Vine Solutions Presents: Every Day Value, The Restaurant Accounting and Operations Blog » Restaurant Finances

The Business of Food: Controlling your Costs

Vine Admin — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:53:57 +0000

People love eating fine foods, and this country is full of fantastic restaurants which strive to fulfill the palettes of these culinary aficionados. However, the high-end restaurant industry is finding that with the current economic conditions, customers are eating out less – especially in the fine-dining business. There has been a noticeable decline in check averages and sale, yet prices for commodities are still high along with minimum wage and benefits costs. How does a restaurateur balance their desire to serve the best cuisine while also maintaining a tightly run restaurant?

First and foremost, restaurateurs must not forget that they are a business in need of strong financial management. Focus must be put on gaining timely financial information in order to make smart operational decisions. John Priest, VP of Operations at Vine Solutions, Inc. says, “Focus must be put on curbing excess spending and re-evaluating current operations. Food and beverage costs have to be adjusted to be financially sound.”

Although every restaurant strives to have creative dishes, menu planning must focus on the cost of the ingredients. Each recipe placed on a menu must be individually costed out beforehand. Chefs should also try to include using all parts of the ingredients in their dishes. Waste management should be focused on not only for environmental purposes but also to eliminate unnecessary spending. Special focus needs to be spent on labor costs – especially back of house costs. Weekly schedules also need to be costed out and significant overtime must be eliminated.

Through the next few years, some restaurants will not survive and others will. Old favorites will close, and new endeavors will open. Great food and great restaurants can be inspirational to everyone, and because of this, the culinary world is a resilient world. “Restaurants need to understand that it is going to be a tough road, with many hard decisions to be made,” Priest states, “however, those who come out on the other side of this will be stronger, more confident, and more prosperous than ever.”

Vine Solutions, Inc. was incorporated in 1996 and has offices in Corte Madera and Santa Monica, California. Vine Solutions, Inc., provides accounting and financial advisory services to a variety of high volume independent restaurants and regional chains. For more information, e-mail Vine Solutions at info@vinesolutions.com, follow us on twitter at twitter.com/VineSolutions or read our blog at restaurantaccountingblog.com.

Focus Back on the Guest: Solutions to Handling your Restaurant Finances

Vine Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:32:05 +0000

Owning a restaurant not only takes substantial knowledge and a passion for food, but savvy business skills and strong accounting knowledge are critical to maintaining a successful operation. Many times restaurants have fantastic food and high guest counts, but suffer because of poor financial oversight. Operators have found that there are many accounting services specifically dedicated to the restaurant industry which help to efficiently manage the financial aspects of their restaurant so they can put their focus back on the food and guest experience.

The need for this type of service is evident with the amount of solutions available today, from the simple accounting software to premier outsourced accounting services. Paul Shenkman, owner of Sam’s Chowder House in Half Moon Bay, understands the need for detailed financial information. He stated that, “with Sam’s Chowder House, our challenge was managing a high-volume restaurant of significant size, where a mistake in forecasting can be significant. It’s critical for us to stay on top of our restaurant’s performance and trends, from food to beverage to employees.”

Shenkman has been using Vine Solutions, Inc. as their outsourced accounting solution and attributes their services to helping them get their reporting systems in place while also gaining, “the benefit of a team of people who understand the restaurant business and, in many cases, have been there themselves.” Owner and CEO of Vine Solutions, Edward Levine, who is also developer and principal partner of the Left Bank Brasseries, established the operation to aid his fellow restaurateurs with their financial matters. He found the need to be so great that in 1996, Levine had Vine Solutions incorporated and in 2008 opened a second office in Southern California.

John Priest, VP of Operations for Vine Solutions states, “with our system, you not only benefit from having daily invoice and vendor issues taken off your hands, but you also have access to premier reporting tools so you have can view current financial information and trends. Having this type of information helps gain a plan for the larger picture of your restaurant and future financial performance.”

SBA Loans for Struggling Small Business Owners

Vine Admin — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 18:58:13 +0000

According to the San Francisco Business Times, the Small Business Association is adding $50M for their Microloan program. This program, along with the American Recovery Capital (ARC) Loans, are available to struggling small business owners to deal with the current economic hardships. If you are thinking about applying for the ARC or Microloan programs, check out eligibility requirements and applications at http://www.sba.gov/recovery/. Both of these loans can lend struggling small business owners up to $35,000, which do not need to be paid back until a year after the final loan disbursement. These loans were created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and are fully guaranteed by the Small Business Administration. Contact the SBA district office in your state for questions about the ARC loans, lenders and other resources.