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Implementing accounting software can help you and your accountant stay on the same page. The ideal accounting software for restaurants should provide advanced reporting features, be easy to use, and allow you to track and access your data from anywhere at any time. Regularly analyzing your restaurant’s financial and operational data is crucial for restaurant bookkeepers to help the business maintain a healthy bottom line. Key reports https://accounting-services.net/20-best-accounting-software-for-nonprofits-in-2023/ such as profit and loss (P&L) statements and prime cost (food and labor costs) provide valuable insights into your restaurant’s performance. Analyzing your P&L daily helps you identify strengths and weaknesses in your business and take proactive measures to address any issues. Calculating and tracking food and labor costs empowers you to optimize menu prices, manage inventory efficiently, and make well-informed staffing decisions.
Prime costs are one of the most essential KPIs for restaurant owners. Calculating prime costs help you find where you can cut costs, boost profits, and increase efficiency. Accounts that require reconciliation include loans, lines of credit, credit cards, bank accounts, and payroll liabilities. It’s a necessary process that ensures that nothing is left unaccounted for.
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Fred Decker learned business fundamentals at second hand as an insurance and mutual funds broker, and at firsthand as a retail store manager and the chef/proprietor of his own restaurants. He has written hundreds of business-related articles for sites including Zacks.com, Chron.com, Vitamix.com, Bizfluent and GoBankingRates and many others. He was educated at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology. Armed with that information, you can calculate the most important indicators of your restaurant’s financial health.
Keeping track of your COGS ration will help you reduce and maintain your inventory costs. Prime cost accounts for all your labor costs and your cost of goods sold. For every dollar you earn, the prime cost is the amount of that dollar that goes to labor (your staff) and product (food items). There are a few essential bookkeeping processes that are essential to restaurant accounting.
What percentage should expenses be in a restaurant?
We are impressed by the food, cocktails, local beers, service, and atmosphere that independent restaurants provide and strive to help them succeed. You will see how your revenue, prime costs, and expenses compare against all of our other restaurants clients. Overhead is the monthly fixed rates that it costs to run your business.
With so much going on, bookkeeping is often overlooked or deferred for a later date. Unfortunately, when bookkeeping is left behind, catching up becomes both tough and expensive. Deferring bookkeeping leads to chaos and confusion and inaccurate records that can be difficult to rectify.
Ways to Keep Your Records
In 2001, Intuit launched QuickBooks Online as a packaged software. The program is constantly updated and improved and is ideal for restaurant owners with little to no accounting or bookkeeping experience who want to manage their own books. It is easy to use, integrated with your financial institution, and compatible with most major POS systems. We chose QuickBooks Online as our runner-up because, while it isn’t designed specifically for restaurants, it offers an impressive lineup of features, including add-on payroll services.
For example, you can take a look at your sales-to-labor ratio or determine if sales are hitting industry averages. These financial snapshots give you the opportunity to take action without crunching your own numbers, and give your accountant lots of data to work with. Connecting your accounting software to your POS will automate the collection and organization of transactions and financial data.
Understand and Track Your Expenses
Find out how much revenue you make each day and ideally break them further into food and beverage categories. In order for a restaurant to be profitable, it needs more than a solid concept and talented chef. Staying on top of your spending costs, inventory, and revenue is key to turning a profit. With these restaurant accounting tips, you can begin to organize your accounting records and have a better understanding of your financial picture. In the end, organization and accuracy are the keys to effective restaurant bookkeeping. The next step is to set up your chart of accounts, which is used to organize the money flowing in and out of your restaurant.
We meet regularly with our clients via Google Meet and phone calls which enables us to work with restaurants anywhere. Our team of licensed, U.S.-based insurance Bookkeeper360 App Xero Integration Reviews & Features Xero App Store US professionals are ready to answer your questions. Either way, you’ll want to account for your marketing efforts, so you determine how to allocate funds.