Running a bar can be fun, but it can also be a nightmare if things aren’t organized correctly. Bartending can be a fast-paced job if you’re working in a busy location, and your bartenders and barbacks need to be able to find what they need and serve customers as quickly as possible. Here are some tips that should help you with that.

Make a Map of Your Space

By far, the easiest way to keep your bar space organized is to make a map of where everything goes. Keep a diagram of where your various liquor bottles and tools go and share it with anyone who works the bar. This will undoubtedly help new employees until they have a good idea of where everything should be, but it will also be useful for your veteran staff members. The latter might need a refresher when they have to serve a crowd of customers during happy hour.

Arrange Your Liquor Bottles Carefully

There’s an art to arranging liquor bottles behind a bar. The most popular drinks should be more accessible than everything else, but your bottles should also be aesthetically pleasing to customers. Many bars like to place their most attractive (and expensive) bottles of liquor on the top shelf where they are the most visible. They may even illuminate these bottles to draw more attention to them. This keeps the “top shelf” drinks prominent in customers’ minds and may even entice them to order something expensive.

Keep It Simple

Some bars and restaurants are tempted to develop impressive designs for their bar spaces that prioritize aesthetics over function. As important as aesthetics are, you should really worry more about making things as simple as possible for your staff. Keep your bar space’s layout and your map of liquor bottles simple, and don’t change things up too much later if you can help it. If you really want a great-looking bar, focus on things like pleasing furniture and eye-catching decorations, not on a trendy bar layout that will only confuse new employees and customers. The basic layout of a bar hasn’t changed much in decades; there’s no need to reinvent your space just for the sake of doing something different.