How can a CFO help my restaurant beyond bookkeeping?
A CFO focuses on menu profitability, labor efficiency, and cash flow control. Beyond recording transactions, we analyze your prime costs (food + labor), design dashboards, and build forecasts so you know exactly where profits are made — and lost.
What’s the best way to control food and beverage costs?
The foundation is recipe costing and portion control. Each menu item should have a calculated food cost percentage. A CFO helps integrate inventory systems with POS data to spot variances, reduce waste, and negotiate better vendor terms.
Should small restaurants invest in weekly financial reporting?
Yes — in hospitality, waiting for month-end closes is too late. Weekly flash reports on sales, food cost, labor cost, and cash position allow you to adjust staffing, menu mix, and promotions in real time.
Do I need separate reporting for dine-in, catering, and delivery?
Yes — each revenue stream has different margins and cost drivers. Dine-in carries higher overhead, delivery apps take large commissions, and catering often has better economies of scale. Segmented reporting helps you know where to grow.
How can I manage high labor costs without hurting service quality?
By tracking labor as a percentage of sales daily and aligning schedules with sales forecasts. A CFO can build a labor model that keeps service strong but trims wasted payroll hours.
Can a CFO help me prepare for expansion or franchising?
Absolutely. We create multi-location financial models, evaluate whether your current unit is profitable enough to replicate, and design systems for consistency. With the right financials in place, you can expand — or franchise — without draining your resources.