Chef andhis second involved becausealthough, as in this case, Chefdoes not wish to do thecomputing, he has to beenthusiastic enough to producehand written recipes… by thedozen! We are costing basicsauces, marmalades, salads allof which become “ingredients”in other dishes and menus. TheMother’s Day fixed price menuis the next event in the offingand with the information we

are preparing, we are all set todiscover whether or not thatwill achieve a decent GP%. Wemay be disappointed but as it isvery similar to the regularSunday Lunch menu, there is apoint to the exercise and Chefis eager to know the result.

Through the advanced versionof the software we are able tofeed in the sales and report theGP% not only on the costedmenu but on the day’s sales.

But as we all know this doesnot preclude periodic stocktaking and overall results!

To be continued ......

Screen B - Menu Engineering

Beer sales slumped in fourth quarter2008 says UK Quarterly Beer Barometer

• Overall beer sales down 8.3 per cent• Pub beer sales down 9.9 per cent• Supermarket and off-licence beersales down 6.5 per cent• Government beer tax revenues down£181 million since March Budget

Total beer sales dropped by 8.3 percent in the final quarter of 2008,

compared to the same quarter in 2007,according to the UK Quarterly BeerBarometer, the highest fourth quarter fallsince records began in 1997.

The UK Quarterly Beer Barometer, thecomprehensive guide to beer trends inBritain published by the British Beer &Pub Association (BBPA), shows that 2.2million fewer pints were drunk every dayin the final quarter of 2008, than in the

Beer BarometerBeer Barometer same quarter of 2007. Compared withthe fourth quarter ten years ago, 404million fewer pints were sold acrossthe country in the final quarter of 2008– a decline of 4.4 million pints a day.

Beer sales in pubs, bars andrestaurants were down 9.9 per cent onthe same quarter in 2007 – equating to1.4 million fewer pints every day. Intotal, 130 million fewer pints were soldin the on-trade during October toDecember 2008 compared with thesame period in 2007.

IvorDeficit

STOCKAUDITOR12

As stocktakers, we frequently have todeal with that commodity whichmakes pubs what they are – beer.The thing about beer is that it’s a realthing, you know, something thatexists and has life, not a horrid plasticobject but frequently a hand-madecraft work that is the culmination of alifes’ work by a rugged and gnarledartisan. At the worst, a “BrandOwner” has invested squillions ofeuros in projecting an image which issupposed to make you yearn for thefizzy euro lager they peddle.

Why is it then, that frequently thedispense of these items is in thehands of barely trained monkeys whooften have no appreciation of thevalue of the product they supposedlysafeguard.

When I was just a boy stocktaker,(cue music by Holst and images byLowry) the brewery for whom I toiledemployed a team of grizzled veteransin shiny Ford Escort vans emblazoned“Keg Fitter”. These horny handed sonof toil were directed by radio – wow-to the furthest corners of the empireto deal with that mysterious beastknown as keg beer.

As far as I recall, a cellar course inolden times consisted of being shownhow to tap a barrel (and I mean abarrel) a quick exhortation not todrink the cleaning fluid and off to thetasting room for six pints beforedriving home. Keg beers, we weretold, had to be left to the tenderministrations of the skilled fitters.

In fact, this crack team of expertswere a varied lot. One was a trainedcooper with a false leg, another borea startling resemblance to MattLucas, another served part-time asthe brewery photographer and thelast member of this squad was an

avuncular chap, inevitably called Jim.They were organised by the superblytitled “Bar Equipment Manager”, aman whose main qualification for thejob was his ability to run an officehidden in the back corner of thebrewery yard where a bottle of lightale was always available.

Somehow, this ragged team of misfitsgave absolutely splendid service tothe varied range of hotels, pubs andclubs that dispensed the brewery’sproducts. 24 hours a day, seven daysa week, they plied the roads in theirgleaming beer pump ambulances. Inbetween calls they installed andrefurbished complete systems andbeer engines, a triple set of which isabout the same size as thepowerplant on a nuclear submarine.

The great thing about these chapswas their holistic approach tobeverage dispense. Everything hadan effect, from the size and shape ofthe glass to the brand of detergent,and it all had to be taken into accountwhen there was a problem.

The comparison with today makes mefeel as if I was writing about theVictorian era, rather than 25 yearsago. At that time the aim was to get

the best product dispensed thecorrect way at all times, and thequality of the beer was the principalconsideration.

Recently, I was told by a CellarService Technician that his maindifficulty is that managers are notallowed pipe cleaning on theirstocktakes, given a 100% yieldrequirement, so that the majority ofhis time is taken up with problemsresulting from lines gradually fillingup with yeast and other goo, whereasthe beer producer keep sending himon courses exhorting full applicationof a rigorous cleaning regime.

This is a circle that can never besquared, and is compounded byanother problem that has arisen withCellar Service; the brother-in-lawphenomenon. This arises thus:

Brewery has to provide cellarservice: employing people is tooexpensive so they contract outservice to a contractor: price is tightso contractor employs sub-contractorto give him coverage: sub-contractortakes on more work than he can copewith so he can make a living but hiswife is threatening divorce so heemploys his brother-in-law (recently

Tech Service - What Service ?

Make-Do

& Mend

Cellar

Services

13STOCKAUDITOR

NewsReview

made redundant from a call centre) tocover himself so he can take his wifeout before she becomes his ex-wife.

This upside down pyramid results inbarely trained people turning up atyour local on a Saturday eveningwhen the beer fobs like shaving foam.There are some companies that stillbelieve in effective training, but forthe most part, call for help and youwill soon realise that you are verymuch on your own.

You may wonder why I seem to havegone on about this, but it has a directrelevance for us. How often have youqueried wastage figures given toyou? Often checking PLU sales tells

you that waste is under recorded andthere is an issue with a cellar service.I can only recount a (real)conversation between a publican anda Brother-in-Law on a Saturdayafternoon with a bar full of footballsupporters:

Publican: Every time I change a keg Iwaste 5 or 6 pints, can you dosomething about this fobbing?

B-I-L: I’ve done a simulated kegchange and there’s nothing wrong.

Publican: Well I think there’ssomething wrong because I’mwasting all this beer.

B-I-L: I can’t help you now I’ve doneall the checks.

Publican: I didn’t call you out becauseI need someone to talk to, I want youto sort out my beer.

B-I-L: Sorry mate, I’ve got anothercall.

Aside from the question of what a“Simulated keg change” is, our clientcalled out the cellar service peoplethe next day and got an ex-nationalbrewery fitter who replaced a faultygas valve and sorted the problem.Perhaps Cellar Technicians should bequalified – just like stocktakers!

Don’t be caught out !Don’t be caught out !Unwitting motorists face £1,000 finesas thousands of photo card drivinglicences expire. Thousands ofmotorists are at risk of being fined upto £1,000 because they areunwittingly driving without a validlicence. They risk prosecution afterfailing to spot the extremely smallprint on their photo card licencewhich says it automatically expiresafter ten years and has to berenewed - even though drivers arelicensed to drive until the age of 70.

The fiasco has come to light adecade after the first batch of photolicences was issued in July 1998, justas the they start to expire. Motoringorganisations blamed theGovernment for the fiasco and said‘most’ drivers believed their licenceswere for life. They said officials hadfailed to publicise sufficiently the factthat new-style licences - unlike theold paper ones - expire after a setperiod and have to be renewed. Torub salt into wounds, drivers will haveto a pay £17.50 to renew their card - acharge which critics have

condemned as a ‘stealth tax’ andwhich will earn the Treasury anestimated £437million over 25 years.

Official DVLA figures reveal that while16,136 expired this summer, so faronly 11,566 drivers have renewed,leaving 4,570 outstanding. Withanother 300,000 photo card licencesdue to expire over the coming year,experts fear the number of invalidlicences will soar, putting thousandsmore drivers in breach of the law andat risk of a fine.

At the heart of the confusion is thesmall print on the tiny credit-card-sizephoto licence, which is used inconjunction with the paper version.Just below the driver name on thefront of the photo card licence is aseries of dates and details - each onenumbered. Number 4b features adate in tiny writing, but no explicitexplanation as to what it means. Thedate’s significance is only explained ifthe driver turns over the card andreads the key on the back whichstates that ‘4b’ means ‘licence validto’.

Even more confusingly, an adjacenttable on the rear of the card sets outhow long the driver is registered tohold a licence - that is until his or her70th birthday. A total of 25millionnew-style licences have been issuedbut - motoring experts say - driverswere never sufficiently warned theywould expire after ten years.

Motorists who fail to renew theirlicences in time are allowed tocontinue driving. But the DVLA saysthey could be charged with ‘failing tosurrender their licence’, an offencecarrying a £1,000 fine. AA president,Edmund King said: ‘It is not generallyknown that photo card licencesexpire: there appears to be a lack ofinformation that people will have torenew these licences. ‘People thinkthey have already paid for them onceover and that is it. ‘It will come as asurprise to motorists and a shock thatthey have to pay an extra £17.50.’The AA called on the Government touse the annual £450million from trafficenforcement fines to offset therenewal charge.

The 56th Annual General Meeting of theILTSA will be held at the SpringfieldCountry Hotel, Wareham, Dorset on the16th May 2009.

STOCKAUDITOR14

56thAGM

This year the 56th AGM is to beheld in Dorset, and in particularthe region known throughout theworld as the ‘Jurassic Coast’ – Icannot guarantee that you will seeany dinosaurs but the odd pinkelephant may be spotted.

We have chosen as our venue theSpringfield Country Hotel near tothe historic town of Wareham, atown which I think you will findworthy of closer inspection. TheSpringfield is still privately ownedand promises to be an excellentand relaxing venue. We haveagain managed to obtain veryfavourable rates and so why nottake a well earned break from therigours of your business and joinus for what promises to be anexcellent weekend. The hotel isset in extensive grounds andappears to be very comfortable.

The Friday trip is to Bridport, inparticular the historic PalmersBrewery. We will be picked up atthe hotel by coach to take theshort but scenic route to Bridport.Brewery trips always seem to bepopular and Palmers looks to be acracker. The brewery is partlythatched and is still privatelyowned. After a leisurely lunch inpicturesque West Bay we aretaking the scenic route back to the

hotel arriving back in plenty oftime to meet new arrivals andadjourn to the bar before theevening meal.

Friday evening is traditionally themore ‘formal’ event but giveseveryone a chance to renewacquaintances and ,yes, talk shopover a glass of wine ( or two ).The AGM proper starts on theSaturday morning and givesmembers the chance to air theirviews as Council members givetheir various reports. This yearour Chairman George Giles willstand down to be replaced byTrevor Perrott. The event isusually good natured but the floordo ask pertinent and informedquestions about the intendeddirection of the Institute .

On the Saturdayevening the nowobligatory ‘loudshirt’ competitionwill beaccompanied bya cabaret – a firstfor the AGM. Iam told that thecomedian is firstclass but apartfrom that it willbe as much asurprise to me asother members.

Travel links are many, andalthough Dorset is one of the fewcounties without a single mile ofmotorway, the M27 reaches theborder. The nearest railwaystation to the hotel is 3 miles awayand you can fly to Bournemouth orSouthampton Airports. Whetheryou are a regular or just want tocome and see what the Institute isall about there are packages tosuit your requirements. Formembers who live in the localitywhy not come to the AGM and joinother members for lunchafterwards.

Whatever your requirements it isnot too late to book – just call thesecretary on 01422 833003 or emaildianeswift@iltsa.co.uk if youcannot find your booking formfrom the last issue.

Don’t DelayDon’t DelayBook Today !Book Today !

Front of the Springfield Country Hotel

JobOpportunities

15STOCKAUDITOR

Berkeley ScottPermanent Division

177 West George StreetGlasgowG2 2LB

T. 0141 225 5577F. 0141 225 5571

POSITION – Group Stock and Audit Manager

REPORTING TO – Head of Group Operations

LOCATION – Scotland

ROLE Manage a team of three field based stock auditors, who are responsible for carrying out monthly audits for each unit. You will havethe ability to produce weekly and monthly reports to Head of Group Operations and Business Development Managers both on a oneto one basis and present at monthly Group Operations Meetings. You will have key responsibilities for all food and liquor stockreporting. The role requires management of all stock taking and audit procedures with key target areas of gross profit, yield andcompliance of company stocking policies, cash and security management of stock. Although not directly P&L responsible thecandidate will support the Head of Group Operations in achieving P&L gross profit and yield targets.

As part of an ambitious and expanding company the individual will be a team player and may be required to join working party’s todevelop stock management systems to improve yield and efficiency, loss prevention, epos systems and work closely with the ITDepartment and Head of Group Operations on these developments.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICSOperations experience of group stocktaking, loss prevention and auditing within a multi site environment is essential, as well ashaving the ability to work in a fast paced, performance and results focused environment.

Line management and project management experience would be beneficial. Knowledge of epos systems such as Maitre’D,Alphanumeric, Micros, Aloa or Zonal is desirable.

Achieve reporting deadlines and carry out necessary retail analysis, working with unit managers to advise on how they can turn keyareas of concern into profitability. Ability to work with operators and ensure that retail compliance and best practice is enforcedalthough not having direct line management responsibility for operators.

Stocktaker required for rapidly expanding pubgroup. To cover Buckinghamshire, Berkshireand Oxfordshire. Salary negotiable withexcellent potential for the right candidate. Toapply:

� Dave 07971 423887,

� db@inn-control.co.uk

� Dave Burr, Inn Control Ltd, Prospect House, Crendon Street, High Wycombe, Bucks. HP13 6LA.

To apply for this position or to arrange a confidential meeting please call:

Ryan KingConsultant

Permanent DivisionBerkeley Scott PLCDD: (0141) 225 5573

This introduction is in accordance with Berkeley Scott Group conditions ofbusiness.

Experienced Licensed Trade Stocktaker required towork in north / central England locations

Please email your cv to stock@assetslt.co.ukor phone 01902 700838 for more details.

Northernrestaurant&bar

STOCKAUDITOR16

www.iltsa.co.uk

Residential Training SeminarsOctober 2009

Training courses held in April andOctober - Full details on

www.iltsa.co.uk

For further details on all aspects of the Institutecontact the Secretary, Diane Swift

on 01422 833003Always look for the letters F.I.L.S.A. & M.I.L.S.A. Tel:- 01684 878042

Many of you may remember that Ialways try and visit the NorthernRestaurant & Bar Show held atManchester Central Exhibition Hall.This year, no doubt because of theeconomic situation it did seem thatit was quieter than in previousyears.

That said, it was a very pleasantafternoon, meeting oldacquaintances and seeing what isnew on the market. My clientscertainly seem to welcome the newideas that I often come back with.One of the strangest was at theWestons stand where the cider wasserved with ice from the pump. Ineffect it was a dual nozzle, aconventional line and one that couldonly be described as a ‘slush puppy’resulting in an eye watering icecold drink of cider. Such innovationfrom Much Marcle but I’m sure itwill be a success following the riseof Magners and Bulmers ‘over ice’.

The highlight of the afternoon forme was a wine tasting hosted by

Ralph Hochar, part of the family thatcreated Chateau Musar. Alongwith tastings of six of the familywines he gave an informative talkon why the brand is now wellrespected worldwide.

Moving on it was time to try thepremium vodka, Chase. Describedas a single estate English potatovodka, this was created by WillChase, a Herefordshire farmer whowas behind Tyrells crisps. From thevodka base a whole range offlavoured liqueurs have beencreated, using locally sourcedfruits.

As ever there were many winemerchants exhibiting at the show –all seemed to have the samemessage – you would not find theirrange on the shelves ofsupermarkets – perhaps anindication of the growing riftbetween the ‘on’ and ‘off ‘ trades.

Oranjeboom was again in evidence– it is many years since I have seen

that on a bar and even more yearssince I sampled some of the product.Erdinger have an excellent site and Imust admit I do enjoy a good wheatbeer – that is what it is, a topfermented ale unlike most of thecontinental lagers. Budwar dark isalso one of my favourites as theroasted malts give it a distinctiveflavour. Along with the samples ofdrinks there are many dishesprepared by chefs ‘borrowed ‘ forthe duration of the show toshowcase particular ingredients –well worth sampling !

Whether you are looking for newdrinks or established brands there isbound to be something that you willenjoy – even down to freshly groundcoffee.

Epos systems, glassware, softdrinks, furniture, wine, breweries,kitchen equipment, garden furnitureand snacks are all covered – theonly stand that was missing - no-one was talking about stocktaking !

Mandata System – Updates for VAT changes.

The Institute have been given a set of Barstocks master discs for anymembers still using the Mandata system but not on maintenance contract.They must be used only to update an existing sytem, if you are installing ona new computer you must use your existing master discs and thenupgrade in the normal manner.

If you have need to borrow these please contact the Institute office on01422 833003