If you are getting ready to open your first restaurant this summer, after you settle on a menu and a location, make sure that you spend some time setting up the financial side of your business as well. Here are a few financial matters you should take care of before you open your new restaurant for business. 

#1 Purchase Solid Accounting Software

One of the first things you need to do to get on solid financial footing is to purchase a solid accounting software program that fits your restaurants' needs. That way, you'll be able to keep track of all your finances from the very start. A solid accounting software program will save you time by taking care of repetitive tasks such as reports and payroll for you. An accounting software program should also compute and provide you with an easy way to track your inventory, expenses, and sales.  

#2 Create A Weekly Inventory Checklist

When you open up your new restaurant, either you or your manager will need to take an inventory of all of your food items on at least a weekly basis. You will want to set up a spreadsheet and create an inventory checklist within your accounting software program before you open up shop.

Taking a weekly inventory of all the food that you have used before you place orders for additional food will help you track the difference between the food that you project you will use on a weekly basis and what you actually use. This will help you make smarter purchasing decisions and will help you more easily track seasonal preferences for different dishes and ingredients. 

#3 Understand How To Make A Profit and Loss Statement

Creating a profit and loss statement is something else you should do on a weekly basis in order to make sure that you are on good financial footing. This document should detail all of the profit that you made, and where you made it from each week. It should also detail all of the expenses that you have to pay for each week, ranging from rent, wages, taxes to goods purchased. 

Completing this report on a weekly basis, and inputting it into your accounting software program, will allow you to see where exactly your profits are coming from and where your expenses are coming from. Your accounting program should also be able to use your weekly reports to generate monthly, quarterly and yearly profit and loss statements. These statements can help you figure out where to cut costs and where to expand your business in order to increase profits.

Before you up your doors to your first customers, sit down with an accountant and set up an accounting program for your new restaurant to use. A professional accountant will be able to help you create a weekly inventory checklist and a profit and lost weekly template. They will also be able to point out any specific financial systems that your particular business should put in place before they open.

For an accounting firm, contact a business such as Herman & Cormany.

Share