Managing your finances can be one of the hardest parts of running a restaurant – and also the deciding factor between success and failure. From creating cash-flow projections to applying for loans, overseeing the financial aspects of your restaurant can sometimes feel like a juggling act. Instead, try grouping bookkeeping tasks together and schedule each group for a different day. Getting your other work tasks done in between will bring variety to your schedule. This allows you to be efficient with your mental energy, and you can come back to your restaurant bookkeeping with a clear head. Getting into the habit of these best practices is often the hardest part.

While this list is certainly not exhaustive, it hopefully sheds some light on operator-bookkeeper relations, and how to keep things fun, fresh, and not so frustrating. It all comes down to lessening the amount of work both teams have to do and how to do bookkeeping for a restaurant an automated system will more often than not be the answer. Check out our blog on 7 things to look for in a restaurant management system. Things like petty cash, third-party delivery orders, and gift cards should be recorded with your POS.

What Are the Benefits of Using a Computerized Inventory System?

The best ones must have strong general A/P features, such as purchase order (PO) tracking and vendor payment tracking. Good A/P automation should also reduce data entry and streamline the A/P process. https://www.bookstime.com/law-firm-bookkeeping Automating your restaurant’s bills allows you to monitor exactly when the next bill is due. By integrating A/P software, you’ll be able to link your business account with the application.

Tim is a Certified QuickBooks Time (formerly TSheets) Pro, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and CPA with 25 years of experience. You also don’t want to create a negative impression of yourself or the restaurant because this will ultimately affect your business. Restaurateurs and investors use EBITDA when they’re looking to sell, buy, or invest in a restaurant to help guide their buying decisions. It’s a tool for a valuing a restaurant and gauges a restaurant’s earning potential.

Free Resources for Restaurant Owners

Accounting software can seamlessly aggregate your chart of accounts for you and populate key financial reports with accurate information. It can show you an overview of your key financial reports, such as your balance sheet, cash flow report, and profit and loss statement. It’s a high-level point of reference when comparing your data to industry averages and also assists in keeping track of your expenses. If you are not using financial reporting for your restaurant, then you are running your business blind. With such tight profit margins in the restaurant industry, it is important to analyze your financial reports on a regular basis.

• As “chief cook and bottle-washer,” you’ll keep the books yourself because there’s no one else to do it.
• Both XtraChef and MarginEdge allow you deeper COGS and financial insights and controls directly in your POS system.
• Restaurant financial reporting can be the difference between success and failure.
• Now make sure to reconcile all bank accounts, merchant clearing accounts, credit cards, loans, lines of credit, and payroll liabilities every single month.
• This restaurant accounting method is used to document generated income when cash is received to pay for services or to record expenses and costs that occur.
• Though paying employees may seem like a straightforward task, it’s more complex than you might think.