Accountant for Restaurants: Food-Cost KPIs & Tax Tips

Prime cost (COGS + labor) should sit under 65% for full-service restaurants; a niche CPA helps you hit that.

Five biggest wins: weekly prime-cost tracking, tip-credit compliance, 45B FICA tip credit, inventory cost-seg, and state sales-tax audits.

Need help? Comparerestaurant-focused CPAson Sam’s List!

Why Restaurant Accounting Is Tougher Than Retail

1. Razor-thin margins: National Restaurant Association reports 5 – 7% net profit typical.
2. Perishable inventory + volatile commodity prices.
3. Tip-credit and pooled-tip rules vary by state.
4. Daily sales split across POS, delivery apps, and gift cards—reconciliation nightmare.
5. Monthly state sales-tax and food-and-beverage tax filings; audits are common.

Five Services a Restaurant CPA Delivers

1. Weekly Prime-Cost & Menu-Engineering Reports

CPApulls labor from POS timecards and COGS from inventory counts to keep prime cost < 65%.

Example:A bistro cut shrimp entrée food cost from 38% to 29% by re-engineering portion size—CPA’s weekly report caught the overrun fast.

2. Tip-Credit Compliance & FICA Tip Credit (Form 8846)

Restaurants can claim up to $5,000 per employee via 45B credit on FICA taxes.

Example:CPA ensured accurate tip allocation in payroll software, netting a $28K refund for a 25-server steakhouse.

3. Inventory & Waste Cost Segmentation

“Par-level” tracking ties daily waste logs to GL entries—reduces shrinkage.

Example:Switching to recipe-level inventory in MarginEdge dropped food waste 11%.

4. Sales-Tax & Meal-Tax Filings

CPA maps POS codes to tax categories; avoids under-reported liquor sales—a top audit trigger.

Example:A bar avoided $9K penalty after CPA pre-audited mixed-drink tax filings (Virginia ABC data).

5. Depreciation & 179 Expensing for Kitchen Equipment

Section 179 lets you expense up to $1.22M of equipment (2025 limit) in year one.

Example:Walk-in cooler and hood system write-off saved $58K in federal tax for a new fast-casual chain.