In quick-service restaurants, downtime is deadly. When your soda fountains or beer taps stop flowing because of a CO2 outage, the impact is immediate and costly. What seems like a minor supply issue can quickly snowball into lost sales, frustrated customers, and long-term brand damage.
Hence, beverage gas monitoring is no longer optional. Yet, despite the critical role CO2 plays in drink quality and operational uptime, most QSRs leave tank management entirely in the hands of suppliers, with no visibility into when refills happen, how much gas is delivered, or when an outage is imminent. CO2 tank monitoring is the alternative which is easy and affordable, more importantly it places control back into the hands of the owner/ operators, as they are feeling the most pain.
Smart beverage gas monitoring puts you in control of your CO2 supply. Instead of waiting for issues, QSR operators get real-time insights and alerts. It’s about protecting every part of your business, from drink quality to long-term revenue.
Imagine this scenario:
Let’s say the average drink sale is $2.50, and you have 100 stores, that translates to:
👉 $2.50 x 10 sales/hour x 10 hours/day = $250 lost per day
$250 lost per day, 2 days = $500 lost
$500 lost over 2 days x 50 stores (half your stores) = $25,000 in lost revenue
And that’s just for 10 drinks per hour—it can often be far worse. This also doesn’t take into account food loss.
The financial impact of CO2 outages goes far beyond missed transactions:
And don’t forget the waste—flat drinks often go straight down the drain, meaning you’re paying for product that never gets sold.
One company tackling this issue is Pulsa, with a real-time CO2 monitoring system that transforms CO2 from an unmanaged cost into a controllable, optimized resource. QSRs that deploy monitoring see immediate financial impact:
✔️ Up to $10,000** in savings per store per incident, by eliminating emergency service fees, reducing unnecessary refills, and preventing downtime.
✔️ Up to $13,000** in additional annual revenue per store by ensuring consistent drink quality and preventing lost sales.
✔️ Corporate-wide savings of $2.3M annually for a 100-store chain, up to $11.5M in five years.
***Based on a calculation assuming daily average revenue at $9722, down for 2 days. Half of the meals were lost over 2 days. Additionally, factors in emergency fees from the supplier, reducing supplier visits by 30%, reducing “blow-off” CO2 waste per fill, and the cost of loss of reputation.
With results like these, the question isn’t “Can I afford to monitor my CO2 tanks?”—it’s “Can I afford not to?”
With CO2 Guard, Pulsa’s award-winning bulk CO2 monitoring system, QSRs gain total visibility and control over their beverage gas supply, which was previously left in the hands of suppliers. This is a previously hidden cost center that now adds to your profits. QSR operators who use Pulsa get:
✅ Live tank-level visibility from a central dashboard, See data from all stores on one screen
✅ Proactive alerts before tanks run empty—eliminates costly downtime
✅ Reduced supplier visits—pay for tank refills only when needed
✅ Unburdened staff, keep them focused on guests, not equipment
✅ Guaranteed drink quality, protecting revenue and customer satisfaction
Pictured: Pulsa sensors on a CO2 tank. Set it and forget it. When something needs attention, you and your team can get notified on your phone and/ or computer. Ensure fizzy drinks, happy customers, and increased profits
With real-time monitoring, QSRs prevent outages before they happen, eliminate unnecessary costs, and standardize operations across locations.
At Pulsa, we help QSRs simplify gas tracking with easy-to-use tools, real-time dashboards, and smart alerts that take the guesswork out of operations. We offer a complete suite of innovative telemetry products, including CO2 tank pressure sensors, industrial-grade scales, and our “Pulsa Link” system to connect with third-party sensors like CO2 atmospheric monitors.
Let’s stop losing money on downtime, stop serving flat drinks, and give your crew one less thing to worry about.
📅 ok a Demo now with Pulsa and take control of your beverage operations.