Software
POS-integrated daily sales entry, tip allocation, food cost analysis, multi-location consolidations. Toast, Square, Clover, Aloha POS – reconciled to QuickBooks or Restaurant365 by accountants who speak prime cost, not just P&L.
Scope
Software
Most restaurants that hire generic bookkeepers end up with a P&L that technically adds up but can't answer the questions that matter: what was food cost last week? What was labor %? Is delivery profitable net of commissions? The gap isn't effort – it's the operational mental model. Restaurant accounting is weekly, not monthly, and the KPI set looks nothing like a services business.
The single most important number in restaurant operations is prime cost – food cost + labor cost as a percentage of revenue. Target for most restaurants: 55–65%. At 70%+, the restaurant is likely losing money. Generic bookkeepers rarely calculate or track this. Restaurant-trained accountants build it into every weekly report, broken out by location for multi-unit groups.
Restaurants operate on a weekly P&L cycle. By Tuesday of each week, operators want to see last week's food cost, labor %, and prime cost by location. Offshore accountants build this weekly reporting rhythm – pulling POS data daily, posting to books daily, producing weekly flash reports, and then doing the month-end close on top of the weekly foundation.
Restaurant payroll has unique complexity: tipped wages, tip pool calculations, employer FICA tip credit, IRS Form 8027 for large establishments, and state-specific tipped wage rules. This isn't optional detail – it's compliance. See our offshore payroll page for the broader payroll scope.
Restaurant engagements typically combine offshore bookkeeping, offshore AP, and offshore payroll. Broader offshore accounting context on our homepage.
FAQ
Yes. Daily sales summary pulled from Toast and posted to QBO or Restaurant365. Toast tip data, voids, comps, and gift card activity all reconciled.
Yes. R365 is one of the most common restaurant-specific accounting platforms. Offshore accountants trained on R365 handle multi-location, food cost tracking, and R365 reporting.
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub deposits reconciled daily. Commission, adjustments, and tips split into proper GL accounts. Delivery-platform-specific revenue tracked separately from dine-in.
At the transaction and inventory level, yes. Weekly food cost %, variance analysis, inventory valuation. Recipe-level costing is typically done by operations software (Compeat, CrunchTime) – we integrate but don't replace the recipe engine.
For franchisee operators, royalty and ad fund calculations are part of standard monthly close. Franchisor-side royalty collection is separate scope.
Yes. Excise tax tracking, TTB reporting, production vs retail split accounting, tied-house compliance where applicable. Niche specialization – scoped per engagement.
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