Industry Focus · Food & Beverage / Restaurants
Accounting for restaurants, from single-location to multi-unit groups
Prime cost, food & beverage COGS, tip reporting and daily sales reconciliation — built for quick-service restaurants, fine dining, cafes and multi-unit franchise groups, from POS close-out to P&L.
25+ Locations
Restaurant units Served across every concept
Audit-Ready, Always
Every sales tax deadline met, on record
10+ Yrs
years reconciling restaurant books from POS to close
Platforms We Manage
Your systems, reconciled — not replaced
Your POS & back office, reconciled — not replaced. Whatever POS, inventory or accounting stack you run, we plug in and keep your books accurate every day and every month.
12+
Platforms supported
0
Systems you need to switch
QuickBooks Online
Location-level P&Ls, class tracking by store or concept.
Toast POS
Daily sales summary import, tender & tip reconciliation.
Square for Restaurants
Order-level sales sync, modifiers & discount tracking.
DoorDash
Delivery payout reconciliation & commission fee tracking.
Uber Eats
Delivery payout reconciliation & commission fee tracking.
SkipTheDishes
Delivery payout reconciliation & commission fee tracking.
Eventbrite
Catering & event ticket revenue synced to your books.
Clover
Multi-terminal sales consolidation, tip pool exports.
MarginEdge
Invoice scanning, plate costing, theoretical vs. actual COGS.
Restaurant365
Multi-unit GL consolidation, labor & inventory integration.
Gusto & ADP
Tipped-wage payroll, tip credit compliance, FICA tip credit.
Avalara
Multi-jurisdiction sales tax filing across every location.
Services by Client Type
Built for How Each Type of Restaurant Actually Runs
Multi-Unit & Franchise Groups
- Multi-location sales consolidation
- Royalty & franchise fee accruals
- Food & beverage COGS tracking
- Prime cost reporting (food + labor)
- Consolidated & store-level financials
- Multi-state sales tax compliance
Fine Dining & Full Service
- Tip pooling & tip-out reconciliation
- Beverage & liquor COGS tracking
- Comp & voucher tracking
- Prime cost reporting (food + labor)
- Menu item profitability analysis
- Gift card liability tracking
Quick-Service & Fast Casual
- Daily POS sales & tender reconciliation
- Third-party delivery payout matching
- Food & paper COGS tracking
- Prime cost reporting (food + labor)
- Labor cost & tipped-wage compliance
- Store-level P&L reporting
Cafes & Bakeries
- Daily till reconciliation
- Wholesale & catering invoice tracking
- Perishable inventory waste tracking
- Food & ingredient COGS tracking
- Prime cost reporting (food + labor)
- Seasonal cash flow forecasting
Food Trucks & Catering
- Event & booking revenue tracking
- Mobile card reader reconciliation
- Food cost COGS tracking per event
- Prime cost reporting (food + labor)
- Per-event profitability reporting
- Seasonal revenue smoothing
Workflow & Cadence
Bookkeeping Built Around Daily POS Close-Out
| WORKFLOW | CADENCE | WHAT'S COVERED |
|---|---|---|
|
Daily POS Close-Out
|
DAILY |
•
Sales, tender & discount reconciliation
•
Cash drawer over/short tracking
•
Tip pool calculation & allocation
•
Third-party delivery payout matching
|
|
Reconciliation & Compliance
|
WEEKLY |
•
Bank & merchant deposit reconciliation
•
Vendor invoice entry & AP aging
•
Multi-jurisdiction sales tax tracking
•
Payroll tax filing tracking
|
|
Financial Reporting
|
MONTHLY |
•
P&L, balance sheet & cash flow statements
•
Store-level & consolidated reporting
•
Budget vs. actual variance reporting
•
Prime cost & flash reports
|
|
Food & Labor Cost Control
|
WEEKLY |
•
Theoretical vs. actual food cost
•
Inventory count & variance reporting
•
Labor cost as % of sales
•
Waste & shrinkage tracking
|
|
Payroll & Tip Compliance
|
BI-WEEKLY |
•
Tipped-wage payroll processing
•
FICA tip credit & tip allocation
•
Overtime & scheduling cost tracking
•
Benefits & workers comp sync
|
|
Menu & Margin Strategy
|
QUARTERLY |
•
Which menu items make you money
•
Checking vendor prices against market rates
•
Planning support for new locations
•
A quarterly sit-down on strategy
|
Onboarding
Live on Your Books in Under Two Weeks
Discovery & systems audit
We map your locations, POS setup and current software.
Chart of accounts setup
Clean, restaurant-specific chart of accounts built or repaired.
Historical catch-up
Books brought current, discrepancies resolved.
Ongoing daily & monthly close
Daily sales close-out plus reconciliations and reporting on schedule.
Monthly strategy review
A standing session on prime cost, margins and planning.
How We Compare
The Real Problems a Generic Firm Won't Solve
| CLIENT PROBLEM | GENERIC OUTSOURCED FIRM | SMARTLEDGER |
|---|---|---|
|
Daily sales & tender reconciliation done right
|
Reconciled monthly, if at all
|
Every POS batch reconciled daily
|
|
Food cost tracked against theoretical cost
|
Food cost estimated at month-end
|
Theoretical vs. actual food cost tracked weekly
|
|
Tip income handled with zero compliance risk
|
Tips calculated manually, ad hoc
|
Tip pooling & tip credit fully managed
|
|
Prime cost visible every week, not just at month-end
|
Prime cost reviewed once a month
|
Prime cost & flash reports delivered weekly
|
|
Multi-state sales tax filed accurately, every location
|
Sales tax filed reactively, error-prone
|
Multi-jurisdiction sales tax filed accurately, on time
|
|
Third-party delivery payouts matched to sales
|
Delivery payouts unreconciled
|
Every delivery payout matched to POS sales & fees
|
|
Audit-ready books, all year, not just at tax time
|
Year-end scramble before filing
|
Tax-ready books, reconciled every month
|
|
One consolidated view across every location
|
Each location reported separately, manually combined
|
Consolidated & store-level financials in one report
|
|
Every invoice, contract & vendor document tied to the ledger
|
Documents scattered, untracked
|
Every document attached & tied to its entry
|
Trusted Partner
Why Restaurant Groups Choose Smartledger
Growth changes what your books need. We’re built to keep pace with every deal, entity and milestone.
Restaurant Industry Specialists
Our team lives in POS data and prime cost, not generic ledgers.
Multi-Unit Experience
Consolidated reporting across dozens of locations is our core specialty.
Maker-Checker Review
A second reviewer verifies every close before it reaches you.
Secure Cloud Systems
Bank-grade encryption and access controls protect every record.
24-Hour Response
Questions get a same-or-next-business-day answer, always.
Testimonials
A full-stack finance function,
built around your business.
FAQ’S
The Answers You're Probably Looking For
The questions that matter most when choosing a finance partner — clearly answered.
Can you reconcile daily POS sales across multiple locations?
Yes. We reconcile daily sales, tenders and cash drawer variances for every location, so store-level and consolidated numbers stay accurate day to day.
How do you handle tip pooling and tip credit compliance?
We calculate tip pools and allocations per your policy and track FICA tip credit and tipped-wage compliance, so payroll stays accurate and audit-safe.
Can you track food cost against a theoretical benchmark?
Yes. We compare actual food cost to theoretical plate cost weekly, surfacing waste, shrinkage and pricing issues before they erode margin.
How quickly can you take over our books and be fully caught up?
Most restaurant clients are fully onboarded and current within two weeks, including historical catch-up, so your very next close arrives clean and on schedule.