Liquor, beer and wine as separate cost accounts, with bar consumables tracked apart from the spirits themselves, because a single Beverage line cannot produce a pour cost.

54Accounts

3Levels deep

2Formats

Built on restaurant accounting practice, with beverage costs split the way operators actually track pour cost. Follows USAR grouping without claiming to be a USAR chart.

Download the bar chart

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What is different

One Beverage account cannot produce a pour cost

Pour cost is the number a bar is run on, and it is not one number. Liquor, beer and wine each run at a different percentage, and a shift in what people order moves the blended figure without anything being wrong.

This chart splits Liquor Purchases, Beer Purchases and Wine Purchases, and keeps Ice & Bar Supplies and Mixers & Garnish out of the spirit accounts. A change in the blended pour cost can then be traced to a category rather than argued about.

The chart

The full Bar chart of accounts

All 54 accounts, with the note that tells you what belongs in each one. This is the same file the download gives you, rendered here so you can read it without opening a spreadsheet.

Code	Account	Type	What belongs here
4000	Revenue	Income	Beverage-led revenue centres, with food kept separate.
4010	Liquor Sales	Income	Spirits and cocktails.
4020	Beer Sales	Income	Beer, split by package because margin differs sharply.
4030	Wine Sales	Income	Wine by the glass and by the bottle.
4040	Non-Alcoholic Beverage Sales	Income	Soft drinks, mocktails, coffee, energy drinks and bottled water.
4050	Food Sales	Income	Kitchen, snack and bar food sales.
4060	Cover Charges	Income	Door admission and ticketed entry.
4070	Private Events & Buyouts	Income	Private bookings and full-venue buyouts, including minimum spend.
4080	Merchandise Sales	Income	Branded apparel, glassware and retail packaged goods.
5000	Cost of Sales	Cost of goods sold	Beverage cost split to the level pour cost is actually managed at.
5010	Liquor Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Spirits bought for resale.
5020	Beer Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Beer bought for resale, bottled, canned and draft.
5030	Wine Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Wine bought for resale, by the glass and by the bottle.
5040	Mixers & Garnish	Cost of goods sold	Juices, sodas, bitters, fruit and garnish used behind the bar.
5050	Food Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Food bought for resale, including produce, protein, dairy and dry goods.
5060	Bar Labor	Cost of goods sold	Bartender wages for the hours that produced the drinks sold.
5070	Door & Security Labor	Cost of goods sold	Door staff and security wages for trading hours.
5080	Ice & Bar Supplies	Cost of goods sold	Ice, straws, napkins and consumables used at the bar.
5090	Merchandise Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Branded goods bought for resale.
5100	DJ & Entertainment Fees	Cost of goods sold	Fees paid to DJs and entertainers.
6000	Operating Expenses	Expense	Operating costs of running the business, below the gross profit line.
6010	Management & Office Salaries	Expense	Salaries for management and administration.
6020	Payroll Taxes & Benefits	Expense	Employer payroll taxes and the cost of employee benefits.
6030	Rent & Occupancy	Expense	Rent plus the occupancy costs that come with the building.
6040	Utilities	Expense	Electricity, gas, water and waste for the premises.
6050	Repairs & Maintenance	Expense	Repairs and upkeep of the building, plant and fixtures.
6060	Software & Subscriptions	Expense	Recurring software licences and subscriptions.
6070	Advertising & Marketing	Expense	Advertising spend and marketing programmes not tied to one event.
6080	Professional Fees	Expense	Accounting, legal and consulting fees.
6090	Business Insurance	Expense	General liability, property and business insurance.
6100	Card Processing Fees	Expense	Merchant fees on card payments taken from customers.
6110	Office & Supplies	Expense	Office consumables and general supplies.
6120	Telephone & Internet	Expense	Phone lines, mobile plans and internet connectivity.
6130	Travel	Expense	Agency travel not recharged to a client.
6140	Meals & Entertainment	Expense	Business meals and entertaining. Partially deductible, so keep it separate.
6150	Licenses & Permits	Expense	Operating licences and permits to trade.
6160	Dues & Memberships	Expense	Trade body memberships and professional dues.
6170	Training & Education	Expense	Staff training, certification and continuing education.
6180	Bank Fees	Expense	Account, wire and other charges levied by the bank.
6210	Liquor License & Compliance	Expense	Liquor licensing, renewals and the compliance work around them.
6220	Music Licensing	Expense	Performing rights fees for music played on the premises.
6230	Contract Security & Alarm Monitoring	Expense	Alarm monitoring and contracted security cover.
6240	Linen & Laundry	Expense	Linen hire and laundry, in house or contracted.
6250	Glassware & Bar Smallwares	Expense	Glassware and small bar equipment replaced through the year.
6260	Cleaning & Pest Control	Expense	Contracted cleaning and pest control.
6270	Waste Removal	Expense	General waste, recycling, food waste and confidential shredding.
8000	Other Income	Other income	Income earned outside normal trading activity.
8010	Interest Income	Other income	Interest earned on operating and reserve balances.
8020	Grants & Incentives	Other income	Grant funding and government or utility incentives received.
8030	Vendor Rebates & Commissions	Other income	Rebates and commissions paid back to you by suppliers.
9000	Other Expenses	Other expense	Below the line costs that are not part of operations.
9010	Depreciation & Amortization	Other expense	Write-down of tangible assets and amortisation of intangibles.
9020	Interest Expense	Other expense	Interest on notes payable and long-term debt.
9030	Penalties & Late Fees	Other expense	Fines, penalties and late payment charges.

Questions

Bar chart of accounts questions

What pour cost should a bar target?

Most bars run between 18 and 24 percent overall, but the blend hides a lot. Liquor typically runs lowest, draft beer higher once waste is counted, and wine higher still. Chasing a single blended target without splitting the categories usually means cutting the wrong thing.

Why split beer into draft and packaged?

Because their costs per ounce and their loss profiles differ. Draft carries foam, line cleaning and shrinkage that a bottle does not. In one account the two average, and the draft system's waste stays invisible until someone counts kegs.

Where do garnish, ice and mixers belong?

Cost of sales, but in their own account rather than inside the spirit lines. They are a real cost of the drink, and they are also the costs that quietly inflate if a bar gets loose with prep. Separated, they are visible; combined, they distort pour cost.

Should glassware be cost of sales?

No. Glassware is an operating expense, because it is replaced on a breakage cycle rather than consumed per drink. Putting it in cost of sales makes pour cost jump every time you restock, which is exactly when you least want a false signal.

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