Restaurant Consulting and Accounting Services

A cash flow forecast ensures you have the financial resources to fund your company's growth, or simply to make the next payroll. SVA can help by making sure all costs are considered and your pricing aligns with the marketplace. In the restaurant industry, seasonality and peak business times need to be considered in your cash flow planning.

Let us help you clearly define your average per-unit cost and revenue, as well as determine your monthly fixed expenses. Once you know your break-even point, you can more effectively plan your cash flow.

BIZ TIP: Cash Flow Management Matters

Costing and pricing your menu selections is an essential step in making sure you are generating enough revenue to cover expenses. To cost each item, you will need to know each ingredient's exact amount and the amount of drip loss, plus your overhead costs including rent, salaries, equipment, etc.

You can use several methods to price menu items including the ideal food cost pricing method, the competition pricing method, and the demand-driven pricing method.

Our team will review your costs and pricing and help you determine an appropriate profitability margin for your menu items.

Complying with IRS tip reporting rules is one of the most critical and important tasks facing restaurant owners. You will need to understand your responsibilities regarding the reporting of your employees' tips, as those tips are considered taxable income.

Federal tax law requires any employee, who receives at least $20 in tips in a month, to keep a daily record and report the tips to their employer. Employers need to withhold income and FICA tax from each paycheck and report each employee's tips to the IRS.

This is a complicated area of your business, but an essential one. Putting procedures and processes in place to make certain your establishment is compliant is another area of SVA's expertise.

BIZ TIP: Tips on Tip Reporting

Your financial statements include the balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and the income statement. This information is used to calculate financial ratios that help you understand the financial performance of your business. The ratios you should be reviewing are the current ratio, profit margin, return on assets, and price-earnings ratio.

SVA will review your financial statements and ratios to determine how your business aligns with your industry-specific peers.

eGuide: Profitability Review: Using Ratios as a Scorecard for Your Business

Operational reviews should be performed regularly as their purpose is to look at your operational efficiency and determine areas that are performing well, along with areas in need of improvement.

The reviews can uncover opportunities that may increase profit, drive more revenue, or reduce costs without affecting the quality of your service. These reviews should also drive your strategic planning and budgeting process.

At SVA, we use our in-depth knowledge of the restaurant industry to complete operational and profitability reviews that include a consultative plan to address any concerns that might arise. Getting a review is the start. Putting expert advice into practice is the goal.

Understanding sales and use tax in the restaurant industry can be complex and improper reporting can lead to issues if you are audited.

Your POS system needs to be set up correctly to track taxable items which provides accurate reporting from purchase to sale.

There are also tax implications if you provide meals for employees or give away meals. While you don’t get revenue for those meals, you are obligated to report those as part of your sales and use tax process.

SVA can help you navigate the complexities and ensure you have accurate reporting processes for everything related to sales and use tax.