Cleaning House.

Bad accounting is like a unkempt house - it is chaos, not knowing where things are, it's not feeling good, and it resonates throughout your business. It creates doubt in the minds of your managers, your hourly staff, and even your customers. It's not something a restaurant owner can hide - when financials run amok, the whole business shows it.

Good accounting, on the other hand, is literally peace of mind - you know where the Sales, Cost of Goods, Labor, and operating costs are recorded, you can compare these month-to-month, you know what your Balance Sheet represents, and you use this information to decide how to run your business. Good accounting is a clean house - you know where the vacuum cleaner and the cleaning supplies are kept, the linens are all folded neatly in the bathroom closet, there is a place in the kitchen for all of your dishes and in the garage or basement for all of your tools. The dirty laundry has a bin, and it's contained there until laundry day. There is a list of groceries that need to be purchased the next time you visit Costco, there's a calendar that lets your kids know that they will be cleaning the bathroom on Saturday mornings.

There is a system that functions in your household, and good accounting is also that system.

With good accounting, you walk into your business and run it, because you know where all the numbers live.

Good accounting trickles down to your staff - they trust you, they know there's a system in place that will account for all of the costs, there's a system that tracks their payroll and ensures they get paid correctly and on time.

Good accounting trickles past your staff to your customers - they can feel the well-oiled machine when they walk through your doors. When they hold the silverware that's been neatly placed on their table in a starched napkin, they sip from a clean glass, their server is attentive and friendly, not worried about whether all of their pay is going to show up on their check. It is a calmer environment - it may still have some chaos, and being a popular, successful restaurant will have some of this. But it will be managed well, because the restaurant managers, the ownership team, and the accounting team are all in sync, utilizing the system, and keeping the house clean.

If you don't have good accounting, ask yourself why not? And then click here to ask us.