The Independent Cafe

How Missing Stock Quietly Eats Your Cafe Margins

When a cafe runs out of a popular ingredient mid-service, the immediate reaction is frustration. The bigger problem, however, is invisible: the stock that was never there in the first place, or the stock that disappeared without a trace. Missing stock does not announce itself. It shows up later as a lower bank balance, higher food cost percentages, and confused profit calculations. Spotting it before it damages margins requires a clear system, not guesswork. What Missing St