The difference between what your system says you should have in stock (theoretical) and what you actually counted (physical). Variance is the single best leading indicator of waste, theft, miscounted receiving or wrong recipes.
What is Inventory variance used for in F&B operations?
In multi-outlet restaurant and F&B operations, inventory variance is an essential component — directly affecting service speed, order accuracy and margin. See the related terms below to understand where it fits in the broader stack.
How does LOOP support Inventory variance?
LOOP supports inventory variance natively in its POS + KDS + inventory platform for Vietnamese F&B chains — no plugin or third-party integration required. It's one reason multi-outlet operators pick LOOP as their primary operations system.
Related terms
Recipe-level inventory deduction — When a sale of a menu item automatically reduces stock by the exact ingredient quantities defined in its recipe, including modifiers and toppings. This is the foundation of accurate F&B inventory and cost-of-goods reporting.
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) — The direct cost of the ingredients and packaging that went into the items a restaurant sold in a period. Healthy F&B COGS is typically 28–35% of revenue depending on cuisine. Tracking it daily — not monthly — is what catches waste, theft and bad recipes early.