What financial records should a restaurant keep daily, weekly, and monthly?

Most restaurants stay financially healthy by keeping a small set of records on a reliable rhythm: daily sales and cash controls, weekly purchasing and labor checks, and a monthly close that ties everything together.

The goal is simple: you want numbers you can trust, fast enough to spot issues early, and organized enough to support your accountant, taxes, and any audits without scrambling.

Short answer

Keep daily records that confirm sales, payments, cash, and key costs are accurate; weekly records that track purchasing, inventory movement, and labor; and monthly records that reconcile accounts and produce clean financial statements.

If you do this consistently, you can catch margin leaks (waste, discounts, overtime, missing cash) before they become “end-of-month surprises.”

Daily financial records to keep

Daily records are about control and accuracy. In most restaurants, these are completed at the end of each shift or day, then filed digitally or in a simple binder.

1) Sales and payment proof

End-of-day POS sales summary (gross sales, net sales, sales by category)
Payment breakdown (cash, card, online, vouchers, gift cards)
Voids, comps, discounts, refunds, and manager approvals
Tips and service charges (collected, paid out, owed)
Delivery and pickup sales by channel (in-house ordering, delivery app, website orders)

2) Cash handling and deposit controls

Cash drawer count (opening float, closing cash, over/short amount)
Cash drop log and safe count (if used)
Bank deposit slip or deposit record (daily or next business day)

3) Daily cost signals (not full accounting)

You don’t need full bookkeeping daily, but you do want quick indicators that protect margin.

Daily purchases and supplier receipts (especially cash purchases)
Waste/spoilage log and staff meals (what, why, approximate value)
Daily labor snapshot (scheduled vs. actual hours, overtime notes)

Weekly financial records to keep

Weekly records are where most operators find problems early. This is typically when you review vendor bills, inventory movement, and labor trends while the week is still fresh.

1) Purchases and payables

All supplier invoices for the week (food, beverage, packaging, cleaning, services)
Invoice matching notes (missing items, quality issues, credit requests)
A/P list (what you owe, due dates, any disputed invoices)

2) Inventory movement and key counts

Key item counts (high-value proteins, premium spirits, wine, specialty coffee)
Transfers between locations or departments (bar to kitchen, central storage to outlet)
Waste summary and variance notes (where shrinkage is happening)

3) Labor and payroll-ready records

Time clock report (hours by employee and role)
Payroll inputs (tips allocation, service charges, overtime approvals, advances)
Labor cost review (labor % trend, staffing issues that drove it)

4) Weekly performance snapshot

Weekly sales summary vs. last week and vs. target
Prime cost check (food + beverage + labor as a quick combined view)
Top discounts/comps list (patterns, repeat causes)

Monthly financial records to keep

Monthly records are the “close.” This is where you reconcile, confirm what’s true, and produce statements you can rely on for decisions, tax filings, and investors or lenders.

1) Bank and payment reconciliations

Bank statement reconciliation (every transaction matched)
Card processor settlement reports matched to POS totals
Online ordering and delivery platform payouts matched to recorded sales

2) Full inventory and cost of goods (COGS)

Month-end inventory counts (food, beverage, packaging)
COGS calculation inputs (beginning inventory, purchases, ending inventory)
Variance notes (the “why” behind unusual food or beverage cost)

3) Expenses, payroll, and tax-ready files

Rent, utilities, subscriptions, maintenance, and service contracts invoices
Payroll register and employer taxes/charges records
Sales tax/VAT summaries and supporting reports (as required locally)
Petty cash log reconciliation (if you use petty cash)

4) Monthly financial statements

Profit & loss (P&L) statement
Balance sheet
Cash flow view (even if simplified)

How it’s typically done in most restaurants

A common, workable process is to set ownership clearly: managers handle daily controls, an operator reviews weekly trends, and bookkeeping closes the month with reconciliations and statements.

Daily close: manager prints/saves POS summary, verifies payments, counts cash, files receipts
Weekly review: operator checks labor, purchases, key inventory counts, and issues needing action
Monthly close: reconcile bank/processor payouts, complete full inventory, finalize P&L and tax files

Real-world examples

Café example

A café often watches coffee beans, milk, pastries, and labor tightly. A simple weekly bean and milk count plus daily waste tracking for pastries can reveal whether portioning, training, or ordering frequency needs adjustment.

Bar example

Bars typically do weekly (sometimes twice-weekly) counts of premium spirits and high-value wines. Comparing count variance with comps, spill logs, and promo activity helps explain shrinkage quickly.

How digital systems can support the record-keeping

Digital tools don’t replace accounting, but they make the routine easier to follow. In practice, operators benefit when sales channels, menus, and item availability are consistent—because it reduces mismatches between what was sold and what should have been used.

For example, a digital menu and management system like Menuviel can help keep menu items, options, and availability consistent across locations and languages, which supports cleaner sales reporting and fewer “wrong item/price” exceptions that complicate end-of-day reviews.