Or, in the case of learning how to grow your restaurant, outsourcing leverages the actual cost of having an outsourced bookkeeper, versus an owner doing it themself. Restaurant financial reporting can be the difference between success and failure. Lastly, you’ll want to get the word out that you’re open for business. That may include newspaper ads and billboards, in addition to social media. Utilities, cooking and cooling equipment, insurance and signage are common expenses, but you’ll also need to consider maintenance costs. Now you can type in profit and loss or find it under the business overview section.

Occupancy expensesare all of the costs related to… well, where you’re at. And that will let you make a healthy profit on each plate of food sold at your restaurant. TheChart of Accountsincludes assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and equity. Chart of Accounts is the term your accountant uses to describe the buckets used to categorize the money that flows in and out of your business.

Accrual Method of Accounting

Purchases refer to the inventory you buy in vendor orders in that period of time. Final inventory is the amount of food items you have left when the week is over. Food costs refer restaurant bookkeeping to the cost of preparing a menu item divided by the total revenue earned from the item. This formula is used to make sure that you’re making a profit from each item you sell.

• You’ll also need to keep constant track of inventory, food and pour costs, prepaid accounts, short pays and vendor credits, and tips.
• Together with your bookkeeper, you can optimize this tedious labor by outsourcing it to business accounting software.
• If the books are not up-to-date, then a restaurant owner may not have time to react when problems occur.
• Choose an accounting software to streamline your data entry tasks, create customized invoices, track your revenue, create regular profit and loss statements, and review your cash flow.

A controllable costs report helps you determine your operating margin and calculate your prime cost – an essential KPI for every restaurateur. If you’re working with a firm, you can control accounting costs by ensuring that junior accountants handle the menial tasks, and your CPA completes the hard analysis. Payroll covers everything from your staff’s salaries, through to their benefits like annual leave, insurance, and federal and state taxes. Depending on the level of detail put into creating the P&L will determine the value obtained from it.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Computerized Inventory System?

One thing you don’t want to do is to run out of ingredients for an item that is listed on your menu. You—or your manager or supervisor on duty—should correct time cards, note shortages on deliveries, and audit server receipts during every single shift. Calculating restaurant payroll can be a hassle with irregular work hours, multi-positions, and different types of pay, calculating restaurant payroll can be a hassle. It is best to outsource the payroll function or use payroll software to do the work for you.