QUESTION: I’m thinking about selling my pizzeria. What can I do to increase its value to a potential buyer? ANSWER: If you’ve been following my articles over the past several years, you’ve noticed a recurring theme: Your business will consume you unless you develop a system that anyone can successfully duplicate, … More

QUESTION: What is this talk I keep hearing about collecting daily sales data? ANSWER: With increased competition and higher food and labor costs, the restaurant industry’s overall net income is shrinking, and restaurateurs have to pay more attention to every penny. Therefore, the old ways of gathering and analyzing restaurant data … More

QUESTION: How can I make sure that my POS system generates an accurate daily net sales report? ANSWER: We frequently come across discrepancies between tax filing records and POS reports while gathering details for an audit. Does this matter, and should you care? Yes, you should care. The daily net … More

QUESTION: For overnight trips to my various stores, can I deduct a daily travel per diem rate? ANSWER: As the restaurant owner, you may pay a per diem allowance in lieu of reimbursing actual expenses for lodging, as well as meals and incidental expenses (M&IE) incurred or to be incurred … More

QUESTION: Is it appropriate to ask my accountant why the numbers don’t feel right? ANSWER: Absolutely! Some of my best discussions with clients begin when they simply ask, “Why?” Keep in mind that any unaudited financial statements that your bookkeeper or accountant provides to you on a monthly basis have … More

QUESTION: Is there a simple method of deducting expenses for a home office? ANSWER: There is a new simplified option for claiming the home office deduction. The IRS has provided the “safe-harbor” method that individuals can use to determine the amount of their deductible home office expenses, effective for tax … More

QUESTION: Can a disgruntled employee challenge his or her wage compensation through legal channels? ANSWER: Yes! I recently completed a Wage and Hour Division (WHD) investigation through the U.S. Department of Labor. In this case, a restaurant employee challenged the overtime calculations of an employer after he was fired for … More

Question: What’s the best way to set my salary from my S corporation restaurant entity? Answer: As the owner of an incorporated business, you’re probably aware that there’s a tax advantage to taking money out of the corporation as compensation (salary and bonus) rather than as dividends. The reason is … More