Structure
- Standardized chart of accounts
- Location, class or entity accounting
- Shared overhead allocation
- Intercompany reconciliation
Restaurant Groups
Accounting for Multi-Location Restaurants & Restaurant Groups
A second or third location changes the accounting. Financial infrastructure that worked for one restaurant stops showing which location is profitable, where cash went and what the group actually earns.
(518) 295-8066What Breaks When a Restaurant Adds Locations
These are the problems we see most often when a restaurant grows from one location to several.
- Each location uses a different chart of accounts
- Separate POS systems and sales data
- Payroll that is not split by location
- Shared expenses with no consistent allocation
- Intercompany activity that never reconciles
- Accounts payable handled differently at each site
- No reliable location-level profitability
- No consolidated financial statements
- Cash moving between entities and locations without a clear record
- Owners unable to compare locations on the same basis
Multi-Location Restaurant Accounting Services
The aim is financial infrastructure for a growing group, not bookkeeping repeated at each site.
Reporting
- Location P&Ls
- Consolidated reporting
- Location benchmarking
- Budget vs. actual
Operations
- POS and deposit reconciliation
- Payroll reconciliation by location
- Accounts-payable and approval workflow
- Sales-tax reconciliation by location
Cash and Planning
- Working-capital visibility
- Cash-flow forecasting
- Expansion modeling
- Management review
Food cost, actual cost of goods sold and prime cost require reliable inventory information. When inventory counts are unavailable, ESBS can report purchases as a percentage of sales but should not present that figure as actual food cost.
From Each Location to One Set of Group Financials
- Location POS and Payroll
- Standardized Chart of Accounts
- Location P&Ls
- Intercompany and Allocations
- Consolidated Reporting
Payroll across locations
Location-level labor needs payroll set up by location and reconciled to each P&L.
Restaurant payroll by locationSales tax for every location
Taxable sales and tax collected reconciled per location before returns are prepared.
Restaurant sales tax reconciliationPricing for restaurant groups
Group engagements are priced on locations and complexity after a review of your systems.
Restaurant accounting service levelsRestaurant Group Accounting Questions
When does a restaurant need multi-location accounting?
Usually once a second location opens, or when owners can no longer tell which location is carrying the business. The need grows with separate entities, shared kitchens or staff, and centralized purchasing.
Should each location be a separate entity or a class?
It depends on legal, lending and tax considerations. We can account for either structure; entity decisions should be made with your attorney and tax adviser.
How are shared overhead costs allocated?
On a basis agreed with you — for example sales, square footage or labor hours — and applied consistently so location results can be compared month to month.
Can you reconcile intercompany activity?
Yes. Transfers, shared payroll and expenses paid by one entity for another are recorded as intercompany balances and reconciled each close.
Do all locations need the same POS system?
No, although it helps. We map each system's reporting into one standardized chart of accounts so results remain comparable.
Can you produce consolidated financial statements?
Yes — location P&Ls plus a combined or consolidated view, with intercompany balances eliminated where applicable.
Can payroll be reported by location?
Yes, where employees and hours are assigned to locations in the payroll setup. Payroll is then reconciled to each location's books.
Can you compare food cost across locations?
Only where reliable inventory counts exist for each location. Otherwise we compare purchases as a percentage of sales and label it that way.
See the full restaurant accounting, payroll and tax service. Groups operating in the city can meet at our office — see NYC and North Jersey restaurant accounting.
Get Your Restaurant Group Accounting Quote
Tell us how many locations you operate and how the books, payroll and POS are set up today.
- 1. Contact
- 2. Your restaurant
- 3. Systems and needs