Allow me to give you a litte background first. I’ve always managed corporte pizza shops in the past. A couple weeks after a period ended I’d get a nice tidy P&L. I never had to keep track of income and expenditures. I know how to read it, to break it down and tear it apart. I have all the necessary info, I just don’t know the best way to put it together.
When my partner and I bought into this franchise I thought that I would be able to throw the info together and turn out that same tidy P&L. We’ve been open for 5 months now and I am exactly 5 months behind on keeping track of this stuff. I just feel overwelmed with these waves(weeks) of info.
I’d love to hear about a system or program that you guys use. Obviously, it’s pretty important to know if you’re making or losing money after each month.
I know we must be doing ok since none of our checks have bounced just yet. Kidding.
That’s sooo friggin funny you just posted that 'cause I just spent 3 1/2 hours at my accountants house LAST NIGHT because the P&L’s are completely bogus.
I’m pretty much in the same boat: Manager, Area Supervisor, Director of Operations, etc… but never franchisee with my own accountant until this year. And now, it’s end of year stuff, and he’s totally over his head because I want my P&L’s done a certain way (the EBITDA format). So, a word to the wise:
Get an accountant. No WAY in Hell would you want to wish this on your worst enemy.
Establish a system of how you want things done and make him stick to it with deadlines until it becomes habit.
As far as the P&L’s go, I told my accountant if the bill has a date, that’s the month it should be entered into the P&L. Let the balance sheets and cash flow statements cancel out all unpaid bills.
If you’re doing it yourself, creating a P&L isn’t too hard. Just use excel spreadsheets (unless, of course, you want to go buy the accountant software). The hardest part of the whole thing is setting it up and fine tuning it. After that it’s just data entry.
I hate to shill for software company, but get a copy of QuickBooks ™ or some similar package and hage it surgically implated in yor soul. These accounting programs are really good for us indfependents, whichever program you use.
POS should export data down for you. Your POS company should be able to tell you who is compatible with your system. I am going to my accountant tomorrow night for the third revision of our accounting systemin three years. PArtly because we did the first two ourselves without an accountant to help us, and second because we are about to expand and complicate our operation with beer/wine, and an enhanced sit-down concept.
Accounting software will accet online banking data from a download, integrate all sorts of things, depending on what modules you get (pay for).
Kidding.