The cash accounting method records revenue and expenses only when an actual transaction occurs. This means that income is recorded when the payment is received, and expenses are recorded when they are paid. Bookkeeping tracks and organizes a company’s financial transactions, such as sales, purchases, payments, and receipts. These transactions are recorded in journals and ledgers and are then summarized into financial statements. Essentially, bookkeepers are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of financial data, maintaining records, and producing reports. The purpose of regular accounting is not just to know your expenses and profits but to understand where the money is going and what is generating cash in order to perform better.

Before diving into the nitty gritty of restaurant accounting, let’s first understand a few of the basic restaurant accounting terms and practices. The purpose of this post was not to provide an exhaustive list of definitions. Also, when it comes to your restaurant or restaurants, there are far too many accounting tips to list them all. That said, we hope we did give you some ideas about how to analyze your own needs and requirements. To be sure, restaurant accounting is a lot of work and requires a lot of specialized knowledge.

Building Stickier Relationships with a Value-Driven Approach ​to Restaurant Accounting​

One way to think of it is that bookkeepers handle the day-to-day functions of recording financial data and accountants use and analyze that data to focus on more “big picture” issues. Accounting for restaurants follows this dynamic just like most other businesses and you’re probably doing elements of both on an informal basis. Outsourcing payroll can be an effective way of streamlining restaurant accounting. While you could still do payroll yourself, outsourcing saves you the cost and liability involved.

Choosing accounting systems for restaurants can help you eliminate the difficulty with restaurant accounting and help you manage your food costs easily. These systems include financial software and point of sale (POS) systems to help you quickly organize inventory counts and execute transactions. You can leverage technology by using accounting software, and effective POS systems. Payroll can be a time-consuming task for any business, so consider getting outside help to process your payroll.

Should I Outsource My Restaurant Bookkeeping?

The payroll should be compared to what was recorded as collected prior to submitting to avoid payroll discrepancies and audits. For most restaurants, a big chunk of daily sales depend on credit cards, and hence you need to get into the habit of closing out the transactions on a daily schedule to ensure you keep track. Financial software is designed to make restaurant accounting as easy as possible for restaurant owners.

Now that you have Shogo connected to your POS, it’s time to plug it into QuickBooks Online, or your preferred accounting system. So, for this example, we’ll utilize Toast, although how to do bookkeeping for a restaurant the setup process will more than likely be similar or the exact same for the rest of the systems. They’ve done a fantastic job of keeping this seamless integration easy.

Keeping track of your expenses

The primary difference between the two methods is when to record revenue and expenses. The cost of goods sold represents the costs of making and selling your products at any given time, including inventory costs. Overhead rates are fixed costs of running your business, such as rent and insurance.

• This approach ensures your accounting records are under the accrual method, where expenses are matched to the revenue they produce.
• To find the right accountant, talk to other managers, owners, or chefs to see who they use.
• Someone who understands specific restaurant accounting features like a chart of accounts, COGS, prime costs, daily sales, and more.
• POS systems are used in restaurants to record any orders made by customers and to complete transactions.
• If you’re not sure which type of loan is the best fit, you may want to consult your accountant.
• Monitor your cash flow, which refers to the amount of cash coming in versus the amount of cash going out of your business on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
• Payroll in the restaurant industry can be challenging as tracking employee hours is complex.

From hiring an accountant to tracking your inventory, these restaurants’ accounting best practices will ensure you balance your books and stay on track. The cashier’s summary keeps track of all the transactions entered at a single cash register. If you have more than one cash register, you need more than one summary sheet. The summary should include starting cash on hand as well as all dollar amounts run through that register. If possible, you should also categorize the credit card transactions by card company (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express, etc.).

Top Restaurant Accounting Tips: Closing Out Tips & House Bank

Occupancy expenses are all of the costs related to… well, where you’re at. Your COGS is the cost of your food and beverage inventory, which directly ties to the profit you make per plate sold. Without it, getting insights into anything related to your restaurant’s moneymaking & spending will be a headache… and getting your taxes done will be especially difficult.

Good accounting software helps you process, gather, and analyze data effortlessly and accurately. POS system integration is a crucial aspect of any restaurant accounting software you use for your restaurant. Once integrated, the software can automate the collection and categorization of your financial transactions. It allows real-time tracking of your financial performance and mitigates errors that occur with manual restaurant accounting. Accurate restaurant accounting has a multitude of benefits for the success and growth of your business. Accounting leads to better financial management, deeper insights into your business’s financial status, better tracking of cash flows, and a more robust system of tracking inventory.

Other numbers to make room for include sales tax collected, tips charged to credit cards, and how payment was made (e.g., cash, check, credit card, etc.). Do some research before picking an accounting software for your restaurant. Depending on the software, you can do other things such as manage payroll, sales reports, and methods of payment.

• This bank withdrawal usually states “net wages” or similar on the bank transaction detail, and the portion of the journal entry for this should match the withdrawal specifically.
• It should also allow you to conduct a detailed analysis of your accounts, where you can compare business financial performance across different periods.
• While bookkeeping and accounting are not part of your core business, they are important.
• Whether you hire outside help for your bookkeeping or do it all yourself, these 5 restaurant accounting concepts break down the basics… in plain English.
• Use these restaurant accounting tips set up a system, establish useful reports, price your product and prevent employee theft.
• The key is to have a plan and to know which accounting reports are most useful for your business.