Restaurant accountant in Winnipeg

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.

Owners with a food production side should also read the Winnipeg manufacturer page. The Winnipeg accountant page covers the wider Manitoba picture.

Two sales taxes on one bill

Manitoba does not harmonize: a restaurant charges 5% GST to the CRA and may also charge 7% retail sales tax, registered and filed separately with Manitoba Finance. RST on prepared meals and liquor depends on the item and sale, so each POS button needs the right tax.

RST also hits purchases: equipment, smallwares and supplies can carry it; ingredients in meals you sell generally do not. Most compliance work is filing both returns on time from one set of numbers. GST filing in Winnipeg covers the federal side, and the Manitoba tax facts page the rates.

Tips on a Manitoba payroll

Card tips paid through payroll and house pools are generally controlled tips, with income tax, CPP and EI withheld; cash given straight to a server is reported by the employee. With most bills paid by card, payroll settings must handle more tips than before.

Restaurant staff are covered by WCB Manitoba, and once annual payroll passes the exemption the Health and Post-Secondary Education Tax Levy applies. A group with two or three locations can cross that threshold together. The tip reporting guide and payroll in Winnipeg cover the detail.

Turnover costs payroll time: a prompt record of employment, vacation pay on the final cheque, and a T4 next February for someone gone since May, doubled by spring hiring and autumn layoffs. The record of employment guide and the vacation pay guide cover the steps that slip.

Closing the till so it matches the bank

Every shift ends with a cash-out: float and drawer counted, card batches settled, an over or short recorded. Logged nightly, those small numbers make the monthly books believable; skipped, they turn the year-end reconciliation into guesswork.

We match POS totals, processor settlements, delivery app remittances and bank deposits each week, with each source recorded gross and its fees shown separately. A pattern of shortages on one shift shows up in weeks rather than at year-end. Bookkeeping in Winnipeg explains how the monthly service runs.

Food cost when supply lines are long

Winnipeg is far from most of the country’s produce, and winter prices show it: a menu costed in August can lose money by February. Monthly counts and current supplier prices keep food cost manageable.

We code purchases by category, report food, beverage and labour cost monthly, and flag the items whose margin has slipped. The inventory count guide covers what the year-end count must support.

Patio season pays for February

Patios, festivals and tourists carry the year, then the cold settles in. GST and RST, source deductions and rent fall due regardless, so lasting restaurants set tax money aside in July. The seasonal cash flow guide shows a simple method.

What EverStone handles for you

One firm, one fixed fee agreed up front:

• T2 corporate return and year-end financial statements
• GST and RST set up in the POS and filed separately
• Payroll with tips, WCB Manitoba and the payroll levy
• Weekly till, processor and bank reconciliation
• Monthly food, beverage and labour cost reporting
• Cash flow planning around the seasons

Fixed fees, fully online

EverStone works with Winnipeg restaurants entirely online. Monthly bookkeeping starts from $325 a month with GST filing included, and the fee is fixed before work begins. See what it costs.

Remote restaurant accounting

EverStone, a fully virtual CPA firm, serves Winnipeg businesses online. There is no Winnipeg office and no local staff. Meetings are by video or phone, documents move securely, and cash-outs, tips and invoices come from your POS and payroll systems.