Monthly Bookkeeping
Ongoing reconciliation of all accounts, with categorization, bank and credit card reconciliation, and monthly financial reports. See all services
Restaurant Bookkeeping Services for Downey and SE Los Angeles
Running a restaurant is not like running a retail shop or a service business. Your money moves differently.
Sales come through a POS system that has to reconcile to your bank deposits every single day. Tips flow through payroll in ways that trigger specific reporting requirements. Food costs need to track against revenue. And California's wage and sales tax rules for restaurants carry their own layer of complexity that a general bookkeeper may not know to look for.
- QuickBooks Advanced ProAdvisor
- POS Reconciliation and Food Cost Tracking
- Bilingual: English and Spanish
J.P Bookkeeping, based in Downey, provides bookkeeping services built around the way restaurants actually operate. We work with independent restaurants, family-owned diners, food service operators, and catering businesses across Southeast Los Angeles County.
What We Handle for Restaurants
Restaurant bookkeeping covers a wider range of moving parts than most service industries. Here is what J.P Bookkeeping manages for restaurant clients.
POS Reconciliation
Your point-of-sale system reports daily sales totals, but those totals have to match what actually deposits in your bank account after credit card processing fees, voids, and refunds. We reconcile your POS reports to your bank deposits so discrepancies are caught and corrected before they compound.
Tip Income and Payroll Recordkeeping
Tip income flows through payroll in California and requires accurate recordkeeping for both the employer and employees. We maintain the records that support proper payroll reporting and year-end documentation.
Food and Beverage Cost Tracking
Food cost as a percentage of revenue is one of the core indicators of restaurant financial health. We track your cost of goods by category so you have a clear picture of food cost ratio and beverage cost ratio each month, not just a combined "cost of goods sold" line.
Sales Tax Tracking for CDTFA
California sales tax on food and beverages is not uniform. We categorize sales correctly by taxable and exempt categories so your CDTFA reporting reflects accurate numbers. See pricing
Year-End Preparation
We organize your records throughout the year so your CPA receives clean, complete financials at year-end. No reconstruction fees. No last-minute scramble.
California Rules Every Restaurant Owner Should Know
The federal rules for restaurant payroll and tip reporting are not the rules that apply in California. The differences matter for how your books are structured and what your payroll records need to show.
Daily Overtime for Hourly Staff
California calculates overtime daily, not just weekly. Any nonexempt hourly employee who works more than 8 hours in a single day earns overtime on those additional hours, regardless of how many total hours they worked that week. This is different from the federal standard, and it directly affects how payroll costs are calculated for kitchens and front-of-house staff with variable daily schedules.
California Does Not Allow a Tip Credit
Under federal law, employers in many states can pay tipped employees a reduced minimum wage and use tip income to make up the difference. California does not allow this. Every employee in California receives the full state minimum wage regardless of how much they earn in tips. Tips on top of that are additional income.
This is not a technicality. It determines what the base payroll obligation is for every tipped position on your staff, from servers to bartenders. Bookkeeping that treats California restaurant payroll like federal payroll will produce inaccurate labor cost numbers. Accurate books reflect the California base wage for every tipped employee, every pay period.
CDTFA Sales Tax on Food and Beverages
California sales tax on food and beverages depends on how the item is prepared and how it is sold. Hot prepared food sold for immediate consumption is generally taxable. Cold, unprepared food products sold for home preparation are generally exempt. Restaurants typically sell a mix of taxable and exempt items, and that distinction has to be tracked in your books for your CDTFA sales tax filings to be accurate.
Getting this wrong does not just affect the amount you remit to the CDTFA. It affects your sales records and the reconciliation between what your POS system reports and what your tax return says. Clean categorization from the start prevents correction costs later.
English and Spanish
Jimmy is bilingual in English and Spanish. The full engagement, from the first consultation through monthly reporting, is available in whichever language works best for you. Many family-owned restaurants in the Downey and Southeast Los Angeles area operate with staff and ownership who prefer to discuss finances in Spanish. No translator needed.
Servicios de contabilidad para restaurantes en el area de Downey y el Sureste del Condado de Los Angeles. Llame al (323) 816-0517.