The owner of a restaurant opens the monthly P&L, looks at sales, skips down to the bottom line and closes the report.

Do you recognize the sound?

It might be a completely precise report, but by only examining those two numbers, it leaves a lot of its worth left to chance.

Good restaurant bookkeeping shouldn’t make owners more dependent on an accountant. It should make them more confident in their own financials. You don’t need to be an expert in accounting, or to spend at night filling out invoices. You must be aware of why profit moved, what happened to food and labor costs and what issues need focus next week.

Bookkeeping Chef is a software which automatizes bookkeeping, so owners can concentrate on other things while getting more clear financial reports.

Start with the Weekly Numbers Start with the Weekly Numbers, Not just Month-End

Although restaurants are not operating according to a calendar, they do require an P&L. Managers plan the labor for this week. The chef has ordered food for today. Vendors change prices now.

That’s the reason Bookkeeping Chef provides weekly prime-cost flash reports alongside monthly financial statements.

The prime cost comprises two crucial areas that can be swiftly relocated in a food service establishment: cost of the goods sold, and labor. According to information offered by Bookkeeping chef, prime costs represent approximately 60% of sales in restaurants.

Imagine that sales barely changed but the cost of production increased. The percent by itself does not give the answer. It gives the person in charge a reason to look into the issue.

Did you notice an increase in the number of hours worked? Was there overtime? Costs of food changed? The invoice for a vendor was unusually high. Did the mix of sales changed?

It’s better to identify the issue now rather as opposed to later.

Let Automation Handle the Repetitive Work

DIY bookkeeping doesn’t have to involve manually transferring POS totals into spreadsheets after the service.

Automating the bookkeeping of restaurants can assist in the repetitive movement of financial data. It connects to various systems, including POS, QuickBooks, payroll vendors, vendor platforms inventory management and recipe management, as well tools for AP/payment.

Automation isn’t the only goal.

The aim is to reduce manually entering data and keep financial records up-to-date so that owners are able to spend more time reviewing the information instead of assembling it.

This creates a new model of bookkeeping for restaurants: technology handles more of the mechanics while the owner remains engaged with the financial meaning.

P&L Questions: Learn to Ask More Effective Questions

A P&L will be much more manageable when you stop treating it like an accounting test.

Begin with the sales. Begin with sales. Compare food and beverage performance. Analyze the costs of labor. Make sure you reduce your operational expenses.

Check out the various periods.

If the sales increased, but the profit wasn’t, something else between those two lines has changed. If food costs increased, inquire about what changed operationally. Compare staffing with sales to see if the labor percentage has changed. Check if the percentage seems strange, instead of assuming that the restaurant experienced poor performance.

Bookkeeping Chef offers monthly P&Ls, which are finished in five business days. The owners are able to look over the company’s performance without waiting for months before receiving financial statements.

Speed is important, but it is important to know.

It’s not necessary to do everything.

It is not necessary to be your own full-time bookkeeper to avoid giving the entire accounting responsibility to another person.

Owners are still able to participate in the accounting process, without having to perform every task by hand.

It could be as easy as using automated system connections to ensure that the information is flowing. But it could also be as complicated and complex a study of the month’s P&L or a look at the weekly Prime-cost Report.

Restaurant bookkeeping services that specialize in catering can assist restaurant owners get the most from the reports by arranging the books and keeping them organized.

The result is not an owner who knows how to perform every bookkeeping function.

Owners can take a seat with a P&L and have a frank conversation about their business.

The goal is financial security without reporting

Restaurants create a lot data. Another dashboard might not prove beneficial.

The real value comes when an operator looks at the weekly report of prime cost and recognize that something occurred, then open the P&L and understand where to investigate further.

Bookkeeping Chef’s approach incorporates financial support for restaurants, weekly reporting and automated bookkeeping of restaurants to accomplish this.

Automatize repetitive tasks. Check the primary cost every week. Study the language of your P&L.

You don’t need to be an accountant.

It is important to understand the financials of your establishment before you are able to become the proprietor.