Restaurant Accounting Software: How To Choose And Implement

In the competitive restaurant industry, good financial management is critical to your business’s success and longevity. Implementing a trustworthy restaurant account software system is an important component of financial management. A good restaurant accounting software can help you scale up effortlessly and become more profitable by streamlining processes and increasing efficiency. 

However, with so many options in the market, it is essential to choose the best software for your specific business requirements. This blog will provide a detailed guide to assist you in making an informed decision by taking into consideration a number of elements and evaluating various features of restaurant accounting software. 

What Is Restaurant Accounting Software?

Restaurant accounting software is a specialized software solution for managing financial and accounting responsibilities unique to the restaurant business. It includes tools and capabilities for streamlining financial processes, tracking revenue and costs, processing payroll, and creating financial reports. By automating multiple accounting processes, this software enables restaurant owners and managers to manage their financial operations and make sound business decisions successfully.

A restaurant accounting software is different from a general accounting software. While it works on the same basis, it offers personalization specific to the management of a restaurant, including inventory management, menu analysis, customer preference analysis, integration with a point of sale (POS) infrastructure, and restaurant shift change and workforce management. Using an integrated Restaurant Management Software can further enhance these capabilities by automating tasks and providing a centralized platform for overall operational efficiency.

Why Does Your Restaurant Need Accounting Software?

Restaurant accounting software helps restaurant owners and accountants communicate effectively. When coupled with a restaurant POS system, the software automates the gathering, organization, and reporting of financial information. This means you can monitor your financial performance at any moment using both your accounting software and the POS system. 

A good restaurant accounting software also helps in automation and eliminates the labor, time, and variety of errors associated with the manual accounting process. It automatically monitors and handles spending, income, invoice payments, payrolls, tax information, and other financial data.

How to Implement a Restaurant’s Accounting System? 

Implementing an account system in restaurant can be hectic task, and it is best if you leave it upto the experts. Hence, while you are on your quest to improvise the restaurant’s operations or setting up new operations, here’s how you can implement a restaurant’s accounting system. 

• Hire an experienced accountant. 

Accounting is a diversified task, and it is best if you hire experienced accountant who brings knowledge to the table. Keeping an accurate financial records is important, and your team of accountants will keep a tab on all the finances. Besides, a clean and detailed records will assist in simplifying the tax filing procedure. You can avoid any implication associated with tax, and you do not have cross the finances in detail if you have someone experienced and you trust in the team. 

• Choose your accounting method. 

It is essential to choose your accounting method, whether you want to go with single-entry or double-entry to manage the books. It is advisable to go with double-entry because you will have to manage the inventory as well. Also, consider whether you want to go with accrual or cash accounting. Accrual accounting is better because it gives the most accurate picture for your finances and allows to track the records and transactions in real-time.

• Select the right accounting software. 

Accounting software makes it easy for accountants to manage the finances. Gone are the days when accountants used to spend hours and hours to create financial logs and invoices using pen and paper. The robust and operations-aligned accounting software will assist in creating custom invoices and quotes, automatically calculating payrolls, create profit&loss statements, managing cash flow, evaluating daily food costs, and uploading vendor invoices to pay them digitally. 

A right software will simplify the accounting process and reduces the errors that might happen when donne manually. Also, some softwares can be integrated with other business softwares and businesses can get insights about their finances, so right steps can be taken to increase profitability.  

• Select a Point-of-Sale (POS) system. 

Ensure that you have a POS system, which includes hardware and software, to manage cash and credit transactions, send receipts, track inventory, and create reports on other details. A POS system can be integrated with accounting software, and there is no need to manually enter all the figures or values to create financial logs. The data will flow easily from the POS to the accounting system. 

Key Features of Restaurant’s Accounting Software 

A restaurant’s accounting software reduces errors and increases efficiency and accuracy. Here are some important features that your accounting software should have. 

1. The cash management feature provides a 360-degree view of money flow and current cash position and on-the-fly access to bank and credit card data. The integration with the bank provides real-time cash availability data so you can submit payments on time. 
2. The accounts receivable feature manages collections, generates and sends invoices, and defines credit terms easily and quickly. You can check the status of receivables anytime and shorten the credit-to-cash cycle. 
3. The accounts payable feature allows you to automate processes like matching invoices to vendors and purchase orders to improve data accuracy. You also have complete control over the procure-to-pay process, from approving to paying supplier invoices. 
4. Every accounting software is incomplete with tax management features. The software should have an easy-to-use dashboard where you can manage your domestic and global taxes. 
5. Also, there should be a close management feature that helps the managers with the financial close by automating the processes to ensure that the statements are accurate and correct. 
6. The software should also have a payroll management feature, which should include options like paying employees daily, direct deposit, leave management, calculating pay for overtime, and much more. 

Another essential feature that accounting software should have is integration with Point-of-Sale and Back-of-Office systems. Data from different sources can be synced which increases accuracy in financial reporting. 

You also need to take into consideration the ease of use of the software and whether it will be accessible to all your staff members. It is also important to evaluate the support service and training materials offered by the software to ensure you have an uninterrupted experience. 

Ensuring that your accounting software safeguards your data, complies with industry norms and standards, and allows for secure user access is critical to protecting your company’s financial integrity and reputation. Effective restaurant accounting software should include strong data encryption and backup tools to safeguard your sensitive financial data. Additionally, it should also offer anti-malware protection and provide automated data backup. By implementing such secure practices, you can also contribute to improving restaurant operations management, enhancing both efficiency and security within your business operations.

Common Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Restaurant accounting software comes with several challenges of its own as well. These include technical Issues, difficulty for the staff to use the softwares, inaccurate data input, and more. Let’s take a look at some of these common issues when using restaurant accounting software and how they can be mitigated. 

• Technical Issues

Common technical Issues such as system lag, update issues, system compatibility, software crashes, and slow performance are common technical issues most users will face. These lead to erroneous accounts and cause delays in the financial reports. To properly manage issues, software must provide good troubleshooting options throughout, and access to customer assistance should be simple and rapid.

• Staff Resistance

Due to a fear of change, unfamiliarity with the software, and the difficulty of using complex software, your staff may resist using the accounting software. To ensure minimal staff resistance, effective training sessions can be implemented to allow familiarity with using the software. Additionally, creating incentive-based training programs can encourage your staff to proactively participate in the training session and effectively adopt the software into their workflow. 

• Data Accuracy

Ensuring data correctness is critical for dependable and efficient financial management. Some common issues that lead to data inaccuracy include human errors in data entry and ineffective data maintenance. To address these issues, a proper process should be created, including double-checking and proofreading. Staff training to ensure there are fewer data errors is also beneficial. Software should include capabilities such as data sync and real-time reporting to improve accuracy and keep financial management dependable and updated.

The Bottom Line

Once you’ve evaluated all of the crucial aspects, it’s time to make a decision. Your decision should be based on an understanding of the type of accounting software that will best meet your company’s demands. You can take numerous techniques to guarantee that the software you purchase is the best fit for your company:

1. Read restaurant accounting software reviews to learn what others are saying about the software.
2. Consult with other restaurant owners and managers to see what they are utilizing and how efficient it is in meeting their business needs.
3. Consult with your accountant to find out which software they recommend or what they think about your software selection.

You should only proceed with the purchase of restaurant accounting software if you are confident in your decision.