In office coffee service, the worst call you can get is “we’re out of cups” — from a whole office, at once. Par levels are the simplest way to make sure it doesn’t happen, without overstocking every cupboard you serve.
1. What a par level is
A par level is the amount of each product a break room should have right after your visit — enough to last until the next visit, plus a small buffer. On every visit, the driver counts what is on hand and brings it back up to par.
What to leave = par − on hand. That’s the whole system.
2. Setting the first par
- Estimate usage per visit cycle. For example, an office using 60 cups a day, visited weekly, uses about 300 cups between visits (5 working days).
- Add a buffer for busy weeks and a late visit — often 20–30%. 300 cups plus 25% is 375.
- Round to how the product is packed. If cups come in sleeves of 50, the par is 8 sleeves.
Do this for each product: coffee, cups, lids, stirrers, filters, creamer, sweetener, tea.
3. Count on every visit
The driver records what is on hand before restocking and what was left. Over a few weeks, those counts show the real usage — far more reliable than the first estimate.
4. Adjust as the office changes
- If the room is nearly empty at every visit, the par is too low.
- If you are always leaving very little, the par is too high and stock is sitting in the cupboard.
- When headcount changes — new hires, a return to the office, a team moving out — usage changes with it. Review pars at least quarterly, and whenever the customer mentions a change.
5. Service the brewer on the same visit
The visit that refills the cupboard should also check the machine. Record every brewer you place, its location and when it was last descaled or repaired, and log service work against the machine on the same stop. One visit instead of two saves a trip and keeps the coffee good.
6. One invoice for product, service and equipment
Customers prefer one clear invoice: what was delivered, what was serviced, and any equipment charges. It also makes your own numbers easier to read.
Quick checklist
- Par for every product in every break room
- Count on hand before restocking; leave par minus on hand
- Buffer of 20–30% on usage between visits
- Pars reviewed quarterly and when headcount changes
- Brewer checked and logged on the same visit
- Product, service and equipment on one invoice
Run it in one system
Delivery Genius is office coffee service software that does this for you — routes on real roads, a driver app on any phone, invoicing at the door and AI that proposes before anything changes.