Restaurant Accounting Services

Aug 122010

Let’s be honest, most people who open up a restaurant don’t do so because they enjoy accounting. In fact, most of the time new restaurant owners have no idea that accounting exists. It is typically the case that they get their restaurant operations running and find out that they have to pay taxes. Soon they find out that there is more to accounting than just taxes.

A restaurant owner has to worry about several different types of accounting. Taxes are a big deal because you’ll need to calculate sales tax on every item you sale. You’ll also need to worry about taxes at both the State level and the national level (a major pain). Other tax/payroll items you’ll need to worry about include employee tax deductions and FICA. You can learn more about that at this site: http://www.tax.gov/virtualworkshop/. It’s the flashiest site you’ll ever see on taxes.

Another form of accounting that is very beneficial to restaurant owners is managerial accounting. This type of accounting is used for analysis and decision making purposes. It is an exciting type of accounting service. This is used to gather information on costs and revenues. For example, a restaurant manager may want to know how much ingredients cost and what dishes are the most profitable. Armed with this knowledge the manager can make decisions that might lead to higher profitability. Who said accounting was boring?

Now, if all of this accountancy talk sounds a bit dry to you, you may want to look for a company that offers accounting services for restaurants. The benefit of outsourcing your accounting is that you can turn all tax and compliance issues over to someone else. I wouldn’t personally recommend turning over all managerial accounting to a third party. You will at least want to be semi-involved so you can understand the information to make decisions. However, feel free to get rid of all your compliance and tax accounting services. There are a lot of different types of restaurant software and services that can help you.

Here is a list of companies that offer restaurant accounting services.

Murphy Accounting: http://www.murphyaccounting.com/

Murphy isn’t specifically geared towards restaurants, but they are geared towards small businesses. I’m assuming you’re a small business owner if you are reading this because large businesses already know the importance of accounting.

Indevia Accounting: http://www.indevia.com/

Indevia is another company that can handle all of your accounting. They are based in California, but you don’t have to live in California to work with them. You just send them the numbers and they do the rest. However, it should be noted that they outsource most of the work to India.

RAS: http://www.restaurant-accounting.com/

RAS is another great option for those owners who just don’t want to manage all of the tax and compliance issues. The good thing about RAS is that they are specifically designed to handle restaurants. Knowing the industry helps.

If you know any other services that should be added to the list or any companies that offer restaurant accounting software, please let us know by leaving a comment in the box below.

Three Must Have Elements: Restaurant Accounting Software

Aug 122010

Getting your restaurant to work well and getting it established in the community is a tough job to do especially when you are still a beginner. Some beginners may not be able to get things right until they know about these three elements of a successful restaurant.

Most restaurant owners know how to run a restaurant. They make a restaurant not just to gain money but to bring good, quality food and service to the public. It is a very simple goal to think about and knowing the basics will make you reach your goal. There are three elements that an owner should and must always take into mind when starting a restaurant and these are food, people, and systems.

A restaurant is all about food. Good, quality food must always be served to the customers as it is the soul of the business. Quality is all about how fresh the ingredients are and how they are prepared. Food preparation is one of the biggest investments owners make for the restaurant as it is the main money maker for the business. Food presentation is also one of many things to consider in order to attract more and more customers to dine.

Another thing to consider in terms of establishing a successful restaurant business is the people whom you will be working with and these are the customers and employees of your fine restaurant. Though food would be the main focus of the business, you should make it a top priority that the employees are happy and satisfied. You should also make sure that payroll is accurate, well managed, and that they are well compensated for their time. An unhappy employee can make a customer feel that they are unhappy. So make sure your employees are well satisfied so that they can perform their best. In making customers happy, make sure that they get the service good enough to keep them satisfied while not being pampered to a point that they are or will be abusing the services.

One of the most important things to consider having in a restaurant is a good system of management and accounting. This involves various hardware and software tools that should be installed in the establishment. What makes a restaurant work properly is good management. Many restaurant owners implement good quality restaurant accounting software to do most of the job for them in terms of data processing and analysis. Inventory is also managed through these hardware and software tools used by the management. Finding good accounting services can make your life much easier.

In getting any type of business to become successful, there are always key elements to know about and work on. With these three elements, restaurant managers who will just be opening their first restaurant can be successful. Remember that running a restaurant can be daunting at first (there are a lot of different types of restaurant software and there is a lot to learn). Remember to keep moving ahead when things get difficult.

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