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

Do these sound like familiar?

The report may be perfectly precise, but if these are the only two numbers being reviewed the bulk of its value is left on the table.

They shouldn’t be more dependent on an accounting firm. They should feel more confident about their numbers. There is no need to spend in the dark putting together invoices or knowing every accounting principle. It is important to know the way profit has fluctuated, what’s happened to labor and food costs, and the questions that should be addressed next week.

This is the premise Bookkeeping Chef’s mission: to automate the bookkeeping tasks that doesn’t require a proprietor’s time, while providing restaurant owners with more precise financial data they can use.

Begin with the Weekly Numbers Don’t Just Focus on Month-End

Restaurants do not operate on per month. This week, managers plan their work. The chef has ordered food for today. Vendors change prices now.

Bookkeeping Chef offers weekly flash reports on prime costs together with monthly financial reports.

The main cost is a combination of cost of labor and the purchase of goods and labor, two areas where restaurants can quickly progress. According to data published by the Bookkeeping Chef prime costs represent approximately 60% of sales in restaurants.

Imagine that sales have barely changed, but the primary cost increased. The percentage doesn’t give the solution. It gives the person in charge a reason to look into the issue.

Was there an increase in the amount of time was worked? Did overtime take place? Did food cost move? Did vendor invoices seem unusually high? Has the mix of sales changed?

This is much better than finding the same problem two weeks later.

Automate the repetitive work

DIY bookkeeping doesn’t have to involve manually transferring POS (point of sale) totals into spreadsheets.

Automating the bookkeeping process in restaurants can eliminate a lot of repetitive data movement. This service can be connected to POS systems including QuickBooks, QuickBooks, vendors platforms, recipe and inventory management, AP/payment instruments.

The goal isn’t to automate to achieve its own ends.

The goal is to eliminate manually entering data and to ensure that financial records are kept up-to date so that owners are able to take more time in reviewing the information rather than assembling it.

It is a totally different bookkeeping system for restaurant establishments. Technology takes care of the mechanical aspects and the restaurant owner remains engaged with the financial aspects.

Learn to Ask the P&L Better Questions

If you stop thinking of the P&L as a test it will become less daunting.

Start with the sales. Next, look at the expenses required to produce the sales. Compare the food and beverages performances. Examine labor. Move down through operating expenses and see what remains.

And, most importantly, compare times.

If the sales increased, but the profit wasn’t, something else between those two lines was changed. What changed when the cost of food were rising? Review sales and staffing numbers to see if the labor percentage has changed. Examine if the number appears unusual, rather than believing that the restaurant was in poor performance.

Bookkeeping Chef’s monthly P&Ls are finalized within five business days. This provides owners the chance to examine recent performance rather than receiving financial statements long after the operating time is over.

Speed is important, but the aim is to comprehend.

It’s not necessary to handle everything on your own in case you do it yourself

You can find a medium between hiring someone to manage your financial needs and becoming your own full-time accountant.

You could be a part of a business owner and not be required to complete the entire accounting process manually.

This could include automatizing systems to ensure information flow, looking over a monthly P&L and a weekly report on primary expenses and asking questions in the event that something unexpected occurs.

Specialized bookkeeping for restaurants can help in this manner by maintaining the books in order and assisting the proprietor to know what they are.

The result isn’t a owner who knows how to do every bookkeeping function.

It’s an owner who can sit down with an P&L and have a frank conversation about their business.

The objective of financial independence isn’t just to write more reports, but rather to attain financial freedom

Restaurants generate a lot of data. Another dashboard doesn’t have to be a necessity.

The most valuable thing is when an operator is able to look at a weekly prime-cost report and realize that something has was different, then look at the P&L and know the best way to look into it.

Bookkeeping Chef’s approach combines restaurant bookkeeping automation, weekly reporting, monthly P&Ls, and restaurant-specific financial support to make that possible.

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

It’s not necessary to become an accountant.

It is important to understand the finances of your restaurant before you take over as the owner.