You focus on your kitchen. I'll focus on your accounting.
Between the line, the floor and the bar, the books are usually the last thing anyone gets to. I'll keep your QuickBooks tied to what really happened each night, from POS deposits and tip-outs to vendor bills, liquor costs and delivery payouts, so you can see where your money went every month.
Sales come in through the POS, delivery apps, online orders and catering. Money goes out to suppliers, staff and the taxman on different schedules. If any of these sound like your place, I can help.
You get everything in my regular monthly bookkeeping, plus the pieces that make restaurant books different from almost any other business.
Your POS settles in batches, minus card fees, and the deposit rarely equals the night's sales. I match deposits to your daily sales reports so revenue, fees and adjustments all land where they belong.
Tips belong to your staff, not your revenue. I track and reconcile card and cash tips in QuickBooks, including the tip-outs shared between front and back of house, so they match your POS and payroll reports.
Food and drink costs move fast and eat into margin quietly. I split your purchases into categories that match how a restaurant actually runs.
From broadline distributors like Sysco and US Foods to your local produce, meat and beverage suppliers, every invoice gets entered, coded and tracked until you've paid it. You pay your suppliers yourself; I don't pay bills on your behalf, but I record your payments so you always know what's still owed.
DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, online-ordering platforms and catering jobs each pay out differently. I record the full sale and the fees separately, so you know what off-premise business really brings in.
Each month you get a clean P&L and balance sheet, laid out the way restaurant owners think, and a short plain-language look at how the month went.
Prepared food and drinks served by restaurants are generally subject to sales tax. If you sell beer, wine or liquor in Philadelphia, the City also charges a separate 10% Liquor Tax on those sales, paid monthly and filed quarterly. And since October 2026, the local part of Pennsylvania sales tax on delivered orders depends on where the order is delivered. The rules have details and exceptions, so we'll confirm what applies to your restaurant before anything is filed. I keep each tax separate in your books, prepare your Pennsylvania sales tax filings and can track and pay the sales tax you collect for you. For the Liquor Tax, I track it on your alcohol sales, reconcile it against your POS reports each month and keep the records organized and ready for filing.
Cost accounting just means knowing what it really costs to run your kitchen and bar. I set up your books so these numbers are easy to see each month, and I'll explain what they mean in plain language.
Your cost of goods (food and drinks) plus labor, your two biggest costs, shown together as a share of sales.
What you spent on food, beer, wine and liquor, compared with what each one brought in.
Wages and payroll costs as a share of sales, so you can see how staffing tracks with business month to month.
Using your recipes and supplier invoices, I can help you work out what a dish costs to make and which items earn the most.
Monthly reports show where your money goes, so you can set prices and spot waste with real numbers instead of guesses.
A short email or call about your POS, your suppliers and where your books stand.
I'll look at your accounts and figure out what needs cleaning up or setting up.
A fixed monthly price based on your volume, channels and the complexity of your books.
Deposits matched, bills entered, accounts reconciled and your P&L ready each month.
Plans are based on how many transactions you have each month, so you know the price up front.
After a short review of your QuickBooks, you'll get a fixed monthly price for the plan that fits. Quarterly bookkeeping is available at 75% of your monthly rate, billed monthly.
90-day money-back guarantee: if you're not happy in the first 90 days, I'll refund your fees.
Also available: tax prep, business consulting, and grant help.
Yes, any POS system. I work in QuickBooks Online and match deposits from Toast, Square, Clover, Shopify and other POS systems to your daily sales reports, including card fees, comps, voids, refunds and gift cards.
I track and reconcile your card and cash tips in QuickBooks so they match your POS and payroll reports. Tips are kept out of your sales, and the tips and tip-outs paid to servers, bartenders and kitchen staff are recorded against them, so each month you can see that tips collected and tips paid out line up. Tips are paid out to your staff through payroll, which I can run for you.
Yes. Your purchases are split into categories like food, beer, wine, liquor and non-alcoholic drinks, so you can compare each one with the matching sales. Monthly reports can include a prime cost view that puts food and drink costs next to your labor totals.
Yes. Each month your reports show food and drink costs and labor as a share of sales, plus prime cost (the two combined), with month-over-month comparisons. I'll walk you through what the numbers mean in plain language, and with your recipes and supplier invoices I can help you work out what individual dishes cost to make.
Yes. I enter vendor bills from broadline distributors like Sysco and US Foods as well as your local produce, meat, bakery and beverage suppliers, track what's still owed, and record credits for returns and shorted items. You pay your suppliers yourself; I don't pay bills on your behalf, but I record your payments so your list of what you owe stays accurate.
I prepare your Pennsylvania sales tax filings and can track and pay the sales tax you collect for you. For the Liquor Tax, I track it, reconcile it and keep the records ready for filing. Pennsylvania sales tax is 6%, plus 2% in Philadelphia, and prepared food and drinks are generally taxable. If you sell alcohol in Philadelphia, the City's separate 10% Liquor Tax is paid monthly and filed quarterly, so I keep it apart from sales tax in your books. We'll confirm what applies to your restaurant together.
Yes. I track the 10% Liquor Tax on your beer, wine and liquor sales separately from sales tax, reconcile it against your POS sales reports each month, and keep the records organized and ready for filing, so the numbers are there when the City's payments and returns are due.
Founding-client pricing for my first 10 clients, locked for 12 months: Starter (up to 100 transactions a month) $225/mo, standard $275; Growth (100–250) $375/mo, standard $450; Busy (250–500) $575/mo, standard $700; Custom (500+ or multiple locations) from $850/mo. Most restaurants fit Busy. Add-ons: PA sales tax filing and payment $50/mo, payroll from $125/mo for up to 5 employees (payroll run in QuickBooks Payroll, or the system you already use), and cleanup $150–$300 per month behind. Setup is free, quarterly bookkeeping is 75% of the monthly rate, and there's a 90-day money-back guarantee.
Send a few details through my quote form or give me a call. I work with restaurants across the Philadelphia Metro and surrounding area. No commitment either way.
— Freddie Belote, Belote Bookkeeping