The 5 Best Restaurant Accounting Software That Will Steer You Towards Profits

What is Restaurant Accounting Software?

Businesses use accounting software to track their income and expenses. In the tremendously competitive food industry, restaurant owners need to monitor their operational and administrative activities closely. A robust accounting system collects, reports, and analyzes financial data. Accounting software is a vital prerequisite for running a restaurant, helping it meet the rising demand for accurate financial information.

The restaurant accounting software of today is a cloud based, on-premises, or hybrid accounting solution that includes enterprise-level functions like payroll management, human resource management (HRM), and point of sale systems that track real time cost, cash flow, and accounts payable and receivable. In addition, it sends and receives invoices, helps with inventory management, pricing menus, processing taxes, producing reports, and streamlining accounting.

How to Choose the Right Accounting Software System

Choosing the right accounting software system for a restaurant isn't easy. Many factors come into play, the most prominent being the size of your business and the customer traffic it receives. Many cloud basedaccounting software packages are available in the market, each with unique features and benefits to keep a business's finances under control.

Here are five factors to consider before making a purchase-

Check your business requirements- Before you click 'add to cart' on that new accounting software, take a step back and consider your restaurant business needs. For example, do you need a program to track inventory, calculate recipe costs, raise an invoice, or track sales records from past years? Are you looking for a software that can take care of payroll, budgeting, or tax reporting? Once you identify the set of features your business requires, it will be easy to find the right software package that meets all your requirements at once.

Analyze prices based on your budget- Budgeting for new software can be challenging when you don't know where to start. You'll want to consider not just the price of the software and subscription charges, but also what factors influence the cost. Accounting software packages can vary greatly in price, so compare options and make an informed decision.

Ability to securely integrate with bank accounts and POS systems- Before investing in a restaurant accounting software, ensure that it is cloud-based, flexible enough to integrate with your bank and Pos System, and can provide data protection. If the software is compatible with your bank account, allows easy data transfer between systems, and has features like Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and encryption, it will automatically download new transactions, protect your data from misuse or theft, work flawlessly with your POS, and save you time.

Compatibility with the back office systems- Restaurant accounting software should help update and automate all accounting and bookkeeping-related restaurant transactions. The best accounting software for restaurants streamlines the bank reconciliation process and provide customers with multiple ways of online payment.

After-sales support- Proper after-sales support is key to a smoothly running restaurant. Besides, accounting software should offer good tutorial videos to help you set it up yourself and to acquaint you with its features.

Let's have a look at five of the best restaurant accounting software in the market today.

Restaurant Accounting Software No. 1 - Restaurant 365

Restaurant365 is a comprehensive, cloud-based accounting software package for restaurant businesses of all sizes. It offers the following features-

1. Automated accounts payable process, from capturing invoices to approving workflows, with cost-effective payment options and freedom to choose 13 four-week accounting cycles.
   
2. The automated bank reconciliation feature helps with general ledger control, location tracking per account, and financial budgets.
   
3. Tracks lifetime costs of all your fixed assets, including property, kitchen equipment, furniture, fixture, etc. It also tracks construction costs and store-by-store asset costs.
   
4. Budgeting and sales forecasting for multiple outlets at different locations simultaneously. It not only sets data-driven goals and monitors progress, but also forecasts by revenue center.
   
5. It offers inventory management, employee scheduling, Labor Cost optimization tools, real-time reporting software, and payroll and HR options.
   
6. It directly integrates over 100 main POS systems without additional charge.

• Core Operations- $289 monthly per location, billed annually
  
• Core Accounting- $289 monthly per location, billed annually
  
• Essential- $399 monthly per location billed annually, or $444 monthly if billed quarterly
  
• Professional- $489 monthly per location, billed annually, or $539 monthly if billed quarterly.
  

Restaurant Accounting Software No. 2 - Food Service Ace

Mobile restaurant management platform Food Service Ace is a cloud-based system that helps restaurants increase profitability by automating accounting and management tasks. It provides an integrated suite of apps that handle central supply chain management, logistics, and delivery, and it integrates effortlessly with your existing employee time and attendance (TNA) systems and point-of-sale systems. Some of its other features are-

1. Workflow management to help back-office staff manage orders, receipts, and inventory efficiently with necessary notifications.
   
2. Accounting for bank reconciliation accounts payable and accounts receivable.
   
3. Catering management module to create proposals for clients and to track inventory and overall catering costs. It also takes care of invoices, advances, and deposits.
   
4. Commissary distribution and production.
   
5. Sales forecasting and profit and loss reporting at the unit level.
   
6. Food cost and nutritional value management.
   

• Secure and dedicated database logins.
  
• Complete data backup.
  
• Access to regular software upgrades.
  
• 24/7 customer care assistance.
  

Restaurant Accounting Software No. 3 - Altametrics

If you are looking for a restaurant accounting solution to handle your cash management, sales reporting, and accounting needs, Altametrics is a good choice. This accounting platform is part of the suite of restaurant management tools Altametrics offers. Here are some of its features-

1. Automated accounts payable helps companies reduce the time needed to approve invoices and workflows. This, in turn, helps to improve a company's bottomline by providing more cost-effective payment options.
2. This software solution reconciles your cash drawers and server banks, records bank balances, and prepares your bank deposits.
3. The automated bank reconciliation feature is designed to help you better track your finances and budget and reconcile your accounts quickly and easily.
4. It has an easy to use interface.
5. It helps you discover key insights from billions of records in real time.
6. Its advanced capabilities allow you to integrate directly into your smart safes.
7. Altametrics' virtual decision-making coach, Simon, can guide you through every step of the accounting. You have someone to rely on who knows the ins and outs of the process.
8. This product helps you stop theft before it happens. Its loss prevention feature constantly monitors your business, allowing you to focus on other aspects.
9. The Anyconnector Integration Tool makes it easy to integrate with your existing environment and use all the software you already have. This makes it simple to get started and saves you time.

Restaurant Accounting Software No. 4 - QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online is an affordable accounting solution for restaurant owners who have no accounting or bookkeeping experience and want to manage their books independently. It is easy to use, integrates smoothly with your banks, and is compatible with almost all major POS systems. However, the setup and customization of this software may take time, since it is not restaurant-specific.
It has plenty of features, including-

1. Inventory tracking- It tracks the products and cost of goods and receives notifications when inventory is low. It tells you what's popular among all your menu items, creates purchase orders, and manages vendors. You can also easily import your data from Excel or simply sync with e-commerce portals like Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, etc.
   
2. Invoice and accept payments- If you want to look more professional and get paid quicker, you should try QuickBooks Online for its ability to accept all credit cards and bank transfers. It tracks invoice status, sends payment reminders, and automatically matches payments to invoices. In addition, it generates unlimited customized invoices with your logo that you can send to your clients/ vendors from any device.
   
3. Maximize tax deductions- To avoid any tax-time surprises, QuickBooks Online allows you to share your books with your accountant or export important documents during tax time. It also organizes income and expenses into tax categories easily. It sorts your business expenses into the right tax categories to help you keep more of what you earn.
4. It also provides add-on payroll services, cloud accounting, data backup, miles tracking, project profitability tracking, receipt organization, customized access by role, sales tax tracking, bills, employee management, online training, automated workflow, time tracking, and app integration with over 300 apps like LeanLaw, HubSpot, Docusign, Bill.com, Salesforce, Centage, etc.
   
5. It incorporates various accounting processes into one user-friendly system. With mobile apps, multiple users, and free unlimited support help, QuickBooks Online is an extremely competitive product. In addition, this accounting platform is scalable, secure, and easy to share with your accountant.
   
6. Enhanced reports- It creates detailed reports on up to 40 tracking categories, depending on your requirements. There are various reporting options available on a single dashboard, for different plansSimple Start- for general expenses, balance sheet, and profit and loss reports; Plus- for inventory, enhanced sales, class, and profitability reports; and Advanced- for crucial financial metrics such as cash flow and revenue.
   

• Simple Start- $30 per month for one user
  
• Plus- $85 per month for up to five users
  
• Advanced- $200 per month for up to 25 users
  

Restaurant Accounting Software No. 5 - Xero

Xero is a cloud-based accounting program best suited for small businesses that want to streamline functions like invoicing, bank reconciliation, purchases, expenses, and inventory management, at an economical price. The best part about Xero is that anyone can use it without accounting or bookkeeping knowledge. Xero integrates with Gusto for payroll processing, making it easy to pay employees, and can be integrated with banking and POS systems too.

Some of its features include-

1. Banking- You may choose not to integrate your cards or bank accounts, and may want to manually account for your cash transactions. A bank feed isn't required, but is possible with Xero's banking and cash management system. In addition, it is possible to set up different cash accounts, reconcile bank statements, and print checks with this software.
   
2. Inventory management- It provides a comprehensive inventory management system that lets you add items, track purchase orders, view inventory costs, account for the cost of goods sold, and check inventory levels.
   
3. Fixed asset management- There is a fixed asset management component that keeps records of your fixed assets, computes depreciation, and records asset disposals.
   
4. Companies with a large accounting staff- You can add as many users as you like with this accounting software.
   
5. Accounts payable management- As a complete accounting software, the accounts payable management of Xero has basic and advanced features like recording vendor credits and independent contractor billings.
   
6. Third-party software integration- It offers great third-party software services because of its ability to integrate with over 800 apps easily. With Xero, businesses can easily integrate with apps like PayPal and Square, making it a versatile and easy-to-use option for businesses of all sizes. It also offers a mobile app and real-time reporting.
   

• The $12 monthly plan is called Early and includes 20 invoices, five bill entries, reconciles bank transactions, and captures bills and receipts suitable for sole traders, new businesses, and the self-employed.
  
• Invoices, receipts, bills, and unlimited bank transaction reconciliation are all included in the Growing plan for $34 per month.
  
• The Established plan costs $65 per month, which includes multi-currency reports, expenses, and project management.