Restaurant accountant in Vancouver

For a one-owner Vancouver restaurant, monthly bookkeeping, payroll and the year-end T2 with statements usually cost from $500 to $700 a month all-in. The year-end covers the T2 with Schedule 1 and Schedule 50, the CCA schedule, the small business deduction, T4 or T5 slips for the owner’s pay, and the instalments for the year ahead.

For the national picture on tips, food cost and leaseholds, see the restaurant and hospitality accounting hub. Operators in Ontario can compare the where one harmonized tax replaces the two BC taxes.

GST on the meal, PST on the wine

BC splits the bill: GST at 5% applies to prepared food and drinks; BC PST generally applies to liquor, not food. Code each POS item right: a cocktail coded as food under-collects PST; a dessert coded as liquor overcharges. So, do restaurants charge PST in BC? Generally on liquor but not on the food, which is why every menu item needs the right tax code.

Both returns (GST to the CRA, PST to the BC Ministry of Finance) must agree with the POS sales report. Recheck categories after every menu change; see the BC PST guide. The tax on restaurant food in BC is GST at 5%, reported to the CRA, while the PST on liquor goes to the BC Ministry of Finance.

Card tips and the payroll that follows

Most Vancouver guests tip by card, so tips pass through the restaurant’s account first. Tips the employer controls (setting the pool or deciding who gets what) are generally employment income through payroll; tips passed straight from guest to server are treated differently. The tip reporting guide explains the line.

Getting it wrong leaves source deductions unremitted, and penalties attach to the deduction itself. BC payroll adds WorkSafeBC premiums and, above the exemption, the Employer Health Tax. Turnover multiplies the records of employment and T4s due by the last day of February. See payroll services in Vancouver.

The nightly close: POS, cash and card deposits

The daily POS close drives the books: sales by category, taxes, tips, comps and payment type. Card settlements land a day or two later net of fees; cash goes from drawer to safe to bank. Unless all three tie weekly, the monthly books are guesses.

Each day’s POS summary is one entry; card deposits are matched with fees recorded gross, and cash variances show by shift. For delivery platforms, record the gross sale and commission, not the net payout. See bookkeeping in Vancouver.

Food cost in a city with high rent

With Vancouver rents, food and beverage cost is the number you can move weekly through purchasing, portioning and pricing, if purchases are coded correctly and inventory is counted at least monthly. A cost first seen at year-end changes nothing. The job and product margin work page shows how pricing and cost fit.

Fixed costs make cash tight: rent, payroll and suppliers run on their own cycles, and a quiet February does not shrink them. GST, PST and source deductions collected in a busy month belong to government; move them to a separate account as collected. The payroll remittance calendar shows when each deduction is due.

Fit-outs, equipment and the lease

Kitchen equipment and the build-out are capital: equipment through CCA by class, leasehold improvements spread over the lease. A renovation just before or after year-end changes the first year’s claim, so talk to your accountant before signing. The CCA classes guide covers the basics.

If you are changing accountants partway through a lease or a renovation, the asset schedules move with the file. EverStone requests the prior working papers and the last filed return so the opening balances are right. See switching accountants.

What EverStone handles for you

One firm, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• Daily POS, card and cash reconciliation
• GST and BC PST returns tied to the POS
• Payroll with tip treatment, WorkSafeBC and year-end slips
• Food and beverage cost reported monthly
• Equipment and leasehold improvement schedules
• T2 corporate return and year-end statements

Fixed fees, fully online

Questions sent after close are usually answered before the next lunch service. Monthly bookkeeping starts from $325 a month with GST filing included; payroll and the year-end are added to a fixed monthly fee. See what it costs.

Remote restaurant accounting

EverStone is a CPA firm serving Vancouver owners online. There is no Vancouver office and no local staff. We meet by video or phone, documents arrive by secure upload and e-signature, and daily sales, tips and food cost come from your existing POS and payroll systems.