Restaurant accountant in Vernon

Restaurant bookkeeping for Vernon operators starts from $300 a month, including GST and PST returns. The year covers payroll with CPP and EI premiums, T4 slips by the end of February and input tax credits on the GST return. It also covers CCA on kitchen equipment and leaseholds, and the T2 with the small business deduction for an incorporated restaurant.

Two seasons, and the months between

The North Okanagan gives restaurants two busy seasons and two thin ones. Summer brings lake visitors and patio traffic; winter brings skiers coming down from Silver Star. Spring and November can be slow enough to change the staffing plan entirely. A smoky August in a bad wildfire year can cut the summer short. Monthly books show how much of the strong months has to be held back to carry the weak ones.

That matters most for tax. GST collected in July is owed when the return is due, not when it is convenient. Payroll remittances are due on schedule whatever the bookings look like. A restaurant that treats summer cash as profit often meets the bill in a quiet month. The seasonal cash flow guide covers the planning.

GST, PST and the food-and-liquor split

Restaurant meals carry 5% GST. In BC, most food for human consumption, including prepared meals, is exempt from PST. Liquor is different: it carries PST at a rate of its own, separate from the general 7%. The point-of-sale system has to tax each item correctly, and the books have to separate food sales from liquor sales so each return ties out. A bar tab that mixes them in one revenue line makes the PST return impossible to check.

Purchases need the same care. GST paid on supplies, equipment and rent comes back as input tax credits. PST paid on equipment and supplies is a cost. The restaurant and hospitality accounting page sets out the categories.

Tips, tip pools and payroll

How tips are handled decides their payroll treatment. Tips a customer gives directly to a server are generally not subject to CPP or EI withholding by the employer. Tips the employer controls, such as a mandatory service charge or a pool the employer allocates, are treated as wages with CPP, EI premiums and income tax withheld. The policy should be written down and matched in the payroll setup. Our guide to tip reporting in payroll explains the distinction.

Seasonal staff, stat holidays and final pay

Hiring for summer means new TD1 forms and payroll records for every server, cook and dishwasher. Letting the season go means a record of employment for each, and final wages within 48 hours when the employer ends the work. BC vacation pay is 4%, rising to 6% after five years with the same employer. Statutory holidays fall in both busy seasons, from the long weekends of summer to the holidays around the ski season, and stat pay applies to staff who qualify. Payroll services in Vernon covers the routine, and the BC stat holiday pay calculator does the sums.

POS, delivery apps and the cash drawer

Card processors and delivery apps pay out net of fees, commissions and refunds, on their own schedules. Recording the deposit as the sale understates both revenue and costs. A clearing account for each platform, with gross sales in and fees and payouts out, should return to nil each month. Cash sales need a daily close that matches the POS report. Gaps between them are where both shrinkage and audit questions start. Bank reconciliation explains why the monthly tie-out matters.

Food cost, inventory and the menu

Food and liquor are the two costs a kitchen can actually manage week to week. A monthly count of liquor and high-value food lets the books show cost of sales as a percentage of each revenue line. When that percentage drifts, the cause is usually portioning, waste, pricing or theft, and the books will not say which. They will say where to look. A year-end count of food and liquor also sets the closing inventory on the return; see inventory accounting in BC. The pricing and margin analysis page covers menu costing.

Kitchen equipment and leaseholds

Ovens, walk-ins, hoods and furniture are capital assets claimed through CCA. Improvements to leased space, such as a new bar or a patio build-out, are claimed over the lease term on their own schedule. When a restaurant changes hands, how the price is split between equipment, leaseholds and goodwill changes the tax for both sides. That split is worth agreeing in the purchase agreement, not after closing.

Remote, from Abbotsford

EverStone is a one-CPA firm based in Abbotsford, serving Vernon restaurants remotely. There is no Vernon office. POS reports, bank feeds and supplier bills arrive electronically, receipts come through a secure upload link, and payroll runs online. Questions get answered by email, outside service hours if that suits you better.