Accounting for restaurants: understand how it works

Business license, tax regime, taxes, payroll, invoices, cash flow. Accounting for restaurants involves all of this and much more.

It is essential for the business to be financially healthy and always up to date with its tax and accounting obligations. In other words: it's indispensable for success.

Want to know more about this topic? Then keep reading to understand how accounting for restaurants works.

Why is accounting important for restaurants?

Like any company, a restaurant needs to control its finances, report to the authorities and meet its tax and accounting obligations.

Accounting plays a hugely important role in supporting owners through these processes, ensuring everything is compliant and helping the business achieve better results.

Good accounting allows restaurants to:

• Stay compliant with the law: it ensures the business is meeting all its tax, accounting and labor obligations.
• Save on taxes: with well-executed tax planning, it's possible to reduce the tax burden and save money.
• Improve financial management: by tracking cash flow, fixed and variable costs and financial records, the restaurant gains greater control over its finances.
• Be more competitive: since they pay less tax, they can be more profitable and gain an edge over the competition. They also attract more investors.

So, contrary to what many managers think, accounting goes far beyond bureaucracy — it is strategic for the business.

Leia também: Restaurant management: 9 mistakes you can't afford to make

What does the accountant do?

The accountant is the professional responsible for the restaurant's accounting.

Every company with a National Registry of Legal Entities number (CNPJ) is required to have an accountant, except for the Individual Microentrepreneur (MEI).

This professional specializes in companies' tax, labor and financial matters. Among the activities they carry out are, for example:

• Opening and formalizing the company
• Bookkeeping (income statements, financial balance sheet)
• Tax obligations (tax payments, filings, invoices)
• Tax planning (tax regimes, tax benefits, tax recovery, single-phase taxation)
• Labor matters (owner's compensation, payroll, INSS, FGTS, IRRF)

How is a restaurant's accounting done?

With a specialist taking care of the finances, you can focus on other aspects of the restaurant and, in doing so, boost your results. Below, see in more detail how a restaurant's accounting is done.

Opening and formalization

To open a restaurant, you need to formally register the company with municipal, state and federal agencies. The accountant guides the owner through this stage to make sure no mistakes happen and that the new company complies with the law.

They also help obtain licenses issued by regulatory agencies, such as health surveillance, the fire department and city hall.

tax regime

Choosing the tax regime is very important, because it is what determines how much tax a restaurant pays. There are three different types and the accountant must place the company in whichever is most advantageous:

• Simples Nacional
• Lucro Presumido
• Lucro Real

Tax Planning

Tax planning allows restaurants to pay less tax without breaking any law.

To do that, a complete analysis of the business is carried out, considering the tax regime, faturamento, the existence of tax credits and benefits, possibilities for tax recovery, payroll value, among other aspects.

Next, the accountant points out the best tax strategy. One of the most widely used is the single-phase taxation of PIS and COFINS, provided for in Law 10.833/2003. 

Labor matters

The accountant calculates the partners' owner compensation and the employees' payroll. On top of that, they manage the labor paperwork, such as FGTS, INSS and IRRF payment slips.

They may also be responsible for employees' hiring and termination paperwork and for filling out the CAGED – the General Registry of Employed and Unemployed Workers.

Invoices

Issuing invoices is one of a restaurant's tax obligations.

They are a record of the transactions carried out at the venue and are essential for financial control. Issuing invoices even makes it possible to reduce taxes and access lines of credit.

So it is also accounting's job to advise on issuing invoices correctly and intelligently.

Learn more: SAT Back Office: What It Is and Its Advantages

cash flow

O cash flow is one of a restaurant's main accounting tools. It is the record of all the money coming into and going out of the company. Through it, you can track and analyze the financial health of the business.

Using an automated system to handle cash flow is one of the best ways to ensure the records are made correctly and, in doing so, make decisions based on reliable data.

Fixed and variable costs

Surveying fixed and variable costs is also the accountant's job. They must keep track of all expenses, such as:

• Custos fixos: rent, salaries, water and electricity bills, software, etc.
• Custos variáveis: packaging, commissions, credit card fees, etc.

From there, you can forecast spending, do financial planning, keep things balanced and cut unnecessary costs.

Leia também: How to calculate your restaurant's break-even point

Balance Sheet

The accountant also prepares the restaurant's balance sheet and tracks the results, checking the financial situation and how it has evolved over a given period.

This report includes all assets and liabilities for the calculation of net worth. The balance sheet must be kept up to date and monitored over time. This is essential for financial planning.

Tax payments

The accountant is also the one responsible for reporting to the tax authorities — filing the IRPJ return, for example — and for paying the taxes, including:

• ICMS (Tax on the Circulation of Goods and Services)
• IRPJ (Corporate Income Tax)
• CSLL (Social Contribution on Net Profit)
• PIS/Cofins
• Union dues, FGTS, employees' INSS
• CPP (Employer Social Security Contribution)

Choose the best management system for restaurants

As you've seen throughout this article, accounting for restaurants involves a series of tasks, and for them to be carried out every record needs to be made effectively.

That's why choosing a reliable system is essential. EPOC is a complete solution for restaurants, with a POS integrated into the back office and every resource you need for your tax and financial management.

Want to see how it works in practice? Then Schedule a free demonstration now and find out how we can help your business.