Blog

Call a Service that Knows what Makes Bookkeeping for Restaurant Owners Different

Restaurants are not like other businesses. Their structure calls for special accounting methods and benchmarks. Restaurant-savvy bookkeepers know what “good” industry financials look like, and which Key Performance Indicators need an owners’ focus. Bookkeepers who serve restaurants can analyze your monthly financial reports to discover operational problems, cost leaks and income/outgo trends that require action right away. Bookkeeping firms with restaurant expertise can also save you money, freeing you from energy- and time-sinking daily record-keeping. When considering an outside bookkeeping firm, ask if they have restaurant experience with companies of your size. Ask if they keep a defined, simple Chart of Accounts for these clients. They should break sales and direct costs into Food, Beer, Liquor and Wine, and categorize payroll by Front of House, Back of House, Management and Owner. They should also maintain Rent, Utilities, CAMs and Security as occupancy expenses, and offer a cloud-based POS system.