In short

Accounting for restaurants turns daily sales and purchase data into operating decisions: weekly prime cost against targets, menu category margins, labour scheduling compared with covers or sales per hour, the cost of delivery commissions compared with dine-in, and budgets for slow and busy seasons. It also includes month-end inventory counts, accruals for supplier invoices and capital budgeting for kitchen equipment and fit-out.

Restaurants operate on thin margins where a few points of food or labour cost decide whether a month is profitable. Accounting for restaurants takes the reconciled daily numbers and turns them into the handful of measures an owner or general manager actually manages by.

Weekly prime cost

Prime cost is cost of goods sold plus total labour. We report it weekly against the targets you set, broken into food, beverage, front-of-house and back-of-house labour. To make the weekly figure reliable we accrue supplier invoices that have been delivered but not yet billed, and we use your inventory counts at month end to true up the estimate.

Not every sale earns the same. We help you compare margins by menu category, and compare dine-in with delivery after platform commissions and packaging. Owners are often surprised by how much a popular delivery item really contributes once those costs are included.

Labour and scheduling

Payroll is usually the largest controllable cost. We compare labour cost with sales by day part and by week, so scheduling decisions can be made with numbers rather than instinct. When you add a location or change opening hours, we model the effect before you commit.

Equipment and fit-out

Kitchen equipment, furniture and leasehold improvements are generally capital costs rather than immediate expenses. The IRS explains depreciation in Publication 946. We keep a fixed asset register so your tax preparer has the cost, date placed in service and description for each item.

Budgets for a seasonal business

Most restaurants have busy and slow periods. We build a simple monthly budget and cash plan that sets aside money in strong months for rent, payroll and loan payments in slower ones.

Typical deliverables

  • Weekly prime cost report against target
  • Monthly profit and loss by department
  • Fixed asset register for equipment and fit-out
  • Seasonal budget and cash plan

These reports rely on clean restaurant bookkeeping. See all accounting services or book a consultation.