Keep your Hands Clean and your Numbers in Tidy
How to Serve up Success in your Hospitality Business.
You want to keep your profits up, your costs down and the customer happy. It’s a constant juggle between negotiating with suppliers, keeping your staff happy and providing a top of the line service. Operating a hospitality business is no small task. Let’s take a look at some quick things you can do to keep the stress at bay and your business humming.
The biggest mistake we see
The biggest mistake you can make in hospitality is letting your bookkeeping get away from you. We get it - you didn’t go into business to have your head buried in paperwork, but the truth is, the longer you leave it, the worse it becomes (stress, ew and no thanks). The only way to really know how your business is performing is to know where your money is going, and where the money is being made.
We like to use Hubdoc, which integrates beautifully with Xero to help us manage the receipts and bookkeeping. Taking a quick shot of your receipt and emailing it through to Hubdoc can eliminate a lot of mess and stress.
If you want to stay ahead and in the green with your business, you need to be up to date on your bookkeeping. Consider using a bookkeeper, or an accountant (US) who can work with you on this.
Keep your labour costs under control
Working with people is always a challenge and keeping your team happy and productive will make a big difference to your bottom line.
Make sure your teams are scheduled based on predicted needs and demand. You will need to be taking into account seasonality, weather, days of the week and special events. Making these predictions can be a challenge but the longer you’re in business the more patterns you’ll notice.
If the *actual* demand doesn't end up matching what you had predicted be ready to make changes on the fly for your casual team members.
Monitoring overtime and penalty rates closely will help minimise costs. Pay attention to these nuances to control this particular expenditure. Keeping a close eye on the payroll will help and specific reports can be generated in Xero to keep this in check.
We would also recommend considering cross training your employees to perform multiple roles and tasks. This will allow for greater flexibility in scheduling and will reduce the need for additional team members during peak times.
Your team are your eyes and ears in the business. It will be important to your operation to have an open dialogue. If you can encourage your team to communicate and give honest feedback, you’ll often find quick ways to reduce costs and do things more efficiently.
Tips for keeping your costs of goods sold under control
Regularly review and negotiate pricing with suppliers to ensure you are getting the best possible rates for ingredients, beverages, and other goods. Consider establishing long-term contracts with suppliers, this can be a great way to keep the price down.
Identify your high-profit margin items and promote them aggressively. You could also consider adjusting portion sizes, pricing, and menu offerings to maximise profitability while meeting customer demand.
Implement strategies to minimise food waste, such as proper portion control, careful inventory management, and creative use of leftovers. Train staff to be mindful of waste and encourage them to find ways to minimise it - another time an open employee dialogue will be super helpful.
Stay flexible and adapt
Be prepared to adjust your menu, pricing, and operations in response to changing market conditions, customer preferences, and industry trends.
There’s no right way to run a business and being ahead of the curve, or identifying a gap in the market will pay dividends for your business.
Stay informed about market developments and be willing to experiment with new ideas and approaches. We love working with hospitality businesses, from bookkeeping to accounting, tax planning and forecasting, we’re ready to help.
Book in a discovery call with us here to discuss how we can help your business.
