Accounting software for restaurants is a way for restaurants to cut costs by tracking all the ways money is used in your operations and streamline production processes. Restaurant accounting software basics can provide technological solutions to food ordering, vendors and suppliers, payroll and other restaurant areas. Due to the differing needs of every restaurant, many programs use applications to customize its restaurant accounting system.

Accounting software for restaurants is based on a point of sale system (POS). It handles credit card payments, menu prices and payroll functions. Food operations are handled by other software. A kitchen software program is cost-effective because it calculates inventory and ordering, can price out the food that is served and also manage both inventory and menu.

1. Accounting applications for restaurants saves on time spent by employees to process ordering. Orders can be sent directly to the kitchen, allowing waiters and waitresses to go directly to another table.

2. Ordering from and paying suppliers can be done systematically saving time for the kitchen staff. Also, there is less room for error using a software program.

3. Using restaurant accounting software applications can provide integrated system for kitchen and POS areas.

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Use POS for your restaurant accounting program

POS revolutionized the restaurant industry. They were expensive at the outset but still cost-effective because they cut down on human errors like the wrong orders, miscalculation of bills and increased the speed of service.

I recommend: Business Software Solutions provides POS programs for restaurants. It can provide delivery software, too. Restaurant Manager is another restaurant accounting program with real-time reporting, and the ability to customize menus and pricing on the fly. It is integrateable with accounting applications for restaurants.

Use restaurant accounting software for the kitchen

Providers of restaurant accounting software can reduce the time it takes to do inventory and ordering, and with fewer mistakes. Some programs will manage menus and recipes.

I recommend: Cost Genie organizes inventory, menus, beverages and catering data. Hospitality Consultants provides three accounting applications for restaurants on menu costing, items sales and costing analysis and kitchen variances in hourly units.

Use restaurant accounting software to stay competitive and keep you profitable

Providers of restaurant accounting software are putting out easy-to-use and high functioning software to address the costs of the restaurant business. Restaurants are not known for making huge profits, so accounting software is a necessity to keep costs down.

I recommend: Hot Sauce is a one-stop supplier for restaurant accounting programs. It provides payroll, inventory management and pricing functions. Restaurant Plus restaurant accounting system includes the hardware and software you need to run the management and kitchen sides of a restaurant.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Restaurant accounting software basics are a part of any restaurant business plan. No restaurant today is viable without using some basic technology -- more importantly, restaurant consultants often find that money is saved when the appropriate restaurant software is in place.

Restaurant accounting software systems address two categories: kitchen operations and point of sale (POS) systems. Kitchen software is used by the chef for recipe management, inventory and ordering. POS restaurant accounting programs handle a wide range of accounting functions that may include credit card payments, gift card purchases, time clock, payroll, special pricing (lunch and happy hour), reporting and more.

Restaurant accounting software that combines both kitchen software and POS applications creates a seamless accounting system that can help you reduce food costs, maximize profits, streamline the payroll process and virtually eliminate errors in customer checks.

When shopping for restaurant accounting applications, consider the following:

1. Restaurant accounting programs that cost out kitchen operations, including inventory control, recipe and menu costing, purchasing and ordering.
2. POS systems that integrate with foodservice accounting software.
3. Restaurant accounting programs that integrate kitchen and POS systems.
4. Multi-site and corporate restaurant accounting software.

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Restaurant accounting programs for the kitchen

Managing and costing out recipes, ordering ingredients and tracking inventory keep the kitchen running efficiently while preventing theft and shrinkage. Often this kind of accounting software for restaurants is designed to integrate with POS systems.

I recommend: TracRite’s OC Lite is a basic recipe-costing program that suggests pricing to maximize profits. If you do more than $1 million per year in sales, OC Pro adds inventory tracking, ordering and purchasing, catering, reporting and systems integration for POS. Culinary Software Services’ ChefTec accounting software for restaurants, hotels and catering services offers menu costing, inventory control, nutritional analysis, purchasing and ordering. A hosted version is available as well as ChefTec PDA for Palm devices to facilitate inventory counting. Compeat Back Office combines restaurant specific accounting practices with menu costing, proportions, inventory and more.

Point of sale restaurant accounting applications

POS restaurant accounting applications combine POS hardware with a software package for management and reporting.

I recommend: Designed to integrate with Microsoft POS Retail Management System and Microsoft Quicksell, Aldelo NextPOS Restaurant software comes in three versions, including one specifically designed for pizza ordering and delivery. All three versions come with multilingual support. POSNation.com offers POS software that speeds credit card processing, accepts gift cards and handles other cash register accounting functions. Find more restaurant POS software options in the Business.com directory.

Integrated foodservice accounting software

Comprehensive restaurant accounting applications brings kitchen operations together with POS operations, providing complete visibility into your foodservice operation.

I recommend: Business Software Solutions’ Business Plus Accounting Restaurant Professional brings together POS features with menus, inventory, employee management and cash out as well as an optional Drink Module with cocktail recipes and alcohol inventory. Business Plus Accounting Restaurant Delivery adds the ability to take orders for delivery with mapping and driver management.

Multi-site and corporate accounting software for restaurants

Many foodservice accounting software programs are designed for restaurants, hotels and catering operations that have multiple locations that report back to a parent organization.

I recommend: Culinary Software Services’ CorTec restaurant accounting software for hotels, chains and franchises runs at corporate headquarters, connecting via the Internet with ChefTec Client software running in dispersed food service locations. CostGuard restaurant accounting software offers inventory control; recipe, menu, and liquor costing; nutrition analysis and sales management. It is designed to interface with suppliers, POS, accounting and catering systems.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you have a bilingual staff, make sure your restaurant accounting software supports multiple languages.
• •  Before purchasing restaurant accounting applications, determine whether you want separate kitchen and POS systems or an integrated foodservice accounting software program.
• •  Consider restaurant accounting applications for alcoholic beverages, pizza delivery and other profit centers.
• •  If you have one location and are planning to add more, shop for restaurant accounting programs that have multi-site support.
• •  To facilitate taking inventory, consider a foodservice accounting software program with modular device support.

Training for restaurant accounting software is helpful for restaurant careers. Accounting software for restaurants is meant to streamline tasks and increase productivity. You can pay for courses in the use of software. Some kind of training for a restaurant accounting program is included by providers of restaurant software in their software packages.

Providers of restaurant accounting software include training in the form of CDs, online tutorials and telephone support. Elearning and software training are offered by training companies. Some software providers have training programs at their headquarters. In all cases, check to see if training is included in the price of the software package or is provided for an extra fee.

1. A restaurant accounting program uses basic accounting procedures and standards tweaked for the restaurant business.

2. Restaurant accounting software capabilities can be learned easily if you are trained in accounting software basics.

3. Free demonstrations of restaurant accounting software are usually available online.

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Get accounting software training to aid you with accounting applications for restaurants

Basic software accounting programs are applicable to a restaurant accounting program and accounting applications for restaurants.

I recommend: Restaurant Seminar Institute offers restaurant accounting courses around the US. Computer Training Schools lists schools and programs for learning computer software. One program is Microsoft for Every Industry, which gives you the skills necessary to use restaurant-specific accounting software and applications. K Alliance is an online school that teaches courses and certificate programs for accounting software that are usable with restaurant applications.

Consider accounting applications for restaurants that offer several modes of training

Some restaurant accounting software providers offer different kinds of training for their products including onsite classes, CD instruction and web-based instruction.

I recommend: Point of Success restaurant software provides two types of training at a cost -- on-site training and CD instructions, though the CDs are less expensive. NuRol provides a comprehensive restaurant accounting program with three types of training, online, telephone and at its company headquarters.

Use accounting software for restaurants that works for you

Training for restaurant accounting software means making a decision on the restaurant program that you think works best. Use free demonstrations of restaurant software products to see if you like the product and what you need to learn to operate it.

I recommend: Food Serve's program details inventory and cost, menu planning analysis and commits to reducing labor and food costs. You can try it out online and evaluate it. Compeat is a bigger restaurant software program including mobile technology for the restaurant business. It gives live online demonstrations and product tours.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Training for restaurant accounting software is important for restaurant managers and owners. Technology has brought many changes to the restaurant business so that wait staff now use some form of restaurant software, too.

Restaurant accounting software often handles the complex calculations that are needed to determine the profitability of a business. These software programs work side-by-side with point of sale programs to produce minute-by-minute details of how the business is being run. Varieties of terms are used in these programs. Terms like operation ratios, prime cost, cost of goods sold and food costs are associated with a business' potential profit and its success.

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Operating ratios

There are various types of operating ratios, but they are all used as a factoring process to determine the financial health of a business. The most common is the Net Profit to Total Sales ratio, which directly shows if the business is making money. These formulas are plugged into most restaurant accounting software packages.

I recommend: Zeromillion provides more information on operating ratios.

Prime cost

Prime cost is the total cost of goods plus the cost of gross labor, which can include wait staff, kitchen personnel, etc.

I recommend: White Hutchinson Leisure & Learning provides more information about prime cost and its importance in accounting methods.

Profit and loss (P & L) statement or income statement

The profit and loss statement is a document showing how well a business manages inventory to make a profit. It tells the business how well they are doing meeting profit goals or managing loss. These statements are generated by most accounting software for restaurants.

I recommend: Ohio State University provides more information on profit and loss statements, including how they are calculated.

Cost of goods sold (COGS)

Cost of goods sold, or COGS, refers to the costs associated with the production of the goods (food) sold by the restaurant.

I recommend: Investopedia provides more information on cost of goods sold.

Labor costs

Labor costs are the costs of employing people in the business. The cost is measured by wage, benefits, taxes and payroll costs. Restaurant accounting software can produce reports to compare labor cost percentages to sales. Businesses need to find an effective labor cost versus revenue ratio to remain operational.

I recommend: The Restaurant Resource Group provides more information on labor costs associated with productivity.

Food costs

Food costs are a large part of any restaurant accounting software, since they are one of the most manageable aspects of restaurant profit and loss. They are calculated as net food purchases divided by net food sales.

I recommend: StarChefs provides more information on food costs.