Series 2: Failure Is Not An Option
Operations & Supplier Relations And Accounting
As we continue in this restaurant education series; remember that Main Auction Services is here to help you be successful. After we provide equipment to you, as owners you are pretty much on your own right? It is our hope that Best Accepted Standards can be of help to you as you proceed a pace in your business model for the restaurant, institution, or commercial facility you administrate. Education about the industry is the most critical of days we are in.
As stated in the last article, we will continue on the next set of parameters in operations and supplier relations and dive head first in accounting in today's article. All business owners hate paperwork, the foodservice is no exception; but it has to be done. If you don't understand this you will not be in business for long.
Main Auction Services is here to serve our community and provide you with what you need to be successful at what you do. A family owned and operated company for more than 35 years of combined experience in the restaurant, food service and related industries to the internet sales marketplace, we remain committed to you. Main Auction Services offers a wide variety of quality, new and used restaurant equipment, kitchen supplies, appliances, furniture and decor just to name a few things .Let's move on shall we.
Are you ordering without setting a budget? This is a definitive no no...A detailed weekly budget can make a real world difference for your total food costs. Defining a target to hit and stay within will keep costs low. You can still modify when necessary and these items can be discussed at length at your weekly team meetings. Last weeks numbers plus this weeks menu and plans means you will start off the week with a clear budget based on real numbers and this is making smart purchasing decisions.
After years of planning and attending to the smallest details do you know have a poor technology solution in place in the back or front of the house that must be addressed? The future technology must be the new normal; from managing staff to keeping track of food costs. Do not simply pick the latest and greatest tech for your restaurant just because it's cool and what everybody is doing. Disaster could linger around the corner; analysis is required and so is implementation and sound computer skills and software are a must to keep up in all aspects of your challenging restaurant.
Keep your eyes on the ball, don't expand to soon. Working from a solid well established base of operations with all the kinks worked out ahead of time is a requirement. You won't have time or money to do it twice.
Main Auction Services understands that you’ve been thinking about Restaurant Location #2 ever since you opened the doors to Location #1. Please remember if you pull the trigger too soon, not only will your new restaurant fail, but it can drag your first spot down with it by either store not making numbers work. Have a that solid business model, a bonafide marketing plan working, and community build you need to stay supported are the new best accepted practices for all restaurants in any setting be it commercial, institutional, or simply the small cafe in your closest shopping center.
Accounting: Keep It Real Every Day
Ahh accounting...method to the madness right? What if it is NOT? If you haven't set up an office, with a processor intensive fast protected computer that can upload all the latest and greatest and you are not keeping, filing, or managing invoices we need to have you pay very close attention to this area of teaching, you are already in serious trouble. Franchise or not, an office is the sane place you must go to plan, post transactions, keep track of sales, inventory, and deposit funds to take to the bank.
Go into your office right now. If you don't have one then carve out one somewhere. Now look at your desk? Is it in shambles? Are the files full of this weeks invoices, billing statements, reports and next weeks menu and ordering sheets? If you’re invoices are just laying around in a disorganized mess, it will get worse we promise. That stack of invoices on your desk will not be getting any smaller. It's so easy to every day procrastinate about getting filing done. And you come in and it feels like a dump truck just left you a whole new pile of stuff. The word automation has just become your new best friend. Process' require order. Automate your weekly, monthly, and quarterly actions. Paper files as well as digital file applications are out there. Obtain a locking cabinet to deter the fanciful bystander or breakin. Safe, secure, and easily accessible is the key point here. From your desk you should be able to access all you need.
It has been told to us some of you have skipped accounting entirely! If this is you, stop right now. If you think you can save money by not hiring a professional it is a fool's errand. Federal and State Tax laws, calculation and payment must be perfect every month. Saving money is not about just transactions, tracking sales, managing your employee files and 1099. It must be management of every aspect of this restaurant you love. If you can't or don't have the time, hire an accountant and manage food costs, inventory, software for all your process' and make sure you and at least one staff member are trained to get all the numbers to the accountant in charge. Don’t skimp where it’s important. Hire an accountant who can help your business shine.
Balance all bank statements quarterly. Do not let any Banking Charges Sit. Reconciled bank and credit card balances are delaying the inevitable if not completed in a timely fashion. Rather than leaving yourself a mess to deal with at the end of the year, set time to deal with it each month or quarterly in keeping with your quarterly filings.
What happens if you hired the wrong type of Accountant? Frame this option like this. Would you hire a chef known for his delicious pasta to work at your Mexican restaurant. Same thing goes for accountants. Critical thinking says find one that specializes in the restaurant industry. You want your accountant to have a firm grip on the problems your business faces as soon as they are recognized.
Cash. Cash. and More Cash. If you are only managing cash flow daily, you do not and what's more will not have a clear short and long term picture of your business revenues. You can focus on accrual based accounting and realistic becomes knowledge of income and expenses over time. Set it up to be an asset in your operations.
Meeting monthly with your accounting firm for reviews. When you use a monthly accounting period, it contrasts the weekly cycles that you use for finances. It’s smarter to use a 4-week accounting cycle and then you will have 13 4-week periods. Each one is 28 days, and the ultimate knowledge will yield relevant period comparisons on your profit and loss statements. Seeing changes that need to be made in real time can keep your doors open everyday and also make sure you are well supplied serving the quality menu you serve.
Money when it is needed. The best of all worlds in running your restaurant as a business. After all if you don't or can't and you don't hire someone to take care of it, over time you will fail. Invest now in sound business practices and you will be successful.
Next time the holy grail of all restaurants "Inventory". Stay tuned up and reach out to the community that supports you. Fresh, delicious, prepared to perfection is your daily goal. The Never Fail constant nobody likes to discuss.
Do you need to buy or sell one piece, or the contents of an entire restaurant? Main Auction Services is your resource for late-model restaurant, bakery and bar equipment. Call today to speak with a restaurant equipment specialist.
For your convenience, we invite you to our showrooms. 1718 West Main Street • Grand Prairie, Texas 75050 • 972-642-0513 12922 Hempstead Hwy • Houston, Texas 77040 • 713-690-1231 2100 E Union Bower Road • Irving, Texas 75061 • 972-579-4612
