The short answer
Restaurant bookkeeping in Chandler means reconciling your POS to bank deposits, recording delivery app payouts with their fees, tracking food and beverage cost, handling tips correctly and recording Arizona transaction privilege tax (TPT) properly. AZ Easy CPA keeps restaurant books reconciled monthly so owners can see their real costs and margins.
What makes restaurant bookkeeping different?
Restaurants handle a high volume of daily sales across cards, cash, gift cards and delivery apps, with tips mixed in and sales tax on top. Costs move fast too: food, beverage, labor and vendor bills arrive every week. Restaurant bookkeeping needs a daily sales routine and a monthly close that ties it all together.
When books are only built from bank deposits, everything gets blurred. Sales tax looks like income, tips look like revenue and delivery fees vanish. That makes it hard to know your true food cost or whether a busy month was actually profitable.
"I am beyond happy to have found a solid person to handle all the backend part of my restaurant." (Alice, Google review)
How do you reconcile Toast, Square or Clover to the bank?
We record sales from your POS summary, broken into food, beverage, sales tax, tips, discounts and payment types. Then we match card deposits, cash deposits and gift card activity to the bank. Any gap, such as a missing deposit or an over-ring, shows up quickly instead of months later.
- Pull the POS sales summary for the period from Toast, Square or Clover.
- Record gross sales by category, plus sales tax collected and tips.
- Record payment types: card, cash, gift card and third party.
- Match card batches to bank deposits, showing processing fees as an expense.
- Reconcile cash deposits and flag any shortages for you to review.
Chris can also show your manager how to pull the right reports so the routine stays simple.
How should DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub payouts be recorded?
Delivery apps pay you after taking commissions, marketing fees, adjustments and sometimes sales tax handling. Recording only the net payout hides what delivery really costs. We record the gross order value, then the fees and adjustments, so you can see whether delivery is earning money or just keeping the line busy.
| Line on the payout report | How we record it |
|---|---|
| Order subtotal | Delivery sales income |
| Sales tax | Recorded based on who collects and remits it |
| Commission and service fees | Delivery fee expense |
| Promotions you funded | Marketing or discount expense |
| Refunds and error charges | Refunds and adjustments |
| Net payout | Matched to the bank deposit |
How do you track food and beverage cost?
We set up separate cost accounts for food, beverage and alcohol, and record vendor invoices into them as bills. With sales split the same way, you can see food cost and beverage cost as a percentage of their sales each month. Regular inventory counts make those numbers far more accurate.
Without inventory counts, your food cost simply follows when you bought supplies, not when you used them. A simple month-end count changes that.
- Vendor bills from your food and beverage suppliers recorded as they arrive
- Food, beverage, alcohol and paper goods in their own accounts
- Month-end inventory counts recorded to adjust cost
- Credits and returns from vendors tracked
Tip: count on the same day each month, at the same time, using the same sheet. Consistency matters more than perfection.
How is Arizona sales tax (TPT) recorded for restaurants?
In Arizona, restaurants owe transaction privilege tax (TPT) at state, county and often city levels. The tax you collect from guests is not your income. We record it as a liability from your POS reports, then clear it when you pay, so your sales and tax balances both stay accurate.
TPT collected through your POS, and sometimes through delivery apps, needs to land in the right place. Clean records make it easier to file and to answer questions if the state ever asks. Your tax partner can confirm rates and filing details, and we can connect you with one of our tax partners if needed.
How should tips be handled in restaurant books?
Card tips belong to your servers and staff. When they come in with your card deposits, we record them as owed to staff and clear them when paid out, often through payroll. That keeps tips out of your sales and helps the numbers match what your payroll provider reports.
Payroll, including tip reporting, runs through our trusted payroll partners. We make sure the wages, tips and taxes they report are recorded correctly so labor cost is clear on your monthly reports.
How do we get started?
Free phone call
Tell Chris about your restaurant, your POS and your delivery apps.
Review the books
We compare POS reports and app payouts to QuickBooks and the bank.
Restaurant setup
We set up sales, cost, tips and TPT accounts that fit how you operate.
Monthly close
Each month we reconcile, record inventory and walk you through the results.
Restaurants questions
Which POS systems do you work with?
We regularly work from Toast, Square and Clover reports. If you use a different POS, we can usually work from its sales summary and payout reports.
Why is my POS sales total different from my deposits?
Deposits are net of processing fees, and they include tips and sales tax that are not your income. Cash, gift cards and timing also play a part. We break it all apart each month so the numbers tie out.
Do I really need to count inventory?
If you want an accurate food cost, yes. A monthly count gives a far clearer picture than purchases alone, and it helps spot waste or theft.
Do you file my Arizona TPT returns?
We record TPT correctly in your books and keep reports ready. Filing and tax questions go to your tax partner, and we can recommend one.
Do you handle restaurant payroll?
We do not process payroll in house. Our payroll partners handle it, and we record the payroll and tip entries correctly in QuickBooks.
What does restaurant bookkeeping cost?
Monthly bookkeeping plans typically start around $300 a month. Restaurants often have higher volume, so we quote your plan after a free call.
Bookkeeping near you
From our Chandler office we work with businesses across the East Valley and Arizona, in person or online.
