Taproom Financial Planning: Where to Begin...

Creating a financial plan for your taproom feels like a big challenge.  As with any big project, the first step is to break it down into smaller pieces. 

Here are the biggest pieces of your taproom financial plan:

1. Sales
2. Margins
3. Operating Expenses

Taproom Financial Planning Piece #1: Sales Plan

Start with some data from last year: How many customers came through the taproom and how much, on average did they spend?

Example: 10,000 customers x $35 average spend = $350,000 total sales

Make some estimates about whether the number of customers will increase in the new year. Did the pandemic shut you down for the first few months of the year?  Hopefully, that won't occur in the new year. Estimate how many more customers will come visit, provided you are fully open for the year. 

Make some estimates about the average spend per customer. Are you adding any new products for sale in the new year? New merchandise, package beer, or events?  Brainstorm about ways you can increase that average spend. 

New year example: 12,000 customers x $40 average spend = $480,000 total sales

These are just simple metrics, but they are the building blocks of your sales plan. 

Taproom Financial Planning Piece #2: Margin Plan

Start with a review of your products, and their related costs. Compare the costs to the selling price, and you'll have a good look at margins. 

Margin Math: Sales minus cost of goods sold equals margin. 

Your products will have very different margins. Draft beer, for example, will have much higher margins than package beer, and package beer may have much higher margins than merchandise. 

Once you have a good listing of products, prices, costs, and margins, you are in a better position to forecast expected margin dollars in the new year.

Taproom Financial Planning Piece #3: Expense Plan

This section is usually the easiest (and often the least amount of fun). The expense plan will show you what you expect to spend on payroll, rent, insurance, and supplies, among other things. 

List out everything you spent money on last year, and roll it forward into the new year. What changes do you expect?  Will you add more staff, or give pay raises, or expand your taproom operations to a 2nd location?

Quantify these changes and build them into your plan. 

Wrap Up and Next Steps

Inside the Taproom Success Membership you'll find our flag ship course: The Taproom Success BluePrint.

The BluePrint provides step by step details, models, and videos to help you build out your taproom financial plan.

Don't leave your finances to chance, create a great financial game plan, and create success in your taproom in the new year!