Restaurants generate a lot of transactions every day: card batches, cash, gift cards, delivery orders, tips, vendor deliveries and frequent payroll. Margins are tight, so small recording errors can hide real problems. Restaurant bookkeeping is about getting each day right so each month is right.

Daily sales reconciliation

Your point-of-sale system reports what was sold. Your bank shows what was deposited. In between are card processing fees, cash handling, tips, discounts, comps, voids and gift cards. We record daily sales from the POS summary, split by category such as food, beverage and alcohol, and reconcile card batches and cash deposits to the bank. Differences are flagged quickly, while staff still remember what happened.

Tips and payroll

Tips make restaurant payroll more involved than most. Tips may be paid out in cash or through payroll, and they need to be recorded and reported correctly. The IRS explains employer responsibilities in Publication 15, the Employer's Tax Guide, including how tips are treated for withholding. We work with your payroll setup so tip amounts flow into your books accurately. See our payroll services for more.

Food and beverage costs

Food cost and beverage cost as a percentage of sales are some of the most-watched numbers in the business. They are only meaningful if purchases are recorded to the right accounts and in the right period. We categorize vendor invoices by type, so your reports show food, beverage, packaging and supplies separately, and can incorporate inventory counts if you take them.

Delivery platforms

Third-party delivery apps usually deposit net of commissions, marketing fees and promotions. As with any platform, we record gross sales and each fee separately. That shows you what delivery really costs compared to dine-in.

Sales tax

Restaurants typically collect sales tax on taxable sales, and rules for items like alcohol may differ by state. We keep tax collected separate from revenue and organized for filing. For Texas restaurants, our Texas page links to the official Comptroller resources.

What our restaurant support covers

  • Daily or weekly sales entries from your POS
  • Card, cash and delivery platform reconciliation
  • Food, beverage and labor cost reporting
  • Payroll and tip recording
  • Monthly financial statements

Explore our bookkeeping services or read about employment taxes for employers.