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Cash Flow. Please help with it

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boston09

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Hello all. Can someone recommend an accounting class (inperson or online) or good modern restaurant specific book or software or any insight or usefull spreadsheet on cash flow monthly or weekly statement? My issue been is that it gets kinda annoyingly hard to keep to track off cash flow as pos is not really useful and it got more complicated over the years with different sources of income (3rd parties sending deposits monthly), cash left in register end of day reduced by credit card tips given end of the day to drivers and to inhouse stuff, credit cards incoming transactions broken down between instore processed credit cards vs website processed with different days they are deposited into biz account, schools paying not at delivery but at the end of the month by a check (that i might even not deposit same month)…etc… any thoughts or guidence is welcome
ps accountant is not of much help,… want to be able to track it myself without his help…
 
No Help, but I know exactly what you mean. Its hard tp make an accuate budget, because you wont collect some of the credit card cash till the next month. And you wont know your exact CC fees until the next month due to interchange. Plus sometimes I just pull cash out of the draw to have a driver deliver a mistake.
I dont use any 3rd party stuff though. And now all CC tips for drivers go on their paychecks, but I still pay nightly for their delivery fees.
 
I haven’t seen any great classes or software that does this type of work. QuickBooks can usually get you 75% of the way there. While it may sound crazy, I don’t think you necessarily need any special classes or software for a cash flow analysis. We do this type of work in excel and have found it to be the most effective without expensive software that probably wouldn’t be needed at this time. With all of this being said, what you are looking to do is likely going to be very difficult for anyone (a CPA and shop owner alike) since you are going to be reconciling activity from many different sources (POS system, cc merchant, bank, third party delivery, etc…). The key is to convert all bank and credit card activity from “net” of fees to “gross”. You will need the POS system detail and CC merchant to help reconcile this. I would start with reconciling one day of cash flow. Start with the beginning balance, add deposits (converting net activity to gross), subtract expenses, and the ending balance should equal the ending balance in the bank for the one day. If you want to project future cash flow, this is where it can get even more difficult. You can use the POS system/third party apps to show next months deposits (for current period) less expected future expenses (ie food purchases, payroll, rent, etc…). This is all an estimate so use the best knowledge you have. I know this is frustrating, but I have worked with very large companies who have the same frustrations. What you are looking to accomplish is quite difficult. While not impossible, it will take some time and patience to reconcile the bank activity to POS, CC system, third party delivery, etc… Sorry, I wish I was of more assistance here!
 
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Restaurantowner.com has a lot of resources. My CPA used them to setup Quickbooks for his restaurant customers. I track everything sales, AR, C.C., third party transactions, on Quickbooks daily. Obviously everything needs to be balances at the end of every month
 
boston09 said:
Hello all. Can someone recommend an accounting class (inperson or online) or good modern restaurant specific book or software or any insight or usefull spreadsheet on cash flow monthly or weekly statement? My issue been is that it gets kinda annoyingly hard to keep to track off cash flow as pos is not really useful and it got more complicated over the years with different sources of income (3rd parties sending deposits monthly), cash left in register end of day reduced by credit card tips given end of the day to drivers and to inhouse stuff, credit cards incoming transactions broken down between instore processed credit cards vs website processed with different days they are deposited into biz account, schools paying not at delivery but at the end of the month by a check (that i might even not deposit same month)…etc… any thoughts or guidence is welcome
ps accountant is not of much help,… want to be able to track it myself without his help…
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I understand you might be facing some challenges with tracking your cash flow. Here are a few options that could be helpful:
  • Explore online learning: Platforms like Coursera or Udemy offer accounting courses with a focus on cash flow management. This could be a great way to gain foundational knowledge.
  • Industry-specific resources: If you’re in a particular industry, consider books like ‘Restaurant Financial Basics’ for tailored guidance.
  • Digital solutions: Accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero can streamline the process of tracking your cash flow.
 
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