Bookkeeping for restaurants that ties every sale to the bank
Your POS reports one total, the card processor deposits another, and each delivery app pays out net of its own fees. A managed Velorus team reconciles them every weekday, records tips and payroll, and closes your month with a prime cost you can act on.
- Deposits don't match sales
- Card batches, cash drops and delivery payouts land on different days, some net of fees, so gaps against the POS total go unexplained.
- Prime cost arrives late
- Food invoices sit unentered and labor posts only at payroll, so you learn your food and labor cost weeks after you could act.
The books
What makes restaurant books different
Restaurant money moves through many hands: the POS, card processors, delivery apps, servers and vendors all touch the same day's sales.
| Area | What it involves | What the team does |
|---|---|---|
| Daily sales reconciliation | Each day's POS sales summary is matched to card processor batches, cash deposits and gift card activity, with over and short tracked by shift. | We post the daily sales entry and flag any deposit that does not match the POS. |
| Delivery app payouts | DoorDash, Uber Eats and Grubhub pay out net of commission, marketing spend, refunds and error charges, often weekly and batched across many orders. | We record sales gross, split out each fee, and flag payouts that never arrive or come up short. |
| Tips and tip pools | Card tips paid out in cash or through payroll, tip pool splits from 7shifts or the POS, and employee tip reports kept on file. | We tie tips owed to tips paid each pay period and keep tip records on file for year end. |
| Prime cost | Food and beverage cost plus total labor. It only means something when invoices are entered and labor is accrued every week. | We enter invoices as they arrive and report prime cost weekly by category. |
| Inventory and food cost | Period-end counts turn purchases into actual food and beverage cost, and the gap to theoretical cost points to waste, comps or pricing. | We post your counts, adjust cost of goods, and show category cost against sales. |
| Sales tax on mixed channels | In many states, delivery apps collect and remit sales tax as marketplace facilitators, so reporting those orders again can mean paying it twice. | We separate facilitator-collected sales so your CPA or filer can report them the way your state requires. |
What the Velorus team handles
- Daily POS sales entries matched to card batches and bank deposits
- Delivery app payouts recorded gross with commission and fees split out
- Vendor invoices entered and bills paid on the schedule you approve
- Tip payout tracking and payroll journal entries each pay period
- Bank, card and loan reconciliations every month
- Weekly prime cost and a month-end profit and loss by category
- Payroll administration support: new hire paperwork, timecard checks, tip imports
What stays with you and your CPA
- Your CPA: tax returns, the FICA tip credit on Form 8846, and tax advice
- Sales tax filings and what counts as taxable, decided with your CPA
- Tip pool rules and tipped wage decisions, set with your labor attorney
- Approving payments, menu prices and vendor terms
- Toast
- Square
- 7shifts
- MarginEdge
- Restaurant365
- QuickBooks Online
We work inside your POS, scheduling, invoice and accounting tools with the logins you provide, so the books live in your own QuickBooks Online or Restaurant365 account and stay yours.
Want the books closed on schedule every month?
Tell us where your books stand and which software you use. We will come back with the team, the close calendar we would start from, and what the first month looks like.
The calendar
Your month, closed
- Each weekday
-
Yesterday's sales, reconciled
We post POS sales summaries since the last entry, weekends included, match card batches and cash deposits, and note over and short for a manager to answer.
- Weekly
-
Invoices, payouts and prime cost
We enter vendor invoices, record delivery payouts gross with fees split out, tie tips paid to tips owed, and send prime cost by category.
- Month end
-
Counts in, books closed
We post your inventory counts, accrue unpaid labor and invoices, reconcile bank, card and loan accounts, and deliver a profit and loss by food, beverage and labor.
- Year end
-
Tip and tax records handed off
We assemble the tip, payroll and sales tax schedules your CPA and payroll provider need for W-2 tip reporting, Form 8846 and, for large establishments, Form 8027.
Every week
What your weekly report tracks.
A named Velorus manager reviews the work against the standard you signed off, and sends you one report.
-
Prime cost by week
Food, beverage and labor together, so you can adjust ordering or schedules before the month is gone.
-
Deposit variances by tender
Any gap between POS sales and money received, by card, cash and delivery app, with the open items listed.
-
Delivery app fees and adjustments
Commission, marketing spend, refunds and error charges per app, so you can see what each channel costs you.
-
Tips owed versus tips paid
Unpaid or overpaid tips caught each pay period, before they turn into payroll corrections or employee disputes.
Your options
A managed team, compared.
| Velorus managed team | In-house bookkeeper | Bookkeeping firm | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily sales reconciliation | Done by a team each weekday, reviewed weekly by a named manager | Knows the restaurant well; coverage depends on one person's time and absences | Depends on the engagement; daily work is scoped with the firm |
| Who does the work | Trained specialists under a named Velorus manager | One employee you hire and manage | Staff the firm assigns, which can change |
| When someone is out | The team covers and the close stays on schedule | The work waits, or you cover it | Depends on the firm |
| Reporting | A weekly report plus the monthly close package | Whatever you set up | Monthly statements, depending on the package |
Questions
What restaurants ask first.
What does bookkeeping for restaurants include with Velorus?
Daily POS sales entries and deposit matching, delivery app payouts recorded gross with fees split out, vendor invoices and bill pay, tip and payroll journal entries, bank and card reconciliations, and a month-end close with prime cost and a profit and loss by category. A named Velorus manager reviews the work every week against the standard we agree at scoping.
Where is the team based and what hours do they work?
Your specialists are based in the Philippines and work US hours, so questions about yesterday's deposits or a missing invoice get handled during your business day. A named Velorus manager oversees their work, reviews it every week, and is your point of contact.
Do you file sales tax or claim the FICA tip credit?
No. Filing sales tax returns, deciding what is taxable, and claiming the FICA tip credit on Form 8846 stay with your CPA or tax professional. We keep the sales, tip and payroll records they rely on, with delivery app and other facilitator-collected sales separated so they can be reported correctly.
Do you work in Toast, Square, Clover and QuickBooks Online?
Yes. The team works inside the tools you already use, with the logins you provide: your POS for sales and tip reports, 7shifts or your scheduler for labor, MarginEdge for invoices, and QuickBooks Online or Restaurant365 as the ledger. Nothing moves into a system of ours, and you can remove access whenever you choose.
See your restaurant's books reconciled and closed
Tell us your POS, delivery apps and accounting setup. We will map what the team takes on and what stays with your CPA. Book a call.