Hospitality & Restaurant Accounting

Overview

What we deliver

We handle daily sales journals, food and labor cost tracking, tip allocation, and multi-location reporting for hospitality operators.

Restaurants and hospitality groups run on thin margins, and accurate prime cost tracking is the difference between profit and loss. We post daily sales journals from POS systems such as Toast, Square, Lightspeed, and Aloha, reconcile merchant deposits, and track food, beverage, and labor costs against revenue. Our team manages tip pool allocations in line with IRS Form 8027, HMRC tronc rules in the UK, CRA gratuity reporting in Canada, and ATO guidance in Australia. We handle vendor bill processing through Plate IQ, MarginEdge, or xtraCHEF, run weekly inventory variance checks, and produce location-level and consolidated P&Ls for multi-unit groups. We also support lease accounting under ASC 842 or IFRS 16, sales tax filings across multiple states, VAT under HMRC, and franchise royalty reporting. Output gives operators real-time visibility into prime cost, labor percentage, and unit-level profitability.

Fit Check

Built for teams like yours

Who it's for

Independent restaurants and cafes
Multi-unit restaurant groups
Bars, pubs, and nightclubs
Hotels and boutique hospitality
Catering and food service operators

Pain points we solve

Prime cost above target with no clear cause
Inaccurate daily sales journals and POS variances
Tip allocation and reporting errors
Inventory shrinkage and food cost surprises
No location-level P&L for multi-unit groups

What's included

Capabilities

Everything we cover in this engagement.

Daily sales journal entries from POS
Merchant and bank reconciliations
Food and beverage cost tracking
Labor cost and tip allocation
Vendor bill automation and AP
Inventory variance and prime cost reporting
Multi-location consolidated reporting
Sales tax, VAT, and franchise royalty filings

How we work

Our process

A clear, predictable path from kickoff to outcomes.

01

POS and integration audit

We map POS, payroll, and AP systems and identify data gaps.

02

Chart of accounts setup

We build a restaurant-specific chart aligned to NRA or industry benchmarks.

03

Daily flow design

We automate daily sales posting, deposits, and vendor bill capture.

04

Weekly close

We report prime cost, labor, and variance to plan each week.

05

Period close

We deliver monthly or four-week period P&Ls by location and consolidated.

What you get

Deliverables & outcomes

What you get

Daily sales journal entries
Weekly prime cost report
Tip allocation schedule
Inventory variance report
Location-level P&L statements
Consolidated group financials

Outcomes you can expect

Prime cost visibility within 48 hours of period end
Accurate tip pool and Form 8027 reporting
Lower food cost variance and shrinkage
Faster location profitability decisions
Cleaner books for lenders and investors

Timeline

3 to 5 weeks to onboard

Engagement

Monthly retainer, Project, Sprint

Tools we use

Toast, Square, MarginEdge, Plate IQ, QuickBooks Online

KPIs we track

Prime cost percentage, Food cost percentage, Labor cost percentage, Sales per labor hour, Inventory variance

Client stories

What clients say

"

Two weeks before our seed round we still did not have a defensible model. Their fractional CFO rebuilt our three-statement forecast, pressure-tested the assumptions, and walked me through every line before the partner meeting. We closed 1.4M on the terms we wanted. The investor specifically called out how clean the financials looked compared to the last five decks she had seen.

Hannah B.

"

Our old site was a Frankenstein of three previous agencies. We gave them a hard launch date tied to a trade show and they actually hit it. 47 templates, full product catalog migration, no broken redirects on go-live day. Our previous vendor missed the same deadline twice. This time my phone stayed quiet on launch morning.

Marcus L.

Proof