The Daily Sales Method

As we continue our conversation on Daily Sales and how important it is for your restaurant to capture the most important information…the restaurant’s sales! Let’s recap….daily sales are simply sales that occur daily in your restaurant. If you have a POS (Point-of-Sale) system, you must close out each day to ensure you have received all cash and to tell your credit card processors that the day is done and it is time to send the money.

The daily sales report is your quintessential end-of-day report that measures costs, sales, and future sales. Revenue (sales, tax, tips, and credit card fees) are reconciled against settlement (accounts receivable, cash and credit card deposits, discounts and coupons, gift certificates redeemed). The result is either cash over or short – but in an ideal world, you’re at zero.

There certainly are restaurants that record the sales weekly but truthfully we feel you should record daily as the POS tips, credit cards, and cash are all on a daily cycle. The easiest way to record this is with the QuickbBooks Online system.

Although it does seem complex since customers may be paying you with cash, credit card, or even a gift card to purchase food or drinks or even merchandise…but we can create a system for recording this each day. There are also tips that may have to be considered….did the customer pay the tip with cash or a credit card? Again…it can be a lot... but putting all this info in a journal entry each day makes it manageable.

If you aren’t sure yet what a journal entry is yet..it is basically the root of double-entry accounting. It is an accounting entry where an account in your Chart of Account is debited and similarly, an account from the Chart of Account is credited. So basically the debit and credit totals must equal each other.

Here is an example of what a Daily Sales Journal Entry looks like in QuickBooks Online:

Need help recording your daily sales?

Ready to transform your restaurant's finances? Whether you need Monthly Bookkeeping, a Catch-up Bookkeeping service, or want to embark on our DIY Bookkeeping Course, we've got you covered. Have questions or need more information? Don't hesitate to reach out. Let's talk about how we can support your business. Schedule your FREE 15-Minute Call today and let's get started on your path to stress-free bookkeeping!