Streamlining Operations and Enhancing Financial Management: A Case Study of Outsourced Accounting Solutions for a Small Restaurant
Client Background A growing independent restaurant in faced challenges managing its financial operations. With multiple revenue streams from counter service, third-party delivery platforms, and catering, the owner was struggling to maintain accurate records, reconcile daily sales, and understand key metrics like food costs and labor efficiency. To improve operations and gain financial clarity, the restaurant engaged Lumiere Strategies as their outsourced accounting partner.
The Challenge The restaurant operated on a legacy point-of-sale (POS) system (Toast) that was expereincing integration issues with their accounting software. Daily sales and deposits were being tracked manually, and inconsistencies between POS data and bank deposits made it difficult to reconcile revenue. Tips, delivery platform fees, and sales tax liabilities were often overlooked or inaccurately reported. The owner lacked visibility into food costs, labor ratios, and other critical KPIs.
Our Approach Lumiere Strategies implemented a comprehensive financial management solution tailored to the restaurant’s operations:
1. Point-of-Sale System Configuration and Integration
Resolved the Toast POS system integration with QuickBooks and made changes to optimize the tracking for settlement from both counter service and delivery.
Customized POS categories to reflect revenue sources: dine-in, delivery, online orders, catering.
Automated QuickBooks Online journal entries and daily sales reporting.
2. Revenue and Payment Reconciliation
Created daily reconciliation workflows to match POS reports to bank deposits, third-party delivery payouts, and merchant service statements.
Identified and managed exceptions (e.g., missing deposits, duplicate payments, tip discrepancies).
Segregated and tracked counter revenue, third-party delivery fees, and associated merchant processing costs.
3. Tip Tracking and Payroll Support
Established tip tracking protocols to align with IRS guidelines and payroll reporting.
Integrated with payroll providers to ensure proper allocation of tips and employer tax obligations.
4. Sales Tax and Compliance
Mapped sales categories to appropriate sales tax rates and jurisdictions.
Established reporting to provide transparency to sales tax liability and cash flow impacts.
Filed monthly sales tax returns and implemented monthly reconciliation processes to validate reported vs. collected tax.
5. Food Cost and Labor Best Practices
Developed a cost-tracking system by syncing vendor bills and invoice data into QBO, categorized by food, beverage, and packaging.
Calculated food cost percentages and provided monthly benchmarks.
Provided guidance on scheduling strategies to improve labor efficiency and manage overtime exposure.
The Results
Improved Accuracy: Reconciliation accuracy increased to over 98%, reducing time spent on manual review.
Actionable Insights: Monthly dashboards delivered clear metrics on food cost %, labor %, and profitability by revenue stream.
Sales Tax Compliance: 100% on-time filing rate and zero notices from taxing authorities.
Operational Efficiency: Restaurant staff were able to focus on service and kitchen operations while Lumiere managed financial backend tasks.
Conclusion By partnering with Lumiere Strategies, the restaurant transformed its financial management—from a manual, error-prone system to a streamlined, integrated process that supported growth and profitability. The customized approach empowered ownership with better insights, improved compliance, and more time to focus on what mattered most: delivering great food and service to their customers.