By Robert Herrington
Managing Editor

When the IRS comes to audit you, chances are you lose money. When Noblesville resident Jim White comes to audit your business, Bevinco will help place more cash into your wallet.

"Sales typically go up as much as 10 percent," said White. "That's huge amounts of money that can go into the owner's pocket."

For the past four years, White has been helping business owners by providing liquor inventory audits.

"You can't manage something you can't measure," he said.

White described Bevinco as a "profit enhancement company."

"We work with bar and restaurant owners to increase their profitability through profit controls in alcohol," he said.

White said two secret audits are done without the knowledge of employees - just the owner and Bevinco's staff - prior to Bevinco's annual audit, which may be weekly, biweekly or even monthly depending on the owner's preference and volume. During the secret and annual audits, a full inventory of the building's alcohol is done. White said this includes bottled beer, wine, kegs and hard liquor. A bar code scanner is used to account for full bottles and a scale is used to measure open bottles and kegs.

"We know exactly how much (liquor) is in there every week," White said.

With the knowledge of a Bevinco audit, White said it reminds the bartenders to be conscious of what they're doing.

"Every penny counts, especially in these times," he said.

A summary report is then provided to the owner after each audit that shows each liquor category - line by line of each brand. White said this information helps owners to know which type of alcohol is being sold and how to better order future inventory.

To properly prepare a summary report, White said he goes over the drink recipes with owners and enters those amounts into the computer. He also measures all the glasses used when serving beverages. With this knowledge, he can input the proper amounts that should be dispensed by bartenders to patrons and shows how much are actually used in drinks.

While it varies client to client, White said when he first starts he typically he sees a 20 percent shrinkage on profits because of excess pouring.

"We have a bartenders meeting and remind them to pay attention to the details - pouring the right amounts," he said. "There's a lot of different ways to have (profit) shrinkage."

During his visits, White said he finds the employees to be very positive with his interactions with them.

"A majority of people want to do well in their job," said White. "This gives them feedback on how to do better. It opens the lines of communication between bartenders and owners."

On a typical day, White says he does two to three audits, which can last as short as three hours at the smallest location or as long as eight hours at larger establishments.

For more information on Bevinco, visit www.bevinco.com or contact White at 663-3445 or by e-mail at jwhite@bevinco-indy.com.