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Restaurants & Food

Bookkeeping for Restaurants and Food Businesses

Daily sales, tips, food and labor costs, perishable inventory and thin margins. We keep your books clean and current so you can see food cost and prime cost clearly.

QuickBooks & Xero certified Colorado LLC · US business hours
Bookkeeping for Restaurants and Food Businesses
200+US businesses served
4.9 217 reviews on Fiverr®
5 YearsIn business
QuickBooksCertified ProAdvisor
XeroPlatinum Partner
See it clearly

What your POS deposits and what you actually earned.

One day of trading, and where it really goes.

Deposited next day$4,105What the bank shows, after everyone else has taken their cut.
Gross salesDine-in, takeaway and delivery combined+$6,240
Delivery commissionDoorDash and Uber Eats, 15–30% of those orders−$1,120
Card processingToast, Square or Clover fees−$168
Tips paid outNever your income, held for staff−$690
Comps & voidsInvisible unless tracked, and they add up−$157
Delivery commission alone is often more than a restaurant’s entire net margin. If it is buried in the deposit, you cannot see which channel actually makes money, and tips recorded as revenue overstate both your income and your tax.

Illustrative figures, shaped like real books. Your numbers will differ; the pattern will not.

The numbers that matter

Restaurant math, watched weekly.

Industry benchmarks we help you hit.

28–32%
Food cost %We track yours weekly against target
25–35%
Labor cost %Tips, wages and payroll handled clean
≤60%
Prime costThe number that decides your margin
Restaurants & Food

Generic bookkeepers choke on restaurant math.

We handle the parts that make food businesses different.

Daily POS reconciliation

We reconcile sales, comps, discounts and payment types from Toast, Square, Clover and others so revenue is accurate every day, not guessed at month-end.

Food cost & COGS

We track cost of goods sold against sales so you can see food-cost percentage by period, the number that protects your margin.

Tips, wages & payroll

Tip pooling, tip credits and hourly payroll get complicated fast. We handle payroll and keep tip reporting clean and compliant.

Prime cost visibility

Food cost + labor cost = prime cost, the most important restaurant metric. We report it so you know if you're in a healthy range.

Perishable inventory & AP

We keep vendor bills and inventory organized so cash flow and margins stay under control.

Backlog cleanup

Books a mess from last year? Restaurant cleanup is common for us. We'll reconcile the backlog and get you tax-ready.

Busy restaurant kitchen during a dinner service

Restaurant bookkeeping that speaks your numbers.

Restaurants are one of the most bookkeeping-intensive businesses there is. Sales arrive across cash, cards and delivery apps every single day; costs swing with food prices; and margins are thin enough that a few percentage points decide whether you're profitable. Generic bookkeeping that reconciles once a month can't keep up. We reconcile your POS on a daily or weekly cadence so sales, comps, discounts and tender types are always accurate.

The metrics that matter in food service aren't the same as other businesses. Food-cost percentage and prime cost (food plus labor) are what tell you if a menu and a schedule are working. We report them clearly so you can adjust portions, pricing and staffing based on real data, not a gut feeling at the end of the month.

What's included

Restaurant clients get.

Clear deliverables, every month, nothing vague.

Daily or weekly POS sales reconciliation
Food cost / COGS tracking and prime-cost reporting
Payroll processing plus clean tip and wage handling
Accounts payable management for food & beverage vendors
Sales tax tracking and filing coordination
Monthly P&L, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow + a dedicated contact

Tools we work with.

Your POS, delivery platforms and scheduling, reconciled into QuickBooks or Xero so daily sales, tips, comps and food cost are all accounted for properly.

ToastSquare logoCloverLightspeedDoorDash logoUber Eats logoGrubhub7shiftsMarginEdgeGusto logoQuickBooks logoXero logoToastSquare logoCloverLightspeedDoorDash logoUber Eats logoGrubhub7shiftsMarginEdgeGusto logoQuickBooks logoXero logo

Using something else? We almost certainly work with it, just ask.

Who keeps your books

One team, one point of contact.

You contract with a US company. A small team led by our founder does the work, and you always know who is in your books.

Usama, founder of Cloud AccountantsUsamaFounder · QuickBooks ProAdvisor
How our team works
  • A US company on your contractCloud Accountants LLC is registered in Colorado. Your agreement, invoices and business-hours phone support are all US-based.
  • One point of contactThe same person keeps your books every month and joins your monthly review call. No ticket queue.
  • Founder-led team, stated up frontUsama, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, leads the work. Our accounting team is based outside the US, and we tell you that before you sign.
  • Your data stays yoursWe work inside your own QuickBooks or Xero, with the access level you choose. We never hold funds or ask for banking passwords.
  • Consent before tax data movesUS rules require your written consent before tax return information goes to a preparer outside the US. We ask first, in writing.
  • Leave any time, books includedNo long contracts. Your QuickBooks or Xero file stays under your own login, so if you ever move on, everything stays with you.
★★★★★
“Great experience from start to finish. He made everything easy to understand and handled my accounts perfectly.”
Ryan Parker
Read on Trustpilot →
Why Cloud Accountants

How we’re different.

Accurate books, clear reporting and proactive support, so you always know where your business stands.

Cloud Accountants

  • Cloud-based bookkeeping with real-time access
  • Monthly reconciliations for accurate records
  • Automated payroll with digital compliance
  • Online sales tax & federal e-filing
  • Cloud budgeting and cash-flow planning
  • AP/AR management through digital workflows
  • QuickBooks Online and Xero setup support
  • Monthly meetings to review progress

A traditional setup

  • Files only your bookkeeper can open
  • Irregular reconciliations and manual updates
  • Payroll handled separately, often by hand
  • A last-minute scramble before each deadline
  • No forward look at cash
  • Bills and invoices chased by email
  • Software set up by trial and error
  • No regular reviews
Good to know

Restaurant bookkeeping FAQs.

Everything a restaurant business owner usually wants to know.

QDo you reconcile my POS system?
A

Yes. We reconcile sales, discounts, comps and payment types from Toast, Square, Clover and most major POS systems, daily or weekly depending on your plan.

QCan you handle payroll and tips for my staff?
A

Yes. We process payroll and handle tip reporting, tip pooling and hourly wages so everything stays accurate and compliant.

QWill I be able to see my food cost and prime cost?
A

Yes. We report food-cost percentage and prime cost so you can make menu and staffing decisions based on real numbers.

QDo you work with multiple locations?
A

Yes. We keep clean, separate books per location and give you a consolidated view across the group.

QMy books are a mess from last year. Can you fix them?
A

Yes. Restaurant cleanup is common for us. We'll reconcile the backlog and get you tax-ready.

Run your restaurant on real numbers.

Book a free call and we'll review your books and recommend the right plan.

No long contracts · Reply within 1 business day · Or call (719) 314-3014
Our work

What this looks like in practice.

A representative engagement in this industry. Outcomes vary by business.

Restaurant group

Challenge

Daily POS sales, tips and vendor bills piled up with no clear view of food or labor cost.

What we did
  • Set up daily POS reconciliation
  • Tracked food cost and prime cost
  • Organized payroll and tip reporting
  • Delivered monthly management reports
Outcome

A clear weekly view of prime cost and margins.

Findings in 48 hoursNo card, no obligation
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