Restaurant accountant in Prince George

For a one-owner Prince George restaurant, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $450 to $650 a month all-in. Bookkeeping on its own starts from $300 a month, with GST and PST filing included. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction, T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay, and instalments for the year ahead.

For the wider picture on tips, food cost and leaseholds, see the restaurant and hospitality accounting hub.

Feeding a highway city and its crews

Restaurants in Prince George serve a mix that shifts with the season and the economy. Downtown rooms rely on office and evening trade. Places along the highway corridors feed truckers, travellers and crews heading to camp or coming home. Takeout and catering orders follow shutdowns at the mills and the start of a project.

That makes sales lumpy in ways a southern restaurant may not see. A big catering contract can carry a slow month. A highway slowdown in deep winter can empty a dining room for weeks. The books need to show sales by channel — dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering — so you know which part of the business is carrying the rest.

GST on the meal, PST on the liquor

Restaurant meals are subject to 5% GST. In BC, prepared food is generally exempt from PST, but liquor sold in a licensed restaurant is subject to PST at its own rate. Soft drinks and some other items have their own treatment. A POS set up wrong charges the wrong tax on every bill, and the error runs for months before anyone looks.

We check the tax codes in your POS against the menu when you start, then reconcile collected tax to the returns each period. The GST return claims input tax credits on food supplies, equipment and rent. The PST return remits what was collected on liquor. The BC PST guide covers what is taxable.

Card tips and the payroll that follows

How tips flow decides how they are taxed. Tips a customer leaves on a card and the employer then pays out are generally controlled tips. They go through payroll, with income tax and CPP withheld; EI premiums depend on the arrangement. Cash tips kept directly by staff are generally the employee’s own income to report.

Tip pools and tip-outs to the kitchen add another layer. We map how tips actually move in your restaurant and set payroll up to match, so T4 slips show the right amounts. Tip reporting and payroll sets out the rules, and payroll in Prince George covers the rest of the setup.

The nightly close: POS, cash and card deposits

A restaurant’s books start every night at close. The POS reports sales, taxes, tips and payment types. Card processors deposit a net figure a day or two later, after fees. Cash goes to the bank on its own schedule. If those three are not reconciled, small differences grow into a year-end problem nobody can explain.

We set up a clearing account for card deposits, so gross sales go in, fees and deposits come out, and the balance returns to nil. Cash over and short is tracked as its own line. Delivery app payouts are handled the same way, with commissions recorded as an expense rather than netted out of sales. Why bank reconciliation matters explains the logic.

Food cost when supplies come up the highway

Most food and supplies reach Prince George by truck, and winter can delay deliveries or raise freight costs. That makes food cost harder to hold steady. Tracking it monthly, as a share of food sales, shows when a supplier price or a menu item has drifted.

We report food and beverage cost separately, with a simple month-end count of high-value stock. Liquor cost is watched closely because it carries the highest margin and the highest loss risk. Once the numbers are monthly, menu pricing becomes a decision instead of a guess. Pricing and margin analysis shows how.

Seasonal staff, stat holidays and final pay

Hospitality staffing in Prince George rises and falls with travel, events and the weather. BC Employment Standards still apply to every hire. Eligible staff earn statutory holiday pay, vacation pay is at least 4% of wages, rising to 6% after five years, and final pay is due within 48 hours when you end the job. Each departing employee with an interruption of earnings needs a Record of Employment.

We build these rules into payroll so they happen automatically. The BC stat holiday pay calculator shows how holiday pay is worked out. Final pay rules cover the end of a job.

Fit-outs, equipment and the lease

Opening or renovating a restaurant means a fit-out, kitchen equipment and usually a lease. Each has its own tax treatment. Kitchen equipment and furniture go onto the CCA schedule by class. Improvements to leased space are leasehold improvements, deducted over the lease term within the rules. A tenant allowance from the landlord affects how the cost is recorded.

Smallwares and small items can often be expensed. We sort the opening costs properly at the start, which saves a messy first year-end. CCA classes explained covers the categories.

Fixed fees, fully online

EverStone is a one-CPA firm based in Abbotsford, serving Prince George restaurants remotely. There is no Prince George office. POS reports, invoices and payroll records come in through a secure upload link or direct feeds. Questions go by email, with a video call when it helps. Your fee is fixed before any work starts, and the same CPA keeps the books, runs payroll and prepares the corporate return.