The Top 12 Restaurant Accounting Services

Looking for a restaurant accounting service? You’re in the right place.

Restaurant accounting services can greatly improve efficiency. Compared to traditional internal solutions, they’re more cost affordable. And, because they’re staffed by full teams, they’re able to provide access to a broad range of services.

Accordingly, the demand in the market is high. Unsurprisingly, there’s a large array of firms that have risen to offer accounting services to restaurants. For business owners, this is good news – but it can make identifying an ideal partner more difficult.

Here’s a framework to help with the decision.

We believe that the best restaurant accounting services have three characteristics:

• Experience in your industry. They’ve worked with restaurant businesses like yours – or with your brand before.
• Comprehensive expertise. They offer the full suite of basic accounting services, can provide upper-level services like CFO consulting, and are experts in the technology systems you need.
• Outstanding communication skills. They’re proactive, clear, and responsive.

While there are many restaurant accounting services to choose from, using these criteria to filter your selection can improve your odds of finding a good fit. Most firms won’t check all three of these boxes.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at twelve of the top restaurant accounting services.

1. Global Shared Services

At Global Shared Services, we provide restaurant businesses with outsourced accounting and financial services that are priced below the market and perform above it.

Our team offers a full suite of services, from accounts payable processing to full CFO capabilities. We have experience in over 50 restaurant brands, have partnerships with the leading technology providers, like Restaurant365, Bill.com, and Sage Intacct, and we have implemented solutions in nearly every accounting software.

Global Shared Services delivers an end-to-end accounts payable service, customized to adapt to your specific needs.  The four base services we deliver include financials, accounts payable, bank reconciliations, and sales taxes.  Additional services can be added as you need them, from tax processing and asset accounting to full CFO services and more.

We focus on proactive, high-quality communication to align your accounting functions with your business’s needs.

In short, we believe that we check each of the three boxes in the framework above and that our accounting services lead the market for restaurants. Get in touch with us to learn more.

2. Bistro Accounting

Bistro Accounting is a bit more focused. As their tagline (“Chefs cook; we do their books”) reflects, they specialize in higher-end, independent restaurants as opposed to catering to franchise brands.

Here’s how they describe it on their about page:

“We provide the owners and managers of independent restaurants with outsourced bookkeeping services so that they can focus on their businesses. Our team has decades of restaurant bookkeeping and operational experience which allows us to understand our clients’ needs and offer valuable insight.”

If you’re operating an independent restaurant business, they may be worth a look. If your restaurant isn’t independent, though, you may want to look for a provider with experience meeting the requirements of the brand or franchise.

3. Restaurant Accounting Services

Restaurant Accounting Services (or Restaurant Solutions, Inc. – RSI) is another software-centric accounting service provider.

From their homepage:

“Restaurant Solutions, Inc. isn’t software-in-a-box; we’re experts in restaurant accounting, providing busy restaurateurs with solutions to not only survive in this competitive business, but thrive! …our dedicated professionals provide every RSI client with the knowledge and assistance they need to reach their financial goals each and every day!”

Again, if you’re not prepared to use RSI technology, you’ll likely do well to consider other choices.

4. Infosync

Infosync is another leading option for restaurant accounting services. They’re based in the Midwest (in Wichita, Kansas), and are known for their local accounting teams and proprietary software.

From their homepage: “At InfoSync, we offer technology-enabled outsourced accounting, reporting, and human resources solutions for your multi-unit business, so you can focus on strategic and operational priorities. Enjoy the freedom to focus on your business without running internal administrative departments. Save money over managing things yourself while gaining access to powerful data analytics and reporting tools that help you make better decisions.”

However, if you’d prefer to have more flexibility over your technology selections (as opposed to being tied into a niched solution), you may want to look at other options.

5. Indevia

Indevia is a cost-efficient restaurant accounting service. While the company has offices in San Diego, California, the majority of the work is serviced from India, which allows for competitive pricing.

From their homepage:

“We focus on activities that add value to our franchisees and franchisors, while working to eliminate those that are non-value added. Each step in the bookkeeping process has a certain amount of cost and error, so by getting rid of those steps, both quality and cost improve.”

Indevia is a viable low-cost alternative, but they don’t offer a high level of service or a focus on proactive communication.

6. Cogneesol

Cogneesol serves a variety of verticals, including the restaurant and hospitality industry, and they support multiple accounting software platforms, including QuickBooks, xero, and Intacct.

From the About page:

“Established in 2008, Cogneesol is a leading ISO 9001:2008 certified company offering global business services like finance and accounting, legal support, insurance back office, data management and research & analysis.”

It’s worth noting that the company is more broadly focused than some of the other firms on our list; while they do serve the restaurant industry, they’re by no means specifically focused there. They also serve real estate, healthcare, shipping and manufacturing, retail, telecom, and more. This may be worth keeping in mind if you’re seeking an expert specializing in the restaurant accounting space.

7. Quatrro

Quatrro is another finance and accounting firm that serves a variety of industries, one of which is the restaurant space. Within the restaurant space in general, they offer specialized services for franchisors and franchisees.

Here’s how they describe their approach on their homepage:

“[Quatrro offers a] range of affordable business support services for Small & Medium to Enterprise sized businesses across many industries. We utilize best practices to streamline labor intensive processes from standardizing, optimizing, automating and improved business insight of our clients.”

While they do offer a fairly broad range of services, it’s worth noting that they aren’t focused solely on the restaurant space and they deliver the service from India to offset labor costs in the US. Therefore, like Indevia, a high level of service and proactive communications are not their focus.

8. IQ Back Office

This firm, as its name suggests, seeks to be a “back office” partner to companies across a myriad of industries. They serve clients at a variety of different sizes, from mid-sized to multi-billion-dollar global firms. They also tend to guide clients toward using their proprietary software.

Here’s how they put it on their About page:

“We deliver customized solutions for transactional activities with our accounts payable outsourcing, accounts receivable outsourcing and payroll outsourcing services, plus general accounting outsourcing and financial statement preparation to create a complete finance and accounting solution.”

This is another example of a company that offers a broad range of services but lacks a specific focus on the restaurant space. Additionally, the proprietary software solution may be problematic for those businesses looking for flexibility. Finally, IQ Back Office delivers their accounting service from the Philippines for the same reason as Indevia and Quatrro, which again reduces the focus on a high level of service and proactive communications.

9. SLC Bookkeeping

SLC Bookkeeping is another firm that serves a variety of small businesses in industries other than the restaurant space.

From the About page:

“Imagine part-time controllers, only much better. If there were one thing our decades of financial controlling experience taught us prior to opening SLC Bookkeeping, it’s that businesses need flexibility. Not just in their financial processes and how they mitigate and eliminate risk, but in how they manage the day-to-day need for timely and accurate financial reporting.”

This is a good option for small restaurant businesses looking for basic bookkeeping services. If your business is scaling or requires other financial services, though, other options on this list may be better suited to your needs.

10. CFO Business Growth Solutions

This company specializes in providing restaurants with CFO services. From their homepage:

“Whether your business is a fine dining establishment or a multi-state franchise, the need for detailed, accurate, and timely financial reports is essential. Great reviews and satisfied customers are important, but the true indicator of how a restaurant is performing is the profit and loss statement. We provide comprehensive monthly restaurant accounting, restaurant bookkeeping and payroll services to hundreds of restaurateurs nationwide.”

It’s worth noting that this company doesn’t offer extensive expertise in brand or franchise spaces.

11. Harless & Associates

Harless & Associates is actually a general CPA firm that also provides restaurant accounting services. They’re located in the Southern Florida region and are generally focused on businesses there.

From their homepage:

“Harless & Associates is a full-service CPA firm with offices in West Palm Beach and Jupiter/Tequesta, Florida. We specialize in accounting, tax planning, tax preparation, family office and concierge services for individuals, families, partnerships, corporations, trusts, estates and foundations… Accounting services include bill pay and bookkeeping services with monthly reporting.”

If you’re seeking full financial services in Southern Florida, this company may be worth considering, but they may not be a good fit if your restaurants are located in other parts of the United States.

12. Coefficient Services

Finally, Coefficient Services is another restaurant accounting option. Again, they’re generally focused on small-to-mid-sized businesses (although they only serve firms up to 100 employees), serving restaurants as a part of that market.

From the About page:

“CoEfficient Services saves you time, money & prevents fraud by offering a full suite of outsourced accounting services for your business through a fractional accounting team model to small & medium sized businesses across the US.”

This may be a worthwhile option if your business is getting started, but if you’re scaling past five locations, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.

Ready to Get Top-Tier Restaurant Accounting Services?

Hopefully, the combination of our decision-making framework and the list of top providers has helped you to narrow down your choices for restaurant accounting services.

If you’re ready for high-quality customized service from experts specializing in restaurant accounting – let’s talk.

At Global Shared Services, we strongly believe that we’re ideally suited to serve scaling restaurant businesses, with comprehensive service, outstanding communication, and proven expertise. To learn more about how our services fit your needs, get in touch with us today.