Hospitality & Retail · Brisbane
Accountants for Restaurants & Cafés
Food cost, labour cost, rent — three percentages decide whether a venue survives. We report them weekly, not annually.
What margins should a Brisbane restaurant watch?
Three, tracked as a percentage of revenue: cost of goods (commonly 28–35% for food, lower for beverage), labour including super and on-costs (commonly 30–35%), and occupancy (ideally under 10%). Together they usually consume 75–80% of revenue, and small drifts eliminate profit entirely. The accounting job is making those numbers visible weekly via POS and payroll integration, and keeping GST, PAYG and super funded.
- Specialist support for restaurants, cafés and bars
- Fixed monthly packages from $220
- BAS, payroll and year-end handled together
- Benchmarked against ATO industry figures
What we watch
What matters most for restaurants, cafés and bars.
Weekly, not annual, numbers
POS and payroll feeds give food and labour percentages while you can still act on the week — the only cadence that changes anything.
Award and penalty rate risk
Restaurant Industry Award classifications, weekend and public holiday penalties, split shifts and allowances. Underpayments compound fast.
GST on mixed supplies
Most prepared food is taxable, but some retail lines are GST-free. Miscoding at the POS flows straight into a wrong BAS.
Fitout, not just rent
Fitout depreciation and lease incentives handled properly — often a large, overlooked deduction in year one.
Deductions
Restaurants & Cafés — what you can claim.
A working checklist we go through with every client in this sector. Substantiation requirements differ by item — we'll tell you which need records and which don't.
- Food, beverage and packaging costs
- Wages, super, penalties and allowances
- Rent, outgoings and utilities
- Fitout depreciation and equipment
- Repairs, maintenance and pest control
- Licences, permits and food safety compliance
- Marketing, delivery platform fees and commissions
- Laundry, uniforms and cleaning
- Waste removal and grease trap servicing
How we help
Services restaurants, cafés and bars use most.
Tax Returns
Individual and business returns prepared accurately, lodged fast, with every deduction claimed.
Learn more →Tax Planning
Year-round planning that lowers your tax bill before 30 June — not after it.
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Self-Managed Super (SMSF)
SMSF setup, administration, compliance and audit coordination in one place.
Learn more →Business Advisory
Structuring, cash-flow forecasting, growth strategy and succession planning.
Learn more →Financial Reporting
Clear statutory and management accounts you can actually make decisions from.
Learn more →FAQ
Restaurants & Cafés — questions we're asked most.
How do I know if my food cost is too high?
Compare weekly food cost percentage against your menu's theoretical cost. If actual runs materially above theoretical, the gap is wastage, portioning, theft or supplier price rises that haven't reached the menu. You can only run that comparison with recipe costing and accurate POS categories — which is a setup job, not a reporting one.
Are tips taxable?
Yes. Tips are assessable income to the person who receives them. Where tips are collected by the business and distributed, they generally pass through payroll with PAYG withholding, and can attract superannuation depending on the arrangement. Cash tips retained by staff remain their assessable income.
Can I claim delivery platform commissions?
Yes — commissions are deductible business expenses, and the GST treatment depends on the platform's structure. Watch how sales are recorded: many venues record only the net deposit, which understates both revenue and deductions and distorts every margin percentage.
What's the biggest compliance risk in hospitality?
Payroll. Award interpretation, penalty rates, junior and casual rates, allowances and super on allowances. Underpayments accumulate quietly across many staff and years, and they're now enforced aggressively. A periodic award review costs far less than back-pay plus penalties.
Related
Related pages.
Accountants for Food Trucks
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane food trucks.
Learn more →Accountants for Retail Shops
Specialist tax and accounting support for Brisbane retail shops.
Learn more →Business Accounting
Bookkeeping, BAS, payroll and management reporting handled end to end.
Learn more →Small Business Accountant Brisbane
Sole traders to companies
Learn more →Local coverage across Brisbane
We work in person from our Wakerley office and by secure video across 200 suburbs. Start with your region:
- Accountants Brisbane CPA accountants for the wider Brisbane metro area.
- Accountants South Brisbane South Brisbane, West End, Annerley and Sunnybank.
- Accountants Brisbane Northside Chermside, Stafford, Aspley and the northern corridor.
- Accountants Brisbane Bayside Wynnum, Manly, Wakerley and Tingalpa.
- Accountants Redland City Cleveland, Capalaba, Victoria Point and the bay islands.
- Accountants Logan City Springwood, Beenleigh, Browns Plains and 50 Logan suburbs.
- Accountants Ipswich Ipswich CBD and the western Brisbane corridor.
Ready when you are
Accountants for restaurants & cafés — let's talk.
Free 15-minute consultation, fixed monthly fee, and an accountant who already knows your sector.