US Restaurant Inventory Management Guide (2026): A 90-Minute Routine to Cut Food Waste

Inventory control is where a lot of small-restaurant margin quietly disappears.

Not because owners are careless. Because the system is too heavy to run during real service weeks.

This guide gives you a lightweight routine that real teams can keep up with.

Quick Summary

• EPA estimates 30-40% of the US food supply is wasted.
• EPA also says food is the single most common material sent to landfill and incineration in the US.
• ReFED reports restaurants and foodservice generated 12.5 million tons of surplus food in 2024, with over 85% ending in landfill or incineration.
• In ReFED’s foodservice data, plate waste is the largest category at nearly 70% of wasted food.

For operators, this is not just sustainability news. It is cost control.

Why Small Restaurants Struggle With Inventory

Common owner pain points in community threads:

• “Full inventory takes too long, so we skip it until month-end.”
• “Spreadsheet counts are disconnected from prep and waste.”
• “By the time we see variance, the month is already gone.”

The fix is a tighter cadence, not more complicated software.

The 90-Minute Weekly Inventory Routine

Daily (5-10 minutes): waste log

Track only high-dollar waste events:

• overcooked proteins
• expired dairy
• spoiled produce
• prep overproduction

Record quantity, estimated value, and reason.

Weekly (45 minutes): cycle count top categories

Count the categories that move margin the most:

• proteins
• dairy
• oils
• produce with short shelf life

Do this on the same day and same time each week.

Mid-week (15-20 minutes): spot check volatile items

Recount your 5 highest-volatility SKUs and compare against expected usage.

Month-end (20-30 minutes prep + full count)

Run a complete inventory count for accounting and supplier reset decisions.

The Only Formulas You Need

Actual usage = Opening inventory + Purchases - Closing inventory

Waste % = Waste value / Food purchases x 100

Inventory variance % = (Actual usage - Expected usage) / Expected usage x 100

Expected usage can come from recipe standards x units sold.

Worked Example (One Week)

Assume:

• Opening inventory: $18,000
• Purchases: $6,500
• Closing inventory: $17,200
• Logged waste value: $620

Actual usage = 18,000 + 6,500 - 17,200 = $7,300
Waste % = 620 / 6,500 x 100 = 9.5%

If waste is consistently near this level, you have a process issue, not a one-off incident.

What to Fix First When Variance Spikes

1. Portion standards on your top-10 sellers
2. Prep batch size by daypart
3. Receiving checks (weight, quality, and substitutions)
4. Storage discipline (FIFO, date labeling, and line checks)
5. Reorder points for high-volatility items

A Simple Trigger System

Use trigger rules so actions are automatic:

• Waste % above target for 2 weeks -> reduce prep batch size
• Variance above threshold in one category -> recount and retrain portioning
• Repeated supplier variance -> review vendor and contract terms

Related Guides

• Monthly Inventory Count Checklist for Restaurants (US)
• US Food Cost Calculator
• US Prep Yield Calculator Guide
• US Restaurant Menu Pricing Guide
• Food Cost Ratio Guide

Sources (checked on 2026-02-14)

• U.S. EPA - Why should we care about wasted food?
• U.S. EPA - Wasted Food Scale
• ReFED - Restaurants and Foodservice
• National Restaurant Association - 2026 industry release
• Reddit - r/restaurantowners: What inventory routine actually works for small operators?
• Reddit - r/restaurantowners: Spreadsheets are killing my margins