Restaurants, caterers and food trucks
Bookkeeping for restaurants and food businesses
Restaurants run on thin margins and daily numbers. The books should show food cost and labor as a share of sales every month, not once a year.
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.
Why restaurant books get messy
Sales arrive from the register, card processors and delivery apps, each netted out differently. Tips pass through. Sales tax is collected on top. Vendors deliver several times a week. Without a routine, none of it ties to the bank.
Daily sales
We record sales from your point-of-sale reports by category, with tips, tax collected and card fees shown apart from income. Then we match processor and delivery-app deposits to those sales, so differences are visible.
Food cost and labor
Food cost is purchases adjusted for inventory. Labor is wages plus payroll costs. We report both as a share of sales each month, since that is how most owners spot trouble.
Tips and payroll
Tips collected and tips paid out should both be visible and tie to payroll. How tips are treated for tax is a question for your CPA or payroll provider.
Sales tax
Sales tax collected belongs to the state, not to you. We keep it in its own account so it never looks like income. Which items are taxable, and how to file, is set by the NJ Division of Taxation and your tax professional.
Related
- Contractor and restaurant books setup
- Budget and forecast build
- Bookkeeping health check
- Bookkeeping guides
- Bookkeeping projects
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with the agency, lender or your professional. Updated October 2026.
FAQ
Common questions
Do you work with my point-of-sale system?
We work from its reports or exports. We confirm the approach when we scope the work.
Can you track food cost?
Yes. We need purchases and an inventory count. We report food cost as a share of sales.
How do you handle delivery apps?
We record the gross sale, the fees and the payout separately, then tie the payout to your bank.
Do you run payroll?
No. We keep the books for payroll your provider runs and tie them to its reports.
Do you give tax advice?
No. We prepare clean records for your tax professional.
Excel workbook
Recipe Costing and Menu Pricing Workbook
Enter what you pay for ingredients and what each recipe uses, then see the cost per portion and the price that reaches your target food cost.
See what is inside ($24) Try the free starter
Also in the Food Business Bundle: 4 products for $75 instead of $101 separately.