Restaurant Accounting Services: Restaurant Industry Analysis
Restaurant accounting services work best when they reflect how thin restaurant margins can be. In the video below, our team summarises IBISWorld’s report on restaurants in Australia. It covers industry performance, changes in how people dine and the cost pressures owners face.
Tax and compliance issues for restaurants
A restaurant pays wages every week, buys stock daily and collects most revenue at the point of sale. As a result, small errors in payroll or GST add up quickly.
- Awards: restaurant staff are generally covered by the Restaurant Industry Award. Penalty rates, casual loadings and split shifts make award compliance one of the biggest risks in the industry.
- GST on food: food and drink for consumption on the premises is taxable, and so is hot food. The ATO explains the rules in its guide to taxable food. Point-of-sale settings therefore need to match the menu.
- Payday Super: from 1 July 2026, super must reach each employee’s fund within 7 business days of payday. For a weekly payroll, this means paying super every week.
- Super guarantee: the rate is currently 12% of ordinary time earnings.
Benchmarks: how restaurant accounting services test your numbers
The ATO publishes small business benchmarks for restaurants. It treats cost of sales to turnover as the key benchmark for the industry. It also publishes ranges for labour, rent and total expenses against turnover.
We use these ratios in two ways. First, they show whether food costs and wages are under control. Second, results well outside the range can attract ATO attention. Consequently, it is better to understand any gap before a review starts.
How Quantum House supports restaurants
- Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and point-of-sale reconciliation through our Sydney accounting services.
- Menu costing and weekly cash flow reporting through our outsourced CFO services.
- Specialist advice for cafés, bars and restaurants, set out on our hospitality accountant page.
- Practical guidance in our article on accounting for hospitality businesses.
If you need restaurant accounting services in Sydney, contact our team.