My pizzeria has been reopened for just over 7 months. We are doing amazingly well, yet I am a little uncertain if it is better to wait to increase my salary???
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
easy, pay yourself a lump sum bonus. For any business that has a short track record it is better to have a low salary and top it up with bonuses.
Nice to hear you’re doing amazingly well, why don;t you share some of the background and tips on why you think things have gone amazingly well. Its great to hear success stories we seem to get so few at the moment.
Wiz
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
My accountant told me to group together all the home bills that I pay on a monthly basis, and add just a little bit more for spending cash…. Then towards the end of the year or whenever you need it, give yourself a bonus.
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
Thanks fo the quick response! To be perfectly honest with you, I am convinced that our authentic Brooklyn-style pizza is the key to our success. Our customers seem to appreciate that our pizzas are the same every time they order…just the way they ordered it. The obvious down side to this is that I, along with my younger brother are the only two capable of making pizza in our shop. Lately we’ve been looking to hire a full-time pizza maker, but it’s proving to be a pretty daunting task. The main thing that separates our pizzeria from the rest of the local competition in the area is that I have always made it my top priority to learn my customers’ names - both first and last. This was basically my way of making up for my lack of talent when I first started making pizzas/managing. Our background is pretty average…so here it is. I began washing dishes at the old age of 17 for my former step-father when he was the owner. Form dishwashing I progressed to a driver…hello tips!!! This forced me to realize that if you can make a total stranger like you, especially with a delicious pizza in your hand, getting them to tip better was easy! By the time I learned to make pizza, I already had a following… the only difference being that they now had to come in to the shop to chat - can you say cha ching?! Get your customers to think of you as family and the word spreads like fire! At 27, I now look at things in a slightly different light. I’d love to open another place, but I worry that if I’m not there to oversee every order, I won’t be able to have the same luck. Any other questions and I’ll be happy to help! GOOD LUCK
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
I take salary every week, then @ the year end, i take S-Corp dividends.
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
same here
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
FamousPizza,
I think your gunna need Gregsters help with the quote feature 
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
how do s corp dividens work? whas the rule about them
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
profits flow directly to your personal return based on your % of shares owned…so if your S-Corp has $100K profit and you are a 50/50 owner you will get an S-Corp didvidend in the amount of $50K…it is set up to avoid double taxation
Re: how much should I be paying myself???
Your basically having your Store avoid paying Soc Security & Medicare on the profits. On $100K profit with Perrys example, The store saves thousands.