How to stop losing glasses and equipment at off-site events

Equipment does not get lost at the event; it gets lost at the moments nobody counts it — loading by eye, packing up in a hurry, and unloading with "we'll sort it tomorrow". The fix is simple: a pick list built from the menu, and three counts — at loading, at closing and back at the warehouse.

What is a pick list, and how do you build it from the menu?

A pick list is the list of everything that goes out to a specific event, with quantities. It is built from the menu and the guest count, not from a bartender's memory.

How to build it:

1. From the menu: a glass type for each drink. Sparkling wine — flute, wine — wine glass, mixed drinks — highball, cocktails — coupe or rocks, shots — shot glass.
2. From the guest count: how many of each type. Formula below.
3. From the format: bar equipment. The number of stations sets the number of shakers, jiggers, boards and knives.
4. From the venue: what it does not have. Tables, fridges, extension leads, ice wells.
5. Consumables. Napkins, straws, bin bags — per guest count.

How many glasses per guest?

Basic formula: guests × turnover factor × 1.1 (breakage buffer).

Example: a wedding, 80 guests, 5 hours, washing on site. Menu: sparkling on arrival, wine, 4 cocktails.

• Flutes: 80 × 1.1 = 88, round up to 90.
• Wine glasses: 80 × 1.5 × 1.1 = 132, take 135.
• Cocktail glasses (rocks/coupe): 80 × 2 × 1.1 = 176, take 180.
• Highballs for water and soft drinks: 80 × 1 × 1.1 = 88, take 90.

That is about 495 glasses in total. Write the number down — it is what you will check against at closing. For more on glass and ice quantities, see How much ice and glassware per guest.

How to run check-out and check-in: three counts

Every item is counted at least three times, and each count is written next to the pick list, not kept in someone's head.

Count 1 — loading at the warehouse. One person reads the pick list, the other loads and confirms. Count glasses by rack: it helps when every rack holds a fixed number (for example, 25 or 36). Label any part-filled rack.

Count 2 — closing on site. After the last guest, the barback collects glasses from every table, terrace and bathroom. The lead counts by type and records how many are intact, broken and missing.

Count 3 — unloading at the warehouse. Within 24 hours, equipment is checked against the pick list. A gap between count 2 and count 3 means something was lost in transit or while unloading.

Skip count 2 and you will never know whether the glasses stayed at the venue or broke in the van. And you can only ask the venue to look for them while you are still there.

How to record breakage and losses

Record breakage straight away, on site, not from memory the next day. A simple team rule: break a glass — shards into a separate container, a tick on the list.

What to record:

• type and quantity;
• cause, if known (guest, bartender, transport);
• a photo if the damage is significant (a dropped rack, a broken counter).

Typical breakage at off-site events:

If breakage is consistently above that, check packing (dividers in racks), transport (are racks strapped down?) and when glasses are collected from tables.

How to handle hired equipment

Hired equipment needs the same routine as your own, plus a signed note on pickup and return.

• On pickup, count in front of the supplier, write it on the delivery note and photograph chips and defects.
• Keep it separate from your own stock, in the supplier's racks, labelled.
• Agree in advance whether it goes back washed or dirty, and what washing costs.
• Ask the unit price for lost or broken items — it will go on your invoice to the client.
• Return it on time: many hire companies charge late returns as an extra day.

It helps to list hired items as separate lines in the pick list, marked "hired" with the supplier's name.

How to include damage in the client's final invoice

Damage goes on the final invoice only if the terms were in the quote or contract before the event. The wording can be: "Breakage and unreturned equipment above 3% are charged at: glass — €X, shaker — €Y" (set prices at actual replacement cost, excl. VAT).

How to invoice it:

1. Work out breakage and shortages from count 2.
2. Subtract the allowance, if the contract has one.
3. Add it as a separate line on the final invoice, with quantity and unit price.
4. Attach photos if you have them.
5. Send it with overtime and extras, within 1–2 days.

Clients accept this line without fuss when it was in the quote and backed by facts. Otherwise, absorb small breakage yourself and add the clause to the next quote. For how to word these terms, see How to write a catering quote.

What goes missing most, apart from glasses?

The items that disappear most are small tools nobody counts one by one: bar spoons, jiggers, strainers, ice tongs, knives, bottle openers, card terminal chargers and extension leads. They are cheap, but without a jigger the bar will not open on time at the next event.

• Keep small tools in one labelled case per station, with an inventory list on the lid.
• At closing, the lead checks the case against that list, just like the glasses.
• Mark extension leads and adaptors with coloured tape: on site they are easy to mix up with someone else's.
• List serving boards, trays and ice wells as separate lines in the pick list.

What else helps you keep equipment?

• Marking. A coloured sticker or an engraving on the base tells your glasses apart from the venue's.
• A fixed number per rack. Counting 20 racks of 25 is faster than counting 500 glasses.
• One owner. At every event, one person is responsible for equipment, usually the lead or the barback.
• A photo of the crates before loading. Helps you see what went out if the list goes missing.

All the stages where equipment gets checked are in the off-site event checklist.

How this works in Garnify

In Garnify, the pick list is built from the event: its menu and guest count. On check-out and return the team ticks off each item, so you can see every glass went out and every glass came back, and any gap shows up straight away on the event card.