Bar Management 101: The Basics, Employee Issues, and Working with Distributors

Bartenders, are you considering advancing into bar management? Starting at $20,000 to $30,000 plus bonuses, bar management does not require a degree in Hospitality Management. However, a few courses in management and accounting will not hurt.

Applicants for a bar management position, fresh out of college, may find themselves working their way up. Savvy bar owners look for bar managers that have hands-on experience. Promoting from within is the best option because of familiarity. An experienced, honest lead bartender with an eye for detail, great people skills, and personal drive can be molded into excellent bar manager.

Bar management entails a wide range of responsibilities. Typically, bar managers handle daily details their employers prefer not to. Duties range from the general, like opening and closing the doors, to the intricate, as accounting and payroll. The more a bar manager can do for their employer the better. Here is bar management 101: the basics, employee issues, and working with distributors.

Bar Management Basics

Managing a bar comes with responsibility. The biggest is the money. Due to the volume of cash dealt with on a daily basis, a bar manager must be trustworthy. A trusted bar manager can handle setting up tills along with calculating cash ins, outs, spills, comps, and inventory.

Cash in is the amount of money in the till at the end of the night. This amount includes cash, checks, and credit/debit receipts and is minus the original till and any cash outs or payouts. The original till is the amount of money in the register at opening.

Depending on an employer's preference, and the size of the establishment, cash outs or payouts are normally money drawn for tips and can be accounted for from credit/debit slips, checks, or tabs. Payouts may also come from any unexpected expenses incurred during a shift that require the bartender to draw money from the register. These are usually indicated by a receipt or bill of sale in the drawer.