Guides

For pub operators

Practical articles from licensees and personal licence holders — chargebacks, stocktakes, GP%, and the stuff that doesn't make the course notes.

Stocktaking & chargebacks
Two ways I've got a stocktake chargeback reversed

I run a pub in Washington. Here are the two grounds that got a chargeback reversed, and what my area manager actually accepted.

Shaun McManus 28 July 2026
Stocktaking & variance
Your stock variance is probably the button next to the right one

Draught Lager up £3,697 while Ale is negative every single time. That's not theft, it's the wrong till button. How to check yours.

Shaun McManus 29 July 2026
Stocktaking & variance
Your stocktake said you were £13 out. Underneath it, £1,165 had moved.

Five Venners audits at my pub show why the net result on a stocktake report hides more than it tells you, and what to read instead.

Shaun McManus 30 July 2026
Stocktaking & costs
What a pub stocktaker actually costs in 2026

Published UK stocktaking rates for 2026, what drives the price, and how pubco packages compare. Written by a licensee who had to go and find out.

Shaun McManus 31 July 2026