Restaurants & Food Service
A 5% margin disappears fast. We track food cost, labor, and tips weekly so you catch problems before they eat your profit.
The Margin Reality
A good year in this business means a 5% net margin. Some restaurants run at 3%. Some run at zero and close before they figure it out. At those numbers, small errors compound fast. Food cost creeps up two points and half your profit is gone. Labor runs hot for a few weeks and you’re working for free.
The problem is you don’t have time to track it. You’re still expediting tickets, covering shifts, handling vendor calls, and putting out fires. The bookkeeping happens at midnight or it doesn’t happen at all. By the time you see the bank account drop, the damage is already done.
Who We Work With
Who We Work With
Restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, bars, pubs, food trucks, and catering companies across Nampa, Boise, and the Treasure Valley. Different formats with the same tight margins.
The Daily Challenge
The Daily Challenge
Hundreds of transactions every day. Cash drawers, card tips, voids, comps, and third-party delivery deposits that show up days later. Your POS tracks some of it. Your bank account shows something else. Reconciling the two is a job nobody has time for.
What We Track
Food cost and labor cost are the two numbers that determine whether you make money. We track both on a schedule that actually helps you manage the business. Not at the end of the quarter when it’s too late. Every week or every month, depending on your volume.
We reconcile your sales to your deposits and categorize expenses so you can see exactly where the money goes. When costs start creeping up, you’ll know about it while there’s still time to adjust pricing, portions, or scheduling.
Actual Food Cost
Actual Food Cost
You might think you’re running 28% food cost based on your menu math. Reality is usually higher. Waste, over-portioning, vendor price increases, and inventory that walks out the door all add up. We calculate what you’re actually running.
Labor Analysis
Labor Analysis
Total labor as a percentage of sales tells you if you’re staffing efficiently. We track it regularly so you can spot patterns. Which shifts run heavy. Where overtime is adding up. When training hours spike without a corresponding bump in revenue.
Where Problems Hide
The silent killer in restaurants is cost creep. Food prices go up a little bit each month. You don’t adjust the menu. Suddenly you’re at 33% food cost wondering where the profit went. It happens one percentage point at a time until it’s a crisis.
The other landmine is tip reporting. Cash tips, card tips, tip pools, tip credits. The IRS has specific rules about how tips get reported on payroll. Most restaurants are doing something slightly wrong. It might not matter until an audit, and then it matters a lot.
Tip Compliance
Tip Compliance
Tip reporting errors create liability. Our team includes Enrolled Agents licensed to represent you before the IRS. We make sure your tip tracking and payroll reporting are correct so you don’t end up with surprise notices or penalties.
Delivery App Confusion
Delivery App Confusion
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub. Each one deposits money on a different schedule with fees buried in statements. The revenue looks good until you account for the 20-30% commission. We track what you actually net from each platform.
What Changes
You stop guessing and start managing. When you see food cost trending up in week two, you can check your portioning and pricing before the month closes. When labor is running hot, you adjust the schedule next week instead of discovering it in April.
The scramble at tax time goes away. Your books are closed monthly. Payroll taxes are filed. Tips are reported correctly. When you need to show a bank clean financials for a kitchen renovation or a second location, you have current numbers ready to go.
Weekly Visibility
Weekly Visibility
Problems get caught when they’re small. You’ll have current reports that show exactly where you stand. No more waiting until tax season to find out whether last year was profitable.
Growth Confidence
Growth Confidence
Expanding to a second location or buying new equipment requires lenders to see verified financials. We provide clean monthly statements that demonstrate your actual profitability and cash flow. You walk into the bank prepared.
The Treasure Valley's Tax and Accounting Team
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us what you're dealing with. We'll listen, answer your questions, and give you a straightforward quote.
