Bar Margins
Bar revenue shows up in shift reports, but how much of that revenue actually stays in your pocket depends on the margin on each item. High revenue paired with low margins can mean the bar is running close to breakeven — or worse. Tracking margin in IZI requires entering a cost price on each product; after that, the platform calculates and reports margins automatically across all your sales.
Formulas: margin vs markup
Section titled “Formulas: margin vs markup”Two numbers describe bar profitability, and they are often confused:
Gross margin (%) = (Selling price − Cost price) / Selling price × 100
Markup (%) = (Selling price − Cost price) / Cost price × 100
Example: water sold at 100, purchased at 45.
- Margin = (100 − 45) / 100 × 100 = 55%
- Markup = (100 − 45) / 45 × 100 = 122%
Margin is more useful for comparing items against each other and against category benchmarks. Markup is useful for comparing against your purchase price when negotiating with suppliers.
Setting cost prices in IZI
Section titled “Setting cost prices in IZI”- Go to Settings → Bar → Catalog (or Warehouse → Products).
- Open each product card.
- Enter the Cost price — the price from the supplier invoice for one unit. Include delivery cost if it is significant.
- Save.
Once cost prices are in place, IZI calculates gross margin in analytics automatically. Update the cost price every time a supplier raises their prices — stale cost data will give you a misleading picture in reports.
Gross margin benchmarks by category
Section titled “Gross margin benchmarks by category”There are no universal numbers that apply to every market — everything depends on your local purchase prices and how price-sensitive your audience is. These ranges serve as orientation:
| Category | Typical gross margin |
|---|---|
| Still water, juices | 40–55% — clients know the price at the nearest store and compare |
| Soft drinks, energy drinks | 50–65% — high demand, clients are less price-sensitive |
| Snacks, chips | 55–70% — low purchase cost allows meaningful markup |
| Hot drinks (coffee, tea) | 65–80% — cost per serving is low, selling price is substantially higher |
Hot drinks are typically the highest-margin segment. If they are not in your bar menu yet, that is the first place to look when trying to improve profitability.
Where to see margin data
Section titled “Where to see margin data”Open Analytics → Bar in IZI. When cost prices are set, the report shows per product and per period:
- Revenue
- Cost of goods sold (units sold × cost price)
- Gross profit
- Gross margin %
Sort by margin % to immediately identify your most and least profitable items.
Finding weak and loss-making items
Section titled “Finding weak and loss-making items”Once you have margin data, look for three patterns:
Items below 30% margin — either the supplier raised their price and you did not update the selling price, or the initial price was set too low. Raise the selling price or remove the item.
High-sales items with low margin — these drive turnover, not profit. That is not always bad, but check whether they are pulling demand away from high-margin alternatives.
Items that never sell — they occupy warehouse space and catalog slots. If a product has not sold once in a month, it represents cash frozen in inventory. Consider removing it from the assortment.
How to improve bar margins
Section titled “How to improve bar margins”Update prices with every purchase. If a supplier raises their price by 10% and you do not adjust the selling price, your margin drops by a corresponding amount. IZI does not adjust this automatically — it is a manual step.
Introduce high-margin items. Coffee, hot chocolate, tea — low cost per serving, high selling price. If they are missing from your menu, adding them is the lowest-effort way to lift overall bar margin.
Remove deadstock. Items that do not sell are cash frozen in goods. Clearing them frees funds to restock items that actually move.
Apply the 80/20 rule to your assortment. Roughly 20% of items generate 80% of bar revenue. Find those items in analytics and make sure they are always in stock.
Upsell at the point of order. When a client buys water, suggest a snack. When they buy an energy drink, suggest chips. An offer made at an already-decided purchase converts well. See bar combo deals for how to set up tariff + bar bundles in IZI.
Bar margins vs gaming tariff margins
Section titled “Bar margins vs gaming tariff margins”Gaming tariff profitability is driven primarily by hall utilization — the main variable is how full the seats are, not a purchase cost. Bar profitability is a more retail-style business: profit depends directly on purchase prices and markup. Both matter. A well-run club optimizes both seat utilization and bar margin in parallel.
See how to read shift reports to view combined revenue across gaming time and bar sales in a single view.
See also
Section titled “See also”- Bar pricing — how to set and adjust selling prices
- Bar menu setup — how to enter cost prices on product cards
- Warehouse overview — stock tracking and purchase cost history
Frequently asked questions
What is bar margin and how does it differ from revenue?
Revenue is the total amount clients paid. Margin is what remains after subtracting the cost of goods. Revenue of 100 with purchase cost of 60 gives you margin of 40 (40%). High revenue with low margin means the bar is barely breaking even.
What margin is considered healthy for a club bar?
A target range of 50–70% across the bar as a whole is typical. Individual items can fall below this (still water 40–50%) or above it (hot drinks 65–80%). If your overall bar margin drops below 40%, it is time to review your assortment or pricing.
Does IZI calculate margin automatically?
Yes. Once you enter a cost price on each product card, IZI calculates gross margin automatically in the bar analytics section. Without cost prices, IZI can only report revenue — you would need to calculate margin manually.
How do I identify my most profitable bar items?
In Analytics → Bar, look at both revenue and margin per item. A high-revenue item with low margin drives turnover. A moderate-revenue item with high margin drives profit. Sort by margin % to find the real earners.