BistroLedger

BistroLedger

Accounting for Restaurants & Cafés in Canada

Simple numbers. Better margins. More time for your guests.

Running a restaurant or café is hard enough. Long hours, tight margins, changing staff, picky guests, and a million micro-decisions every day. The last thing you want is to spend your evenings buried in receipts, spreadsheets, and CRA deadlines.

Our servicesBook a free 30-minute consultation

Why Restaurants & Cafés Choose BistroLedger


Industry-Specific Expertise

We don’t try to be everything for everyone. Our focus is hospitality in Canada. That means we know:

  • Typical food, beverage, and labour benchmarks

  • Seasonal patterns (patio season, holidays, tourism)

  • Common cost leaks in kitchens and bars

  • How delivery apps and online ordering affect your margins

  • What lenders and investors look for in restaurant financials

Designed for Busy Owners

You’re not sitting in an office all day. You’re on the floor, in the kitchen, with guests and staff. Our communication is:

  • Quick and to the point

  • Primarily online, with clear messages and shared documents

  • Flexible around your busiest service times

We organize your financial world so you don’t have to.

Fixed Monthly Pricing

No surprise bills for “extra emails” or “quick questions”. You’ll know your monthly fee in advance, based on the size and complexity of your operation. Need extra help for a special project? We’ll quote it upfront.

Modern Tools, Human Support

We integrate with the tools you already use:

  • Popular POS systems (Square, Lightspeed, TouchBistro, etc.)

  • Cloud accounting platforms (e.g., QuickBooks Online, Xero)

  • Payroll providers and expense apps

Technology does the heavy lifting; real humans interpret the results and advise you.

...

Built for Canadian Restaurants & Cafés

Restaurants are not like other businesses — and Canadian restaurants are definitely not like U.S. ones. Sales tax rules, tip reporting, and provincial regulations can get complicated fast.

BistroLedger focuses only on hospitality businesses in Canada:

  • Independent restaurants and bistros

  • Specialty coffee shops and cafés

  • Bakeries and dessert bars

  • Wine bars, cocktail bars, and pubs

  • Ghost kitchens and food halls

  • Multi-location and franchise concepts

We know what your P&L should look like, what healthy benchmarks are for your type of operation, and how to turn raw data from your POS and bank feeds into clear, actionable insights.

What We Do for You

1. Restaurant & Café Bookkeeping

We handle your day-to-day numbers, so your books are clean, accurate, and always up to date.

  • Daily sales summaries from your POS

  • Recording tips, gift cards, discounts, and voids

  • Matching deposits to POS and delivery platforms

  • Reconciling bank and credit card accounts

  • Tracking accounts payable (suppliers, rent, utilities)

  • Recording prepaid deposits, catering orders, and events

No more guessing if everything is recorded. No more shoeboxes of invoices. You’ll know, every month, exactly how your business is performing.

2. Payroll & Tips Management

Hospitality payroll is complex — different wage rates, overtime, shift premiums, vacation pay, and tips.

We manage:

  • Payroll processing for hourly and salaried staff

  • Proper calculation of statutory deductions (CPP, EI, income tax)

  • Vacation pay and statutory holiday pay

  • Recording and reporting of declared tips

  • ROEs for departing employees

  • T4s and year-end payroll summaries

Your team gets paid correctly and on time. You stay compliant. Everyone’s happier.

3. GST/HST, PST, and Sales Tax Compliance

Canadian sales tax can be tricky — especially when you’re juggling dine-in, take-out, delivery, alcohol sales, and catering.

We help you:

  • Register for GST/HST and, where applicable, PST/QST

  • Set up correct tax codes in your POS

  • File GST/HST and PST returns on time

  • Avoid penalties and interest from missed or incorrect filings

  • Plan ahead for tax payments, so cash flow isn’t a surprise

No more last-minute panic before a filing deadline. Your tax obligations are built into your regular reporting.

4. Restaurant-Focused Management Reports

Numbers only matter if you can use them in real decisions.

Each month, you’ll receive:

  • Profit & Loss (P&L) tailored for restaurants and cafés

  • Food and beverage cost percentage, with trends

  • Labour cost percentage by department (kitchen, FOH, bar)

  • Prime cost (food + labour) — your most important metric

  • Break-even analysis and cash-flow overview

  • Comparisons against targets and last period

We don’t just send you a PDF. We walk you through the numbers, explain what’s happening, and highlight what to watch next.

5. Year-End Support & Tax Coordination

We prepare everything your tax accountant needs:

  • Year-end trial balance and supporting schedules

  • Accruals, prepaids, and adjustments

  • Fixed asset and depreciation schedules

  • Clean, reconciled books ready for corporate tax filing

If you already have a tax accountant, we work with them. If you don’t, we can connect you with partners who understand hospitality.

6. Cleanup & Diagnostic Projects

Behind on your books? Several months (or years) of catch-up work?

We offer one-time cleanup projects:

  • Rebuilding your books from bank statements and POS reports

  • Correcting misclassified expenses and tax codes

  • Fixing inventory and COGS issues

  • Organizing supplier balances and outstanding invoices

At the end, you get clean, accurate, up-to-date books — and a clear picture of your current financial health.

Who We Work Best With

BistroLedger is a great fit if you:

  • Operate a restaurant, café, bar, bakery, or similar food & beverage concept in Canada

  • Want reliable, up-to-date books every month

  • Care about margins and profitability, not just “surviving”

  • Prefer clear communication over accounting jargon

  • Are ready to delegate the back office so you can focus on guests and growth

Whether you’re a first-time owner or a multi-location operator, we tailor our service to your level and your ambitions.

Contact Us
...

Our Process: Simple, Transparent, Predictable

1

Step 1 – Free Discovery Call

We talk through your concept, locations, POS system, current bookkeeping situation, and goals. You get honest feedback and a clear proposal — no jargon, no pressure.

2

Step 2 – Onboarding & System Setup

We connect your POS, bank accounts, and payroll system. We set up a chart of accounts designed for restaurants and cafés. You’ll know exactly how your numbers will be tracked going forward.

3

Step 3 – Ongoing Bookkeeping & Reporting

Each month, we reconcile your books, prepare your reports, and handle your sales tax filings. You get clear, restaurant-friendly financial statements and a summary of what changed.

4

Step 4 – Regular Check-Ins

We schedule short check-ins to review results, answer questions, and help you interpret the numbers. You don’t need an accounting degree — we’ll unpack it all in plain language.

Pricing for Canadian Restaurants & Cafés

Simple, transparent monthly pricing based on your concept, volume, and number of locations.

All prices in CAD, excluding applicable taxes.

Starter

For small cafés & coffee shops

CAD350/ month
  • Up to CAD60,000 in monthly sales
  • 1 location, 1 POS integration
  • Monthly bookkeeping & bank reconciliations
  • Basic restaurant P&L and balance sheet
  • Quarterly GST/HST filing

Multi-Location

For groups & growing concepts

From CAD1,100/ month
  • 3+ locations or high-volume operations
  • Consolidated financials & location-level reporting
  • Advanced food & labour cost analysis
  • Support for multiple entities & owners
  • Budgeting, cash-flow, and expansion planning

Get in touch

Please enter your full name.
Please provide a valid email.
Please enter a message.
Solve the math question above.
Please solve the verification question.