---
title: "Remote Bookkeeping for Restaurants and Food Trucks | MCC"
description: "Monthly bookkeeping done online for restaurants, cafes, caterers and food trucks in any state: daily sales, delivery app payouts, food cost, tips and payroll…"
url: "https://mcc-solutionsnj.com/bookkeeping/for/remote-restaurants-and-food-trucks"
---

Restaurants, cafes, caterers and food trucks

# Remote monthly bookkeeping for restaurants and food trucks

Thin margins leave no room for a month of guessing. When food cost and labor are reported against sales every month, a price change or a schedule change can happen before the quarter is lost.

Done online for businesses in any US state. From $450 a month.

[Get a written quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)

[![Intuit ProAdvisor Gold tier badge](/img/credentials/intuit-proadvisor-gold.png)](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)Gold tier in Intuit's ProAdvisor program. [See my Intuit listing](https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=matthew-coleman77)

![Matthew Coleman, founder of MCC Solutions](/img/matthew-coleman.jpg)

**Matthew Coleman**, QuickBooks ProAdvisor, accounting and finance degree. Cranford, NJ. Start with a free health check of your books. You get a quote after we review your books, before any work starts.

## Where restaurants and food trucks books go wrong

Sales come in from the register, the card processor, two or three delivery apps and a catering invoice, each with its own fees and payout timing. Recording deposits as sales understates revenue and hides what the apps cost you.

Food deliveries arrive several times a week from different vendors with credits and returns. Without an inventory count at month end, food cost bounces from month to month.

A food truck adds commissary rent, propane, generator fuel and event fees, and often runs cash at events. Each event can look profitable until those costs are counted.

## Accounts we set up for restaurants and food trucks

Your chart of accounts is reviewed during onboarding. These are the lines that usually matter most in this kind of business:

| Account | Why it is separate |
| --- | --- |
| **Food sales and beverage sales** | split the way your point-of-sale reports them |
| **Delivery app sales, gross** | the full sale before the app's commission |
| **Delivery app commissions and fees** | so the cost of each app is a line, not a mystery |
| **Catering deposits held** | kept apart until the event happens |
| **Cost of food and cost of beverage** | purchases adjusted by the month-end count |
| **Tips payable** | card tips owed to staff, cleared through payroll |
| **Commissary, propane and event fees** | for trucks and pop-ups, so each location or event can be judged |

## Records the IRS describes

The IRS lists cash register tapes and deposit information (cash and credit sales) as records that support gross receipts. For a restaurant that is the daily close-out report and the processor statement. Source: [IRS: What kind of records should I keep](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/what-kind-of-records-should-i-keep).

Employees report cash tips, which the IRS says include card tips, to the employer by the 10th of the following month unless they total less than $20 for the month, and the employer keeps those reports. Source: [IRS: Tip recordkeeping and reporting](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting).

Form 8027 is filed by employers that operate a large food or beverage establishment. The IRS describes one as a place where food or beverages are consumed on the premises, tipping is customary and the employer normally had more than 10 employees on a typical business day in the prior year. Your tax preparer or payroll provider confirms whether it applies. Source: [IRS Instructions for Form 8027](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8027).

How long to keep them: the IRS says three years in most cases, longer in some situations, and at least four years for employment tax records ([IRS: How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)).

## Cash through the year

Patio and tourist-area restaurants often earn most in summer; office-district lunch spots slow in late December; food trucks follow festival and event calendars and may park for winter. The monthly report puts this year beside last year once there is a year of history.

Delivery apps pay out on their own schedules, often weekly, after their commission. A payout that does not match the sales report is the first thing we chase each month.

## Contractors, employees and year-end forms

Most restaurant staff are paid through payroll, so the bookkeeping job is tying payroll reports, tips and the bank together each month. We do not decide how tips are treated for tax; your payroll provider and tax preparer do.

Independent caterers, musicians or cleaning services you pay may need year-end reporting. Publication 1099 sets a $2,000 threshold for tax years beginning after 2025; we keep the totals and W-9s ready for your tax preparer.

## What the monthly service includes

Every month, the same close the [bookkeeping page](/bookkeeping/) describes: transactions categorized, bank, card and loan balances reconciled to statements, a profit and loss and balance sheet delivered, and a short list of questions instead of guesses. The books stay ready for your tax preparer at year end. For restaurants and food trucks, that close also covers:

- Point-of-sale sales recorded by category, with tips, tax collected and fees kept out of revenue
- Delivery app payouts rebuilt from gross sales, commission and fees
- Food cost and labor reported as a share of sales

Need more than the books? The [service levels page](/bookkeeping/plans) describes a monthly review and CFO-style planning on top of the same close.

## How remote onboarding works

- **Tell us about your books.** The [short form](/bookkeeping/#interest) asks what your books live in today, how many transactions you have a month, how many bank, card and loan accounts, how far behind the books are and what you need. You can ask for a 15-minute call instead of an email reply.

- **Written quote and engagement letter.** We review what you sent and reply with the scope and monthly price in writing before any work starts.

- **Access, without passwords.** QuickBooks Online: you invite us as an accountant user. Xero: you invite us with the Advisor role. Excel or Google Sheets: you share the workbook and we send a folder for statements. Nothing yet: we recommend QuickBooks Online or Xero and set it up in your name. You keep ownership and can remove our access.

- **Opening balances and a close day.** We confirm your accounts, collect recent statements and your prior-year return or financial statements, check opening balances, and agree the day each month's books are delivered.

What helps most for restaurants and food trucks:

- Point-of-sale and delivery app monthly reports
- Your main food vendors and how they bill you
- A month-end inventory count, even a rough one

## Price

These are the starting prices the quote form uses. Your written scope sets the final price before any work begins.

| Transactions a month | Monthly bookkeeping | Catch-up |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Up to 100 transactions a month | From $450 a month | $300 per month behind |
| 100 to 300 transactions a month | From $750 a month | $450 per month behind |
| 300 to 600 transactions a month | From $1,200 a month | $700 per month behind |
| Over 600 transactions a month | Custom quote | Custom quote |

- 2 bank, card or loan accounts are included; each additional account is $35 a month.
- Books kept in Excel or Google Sheets add $100 a month; starting from nothing adds a one-time $400 software setup.
- Reconciling the payroll your provider runs adds $100 a month.
- A monthly financial report and KPI summary is $125 a month on top of current books.

Prices shown are starting estimates, not quotes.

## Do it yourself, or hand it off

Do it yourself

### Restaurant Daily Sales and Cost Sheet

Log each day's sales and cash count, add the week's purchases and labor, and check food and labor against your own targets in Excel.

[Get the kit ($24)](/toolkits/restaurant-daily-sales-sheet)14-day full refund

Or the [Food Business Bundle](/toolkits/food-business-bundle) ($75).

Hire us monthly

### We keep the books for you

We do the monthly close in your own software and send the reports and a short list of questions. Already using one of our workbooks? Say so on the form; we can keep it up for you or move it into accounting software.

[Get a written quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)

## Common questions

**Can you handle DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub payouts?**

Yes, from each app's reports. We record the gross sale, the commission and fees, and the payout, then tie the payout to the bank.

**Do you need my recipes or menu costing?**

No. Monthly food cost comes from purchases and a month-end count. If you want plate-level costing, the food business kits cover that in Excel.

**I run a food truck that moves between cities. Is that a problem?**

Not for the books. We track each location or event as its own class if you want. Local permits and sales tax rules are yours to confirm with each city and state.

**Do you file sales tax for restaurants outside New Jersey?**

Monthly bookkeeping keeps sales tax collected in its own account and ready for the return. Filing support depends on the state and is confirmed before we quote.

**Do you run restaurant payroll?**

Payroll processing is a separate add-on, confirmed for your state before quoting. Monthly bookkeeping always reconciles the payroll your provider runs.

## Related

- [Based in New Jersey? Our NJ restaurant bookkeeping page](/bookkeeping/for/restaurants-and-food-businesses)
- [Guide: bookkeeping for food trucks](/bookkeeping/guides/bookkeeping-for-food-trucks)
- [Guide: bookkeeping for restaurants](/bookkeeping/guides/bookkeeping-for-restaurants)
- [Sales tax bookkeeping and return worksheets](/bookkeeping/sales-tax-bookkeeping)
- [Remote bookkeeping for online sellers](/bookkeeping/for/remote-online-sellers)
- [Remote bookkeeping for trucking and owner-operators](/bookkeeping/for/remote-trucking-owner-operators)
- [Remote bookkeeping for landlords and small property managers](/bookkeeping/for/remote-landlords-and-property-managers)
- [All industries](/bookkeeping/for/remote-monthly-bookkeeping)

## Sources

- [IRS: What kind of records should I keep](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/what-kind-of-records-should-i-keep)
- [IRS: Tip recordkeeping and reporting](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/tip-recordkeeping-and-reporting)
- [IRS Instructions for Form 8027](https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i8027)
- [IRS Publication 1099, General Instructions for Certain Information Returns](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p1099)
- [IRS: How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)

IRS pages checked November 6, 2026. MCC Solutions is a bookkeeping firm, not a CPA firm. Tax returns are a separate service (see /tax-preparation); this guide is not tax or legal advice and does not decide how a rule applies to you. The IRS statements on this page are summaries with links to the source; your tax preparer decides what they mean for your return.

## Want your restaurants and food trucks books done every month?

[Get a Quote](/bookkeeping/#interest)[Call (908) 444-6373](tel:+19084446373)