How do I set up a P&L statement that my accountant...

What is a P&L statement for restaurants?

A P&L statement shows you revenue minus expenses = profit. For restaurants, the main categories are:

• Revenue: Everything you sell (food, drinks, extras)
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS): Your purchase of ingredients
• Labor costs: Wages, payroll taxes, temporary staff
• Operating costs: Rent, utilities, insurance
• Net profit: What's left over

Why daily tracking matters

Your accountant works with last month's invoices and receipts. By the time you see their P&L, you can't fix what's already broken. Daily tracking shows you immediately:

• If your food cost is spiraling out of control
• If you're overstaffing for slow days
• Which shifts actually make money
• If you'll hit your monthly targets

Build your daily P&L structure

Track these numbers every single day:

Breaking down fixed costs per day

Your rent, insurance and utilities hit monthly. But you need daily numbers. Convert them by dividing by operating days:

Fixed costs per day = Monthly costs / Number of operating days

Calculate daily labor costs accurately

Add up what you spend on staff each day. Don't forget:

• Gross wages of all employees that day
• Payroll taxes (approximately 25% of gross wage)
• Temporary staff (freelancers, temp agencies)
• Your own salary (as owner)

From daily tracking to monthly reports

At month's end, you add up all daily figures. This creates a complete P&L statement your accountant will recognize:

• Revenue: Sum of all daily revenues
• COGS: Sum of all purchases
• Labor costs: Sum of all daily labor costs
• Other costs: Fixed costs × number of days

Choose your tracking method

You can track this in:

• Excel: Works, but you'll create formulas yourself
• Notebook: Simple, but no automatic calculations
• Restaurant management apps: Automatically calculate your daily P&L based on revenue and purchases

The most important thing is doing it every single day. From years of working in professional kitchens, I've seen consistency beat perfection every time.

Turn data into action

Daily P&L tracking reveals patterns:

• Slow days: Schedule fewer staff
• High food cost: Adjust portions or purchases
• Low revenue: Take action (marketing, menu changes)
• Good days: Repeat what worked

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Sources consulted

• EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
• EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
• EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
• NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
• NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
• Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
• FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
• BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source

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