Restaurant owners open their monthly P&L reports, check sales, then go down to the bottom and close the report.

Sound familiar?

If just those two numbers are scrutinized, the report’s true value is not realized.

It shouldn’t make them more dependent on an accounting company. It should help them become more comfortable with their own numbers. You don’t need to know all accounting rules or have to spend hours completing invoices. You must be aware of the reasons why profit fluctuated from costs for food and labor and which issues require focus next week.

That’s the philosophy behind Bookkeeping Chef: Automate the bookkeeping process that doesn’t require an owner’s time while giving restaurant operators more precise financial data they can utilize.

Don’t stop at month-end Numbers. Start by calculating Weekly Numbers

Restaurants don’t run on per month. Managers schedule labor this week. Chefs ordered food this morning. Vendors change prices now.

The Bookkeeping Chef’s weekly reports on prime costs are provided alongside the financial statements for the month.

Prime cost includes costs of selling goods and labor. Both of these are major sectors that can quickly move in restaurants. The data provided by the Bookkeeping Chef indicates that prime costs typically account for 60 percent of sales in restaurants.

Take a look at a scenario where sales are barely changing however, the cost of prime services are growing. This percentage isn’t an answer. It provides the owner with a reason to conduct an investigation.

Did the hourly rate increase? Did overtime occur? The cost of food changed? The invoice of a vendor was unusually high. Did the mix of sales changed?

It’s far more beneficial than finding the same problem two weeks later.

Automate the repetitive Work

DIY bookkeeping doesn’t need to be difficult. It can simply involve manually transfer POS (point of sale) totals onto spreadsheets.

Automating the process of bookkeeping for restaurants can eliminate a lot of repetitive data movement. The service connects systems including POS and QuickBooks, payroll, vendor platforms inventory and recipe management as well as payment and AP tools.

Automating just for the sake of automation is not the objective.

The goal is to eliminate the need for manual data entry and keep financial records up-to-date so that managers are able to spend more time looking over the data instead of trying to assemble it.

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

Learn to ask the P&L Better Questions

A P&L is less daunting when you stop treating it like an accounting test.

Start by looking at sales. Begin with sales. Compare the food and beverage efficiency. Look at labor. Look at operating expenses. and then look at what’s left.

Comparing periods.

If the sales increased, but the profit did not, something in between those two lines has changed. Ask what changed in the operation if food costs increased. Review the staffing numbers and sales activities if labor percentages have changed. If a figure appears to be odd look into it rather than thinking that the restaurant had a bad month.

Bookkeeping Chef provides monthly P&Ls which are completed in five days. Business owners can look over the performance of their business without having to wait for months to receive financial statements.

Understanding is more important than speed for those seeking bookkeeping solutions for restaurants.

DIY Doesn’t Need to Mean doing everything yourself.

There is a happy medium between hiring someone to manage all of your financial tasks as well as being your own full-time accountant.

Owners can still be involved in the accounting process without needing to do everything manually.

The process could be as easy as using automated system connections to ensure that information flows. It could also be as complicated and complex a study of the month’s P&L or a study of a weekly Prime-cost Report.

The bookkeeping services of restaurants that specialize in catering can assist restaurant owners get the most from the reports by arranging the books and keeping them in order.

It does not mean the bookkeeper will be competent to handle all bookkeeping functions.

Business owners who can have a conversation about their business to the P&L are more likely to succeed.

The goal of financial independence isn’t to create more reports, but to reach financial freedom

Restaurants produce a lot of information. A dashboard may not always make sense.

When an operator can take a look at their weekly prime cost report and realize that something has changed, they are able to then review their P&L to find out what is in need of more investigation.

Bookkeeping Chef’s method incorporates financial support for restaurants, regular reporting and automated restaurant bookkeeping to accomplish this.

Automate repetitive work. Examine the cost of your prime each week. Learn to understand the same language as your P&L.

You don’t have to be an accountant.

Restaurant owners who are aware of the financial aspects of their restaurant can make better choices.