Restaurant owners will open their monthly P&L reports, look at sales, then scroll down to the bottom and close the report.
Are you familiar with the situation?
It might be a completely precise report, but by only examining those two numbers, it leaves most of its value to be debated.
Good restaurant bookkeeping shouldn’t make owners more dependent on an accountant. They should become more confident in their own financials. You don’t have to know every accounting rule or spend nights entering invoices. You must understand how profit has changed in relation to labor and food costs, and the issues that need to be addressed in the coming week.
That’s the idea Bookkeeping Chef’s mission: to Automate the bookkeeping task that doesn’t require an owner’s time. It also provides restaurant owners with more precise financial data they can actually use.
Do Not Stop at the month-end Numbers. Begin by calculating Weekly Numbers
A monthly P&L matters, but restaurants aren’t operating monthly. The managers this week plan their work. The chef orders food today. Vendors change prices now.
That’s the reason Bookkeeping Chef provides weekly prime-cost flash reports in addition to monthly financial statements.
The prime cost comprises two crucial areas that are easily transferred in a food service establishment: the price of the food that are sold, as well as labor. According to the data from Bookkeeping Chef, prime costs account for around 60% of sales in restaurants.
If sales haven’t changed much, but prime cost rises. This number does not give an answer. It gives the owner the reason to conduct an investigation.
Did the hourly wage get more expensive? Was overtime a factor? Did food costs change? An invoice from a vendor appeared unusually large? Did sales mix changes?
It is much better to discover the problem now than later.
Automate the repetitive work
DIY bookkeeping does not need to be difficult. It can simply involve manually transfer POS (point of sale) totals onto spreadsheets.
Automating the bookkeeping of restaurants can assist to reduce the number of times financial data is moved. The service can connect to systems such as POS and QuickBooks, payroll vendors, vendor platforms, inventory and recipe management as well payment and AP tools.
Automation isn’t the only goal.
This is to decrease the time spent on manually entering data. Also, it keeps current financial records so that owners can spend time on studying data, not gathering it.
It provides a completely new bookkeeping process for restaurants. Technology manages the mechanics and the proprietor remains involved in the financial aspect.
P&L Questions: Find out How to Ask More Effective Questions
A P&L is less daunting when you don’t treat it as an accounting test.
Begin with sales. Start with sales. Compare the performance of food and beverages. Consider the labor. See the work.
It is vital to compare periods.
If the sales rise but the profits do not, there is a difference between the two. What changed when the cost of food rose? Compare staffing with sales to determine if the labour percent has changed. Find out if a figure seems unusual, rather than believing that the restaurant went through an unfavorable time.
Bookkeeping Chef offers monthly P&Ls that are finalized in five business days. Owners can review the performance of their company without waiting months to receive financial statements.
Speed is important, however the aim is to comprehend.
It’s not necessary to DIY everything.
It’s not necessary to become your own full time bookkeeper to avoid giving the entire bookkeeping responsibility to a different person.
Owners are still able to participate in the accounting process without needing to complete every task manually.
This could mean making use of automated systems to manage the flow of information, examining a monthly P&L and weekly reports on prime costs and asking questions in the event that something unexpected occurs.
Specialized restaurant bookkeeping can help with this approach by keeping the books in order as well as helping the owner comprehend what they mean.
This doesn’t mean the bookkeeper will be competent to handle every bookkeeping task.
An owner can sit down with a P&L and engage in a thoughtful discussion on the business.
The objective is financial freedom Not more reports
Restaurants already generate huge amounts of information. Another dashboard doesn’t have to be a necessity.
If an operator can take a look at their weekly prime cost report and realize that something is different, they can then review their P&L to see what needs an investigation.
Bookkeeping Chef’s strategy combines restaurant bookkeeping automation weekly reports, monthly P&Ls, and the financial support for specific restaurants to make that possible.
Automate repetitive tasks. Review the prime cost each week. Learn the language of your P&L.
You don’t need to be a professional accountant.
Restaurant owners who are aware of the financial aspects of their own establishments can make better choices.