App builder

Count the bar in tenths
with your own bartender inventory app.

Tell Netiva’s agent how your bar runs and it builds a web app where bartenders log open bottles at close, managers see pour cost by category and orders go out by distributor.

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Starter prompt

Build a bar inventory web app for a restaurant group with three bars. Keep a bottle list with category, bottle size in ml, cost per bottle, the spots each bar keeps it in, distributor and par level. At close, bartenders sign in, pick their bar and a spot, and the sheet lists only the bottles kept there, for sealed bottles plus open bottles in tenths. Managers log distributor invoices with liquor, wine and beer totals and type in category sales from the POS report at each weekly count. Show pour cost per category and bar, and an order sheet of everything under par, grouped by distributor.

Build it in Netiva Paste the prompt into a new workspace and adjust it to your business.
Overview

Who this bartender inventory app is for

Most bars still close out on a clipboard. Someone eyeballs each open bottle in tenths, the sheet goes in a drawer and on Monday the manager types it into a spreadsheet to estimate pour cost before the distributor rep calls. By then nobody remembers why the tequila count dropped. A bartender inventory app — some teams call it an alcohol inventory app — built with Netiva puts the count sheet on the bartender’s phone, saves each open bottle with the bar and the person who counted it, and turns those numbers into pour cost and an order sheet that same night.

Key features

What your bartender inventory app can do

  • Shift-end counts in tenths

    At close, a bartender opens the count sheet on a phone, picks the bar and the location being counted, then records sealed bottles as whole numbers and what’s left in open bottles in tenths.

    • Only what that bar keeps in the spot you pick: well, back bar, liquor room
    • Phone camera barcode scan to jump to a bottle
    • Each count stamped with the bar, the time and who counted
    • Previous count beside every bottle so sudden drops stand out

  • Pour cost by category

    Between two period-end counts, the app values what the bar used — opening stock plus invoiced purchases minus closing stock — and divides it by the sales you enter from your register.

    • Separate pour cost for liquor, wine and beer
    • Stock valued from each bottle’s cost and its counted tenths
    • Saved, filtered views of counts for each bar and week
    • Cost per ounce for every bottle, from its size and what it cost

  • Pars and a distributor order sheet

    Give every bottle a par. The app compares it with what the latest count found at the bar you’re ordering for and builds the sheet you read to your rep or email over before the order cutoff.

    • Order quantity is par minus bottles on hand, rounded up
    • Lines grouped by distributor, so one call covers everything that rep carries
    • A scheduled email with the sheet on the morning of each order day
    • A print-friendly layout for reps who take orders in person

  • One bottle list for every bar

    Spirits, wine, beer and mixers live in one collection with size, cost and distributor. The collection assistant tidies bottle names and fills blank fields across many rows at once.

    • One record per bottle: size in ml, cost, distributor, par and barcode
    • Names cleaned up in bulk to brand, expression and size
    • Required cost field, so no bottle is counted at zero
    • Categories that decide where each bottle lands in pour cost
Data model

The collections behind it

Netiva keeps your records in built-in collections. Here’s a starting structure — the agent adapts it to your prompt, and you can change it any time.

Bottles

Every product behind the bar, with the numbers that pour cost and ordering depend on.

  • Name (required) Brand and expression, such as a reposado tequila Text
  • Category (required) Liquor, wine, beer or mixer; the first three are what pour cost is split by Text
  • Bottle size (required) In ml: 750, 1000, 1750… Number
  • Bottle cost (required) Latest invoice price for one bottle Number
  • Locations (required) Spots it sits in, tagged by bar when bars carry different bottles: “Main bar — well” Text
  • Distributor (required) Groups the order sheet Text
  • Par level (required) Bottles each bar wants on hand after a delivery; ask for a par per bar if yours differ Number
  • Barcode UPC from the label, for camera lookups Text

Counts

One count of one bar, taken at close or at the end of a pour cost period.

  • Bar (required) Main bar, patio bar, service bar… use the same spelling on invoices so pour cost lines up Text
  • Count type (required) Shift-end or period-end Text
  • Counted at (required) Date & time
  • Counted by (required) Taken from the bartender’s sign-in Text
  • Status (required) In progress, submitted or reviewed Text
  • Liquor sales From the POS sales report; period-end counts only Number
  • Wine sales Number
  • Beer sales Number

Count lines

What one count found for one bottle in one spot behind the bar.

  • Count (required) Relation to Counts
  • Bottle (required) Relation to Bottles
  • Location (required) The one spot this line was counted in, from the bottle’s tags for that bar Text
  • Sealed bottles (required) Number
  • Open tenths What’s left in open bottles, e.g. 0.7, or 1.3 for two Number
  • Line value Bottles counted times bottle cost, worked out by the app Number

Invoices

Distributor invoices for each bar, split into the purchase totals pour cost needs.

  • Distributor (required) Use the same name as on the bottle records so invoices and the order sheet line up Text
  • Invoice number (required) Text
  • Delivered on (required) Date
  • Bar (required) The bar this delivery went to, spelled as on its counts so the purchases join them Text
  • Liquor total Number
  • Wine total Number
  • Beer total Number
  • Invoice copy Photo or PDF of the signed paper invoice File

Required field. Types are Netiva collection field types.

Screens

Pages and screens to start with

A typical first version. Ask the agent for more, or annotate the preview to change any of them.

  • Close-out count

    The phone count sheet: choose a bar and a location, and it lists only the bottles that bar keeps there to tap through, sealed bottles and tenths, then submit.

    Signed-in users

  • Count review

    One submitted count by location, valued at cost, with each bottle’s previous count alongside, the liquor, wine and beer sales typed in from the POS report and a reviewed button.

    Your team

  • Pour cost

    Opening value, purchases, closing value, sales and pour cost for liquor, wine and beer, for each bar and period.

    Your team

  • Order sheet

    Bottles below par at the chosen bar, grouped by distributor, with order quantities in whole bottles and the date each was last counted.

    Your team

  • Bottle

    Size, cost, cost per ounce, par and distributor for one bottle, plus its recent counts at every bar.

    Signed-in users

  • Invoices

    A log of distributor deliveries with liquor, wine and beer totals, the delivery date and a photo of the paper invoice.

    Your team
How it works

From prompt to a live bartender inventory app

  1. Describe your bars

    Tell the agent how many bars you run, where bottles sit — well, back bar, liquor room — and when you count. It drafts the bottle, count and invoice collections to match.

  2. Load the bottle list

    Add bottles in the spreadsheet-style grid, or describe your back bar and have the collection assistant draft rows you then check against recent invoices.

  3. Run a practice close-out

    Walk through a count in the live preview. Mark anything awkward right on the page — a field too small for thumbs, a missing location — and the agent fixes it.

  4. Go live before the next shift

    Publish with one click, send bartenders the link to sign in and turn on the order-day email. Checkpoints let you undo any change that breaks the count sheet.

Why Netiva

Netiva vs a traditional build

Building a bartender inventory app with Netiva compared with a traditional build
Criterion With Netiva Traditional build
Partial bottle counts Tenths entered on a phone at close and saved with the bar, location and bartender A printed sheet, a pen and tenths guessed by eye, typed into a spreadsheet the next morning
Distributor orders An order sheet built from pars and the last count, grouped by distributor A quick walk past the back bar while the rep waits on the phone
Getting started Describe what you need in chat and watch it take shape in a live preview Hire developers, or stitch together templates, plugins and a hosting plan
Content and data Built-in collections with nine field types, bound straight to your pages Set up and connect a separate database or CMS
Making changes Ask the agent; every change is checkpointed and reversible File a ticket, wait for a sprint, redeploy
Hosting and domain Global hosting and automatic SSL; connect a custom domain from the Starter plan Buy hosting, then install and renew SSL certificates yourself
Code ownership Clean production code you own and can export Locked into a template, plugin or agency setup
Examples

Ways teams use it

  • A neighborhood cocktail bar

    One bar with a well and a few hundred bottles on the back bar. The closing bartender counts the well every night, and the manager runs a full count on Sunday to check liquor pour cost before Monday’s order.

  • A hotel with a banquet bar

    The lobby bar is counted every night, the banquet bar only on event days with a par set by the booking, and room-service stock weekly. The beverage director compares pour cost across all three before the monthly numbers land.

  • A music venue that opens bars on show nights

    Each bar is counted before doors and again after last call, so the manager sees what every bar went through during the show and knows which ones to restock for the next night.

Good to know

Before you build

  • Licenses and where you buy

    Your licenses decide what you can serve. In the US, federal rules limit bars to buying spirits for resale from wholesalers and a few other listed sources, and states add their own rules. The app records purchases; it doesn’t check them.

  • Keep your delivery records

    US retail dealers, bars included, must keep records of the alcohol they receive — usually the distributor invoices — for at least three years, at the bar itself unless TTB approves another of your premises. The app’s copies are a convenience; keep the originals on site.

  • Tenths are an estimate, and never top up

    Eyeballed tenths shift with bottle shape and with who counts. Keep the same counter each period, or weigh open bottles — no scale connects, so grams are typed in. Never top up a bottle to match a count: US federal rules forbid adding any substance to a liquor bottle’s contents.

  • Sales still come from your register

    Netiva doesn’t replace your POS. Type category sales from its end-of-period report, or, if your POS provider offers an API, ask the agent to pull those totals using your key.

Compliance note

Serving alcohol requires the licenses your city, state or country issues, and checking guests’ ages stays with your staff. This app tracks bottles, costs and invoices for the bar team; it doesn’t sell alcohol, verify ages or manage licenses, and it doesn’t make your records compliant.

FAQ

Questions about building a bartender inventory app

How do bartenders count a partial bottle in tenths?

They look at each open bottle and estimate what’s left to the nearest tenth, so a bottle about seven-tenths full goes in as 0.7 next to the sealed count. The app adds the two and values the total at the bottle’s cost. Tenths are quick at close; for tighter numbers, ask the agent for a weight field that converts grams to tenths from each bottle’s full and empty weights.

How does the app work out pour cost?

Pour cost is the cost of what the bar used divided by what it sold. For each category and period, the app takes the opening count value, adds invoice totals, subtracts the closing count value and divides by the sales entered from your POS. Bottles moved between bars or sent to the kitchen aren’t tracked out of the box, so ask the agent for a transfer log if yours move. The formula sits in code you can read and change.

Does it work as an alcohol inventory app for wine and beer too?

Yes. Wine, bottled beer and cans sit in the same bottle list with their own category, so pour cost is reported separately for each. Opened wine for by-the-glass pours is counted in tenths just like spirits. Draft beer is harder to judge by eye; many bars weigh kegs or simply mark them full or tapped, and you can ask the agent to add either approach.

Where do the sales figures for pour cost come from?

From your register. At each period-end count, a manager types liquor, wine and beer sales from the POS sales report into the count record. If your POS provider offers a REST API, Netiva apps can call it with your key stored securely, so you can ask the agent to fetch those totals instead. Check what the provider’s API actually exposes before you plan around it.

Can bartenders at several venues share one app?

Yes. It’s a web app that opens in the phone’s browser, so there’s nothing to install behind each bar. Bartenders sign in with their own accounts, choose their venue and location, and every count carries the bar name, so a restaurant group can filter pour cost and order sheets by venue. Everyone works from the same bottle list, so a new bottle is added once.

Which Netiva plan does a bar inventory app need?

You can build and test the count sheet on the free plan without a credit card. Publishing on your bar’s own domain needs the Starter plan or above, and paid tiers add more room and features. See Netiva’s pricing page for the current lineup. Whichever plan you pick, the code is yours to export whenever you like, with no proprietary runtime.

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Drafted with AI assistance from Netiva’s product pages and reviewed by the Netiva team. Example data models, screens and prompts are illustrative starting points, not customer projects.

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