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Running a successful restaurant is rewarding but it’s far from easy. Checking, managing and reconciling the finances is a big task, and it usually sits on top of a hundred other daily tasks and processes. An accounting tool that can simplify your accounting and financial tasks can therefore be a great aid.
Xero is accounting software that offers extensive accounting and financial reporting features and best of all, it’s great for restaurants. Xero provides restaurant-specific features that make managing your restaurant accounting easier and more manageable.
In this guide we’ll look at what Xero is, how it can be used for restaurants and how you can use some of the key features.
Is Xero a good choice for your restaurant?
While Xero is a popular accounting solution for many restaurants, you need to consider your unique needs and criteria when deciding if it’s right for you. Let’s take a quick look at the key features you may find most useful in running your restaurant.
- Cash flow and financial monitoring - Xero tracks cash flow in real-time on its accounting dashboard which helps provide an overview of your financial health. You’ll be able to get an idea of how your restaurant is performing, and if your expenses are exceeding your sales.
- Bill creation and online payments - Xero can help to easily transfer purchase orders into bills that you can pay online. It also tracks and records all bills paid and lets you schedule automated bill payments.
- Payroll processing and management - you can handle payroll directly within Xero to pay your staff. Xero calculates tax, pension contributions and annual leave for you. It also allows staff to access payslips and request leave within the system.
- Expense management - through Xero, you can track employee spending, reimburse expense claims and make adjustments to your budget as needed.
Aside from these key features, Xero is also known to be an extremely user-friendly accounting solution for restaurants. You don’t need to be an accountant or have previous experience with accounting software to be able to work with Xero. Its features are easy to use and its interface is simple and intuitive.
Because the software is cloud-based, it receives automatic updates and improvements rolled out by the Xero team that reflect the latest market requirements. These updates benefit your accounting operations.
It currently integrates with more than 1000 hospitality apps and software, allowing it to integrate into your current workflows without disrupting your processes. For instance, Xero integrates with growyze for seamless inventory tracking and management.
With a single click, you can send invoices directly from growyze to Xero without having to manually enter them. No more lost time and missing invoices impacting performance reports!
growyze’s unique three-way invoice validation also automatically matches orders, to deliveries and invoices, so you can see any invoice discrepancies and ensure you don’t pay for any items you haven’t received.
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Together, growyze and Xero streamline your inventory management, saving you time and giving you complete control and visibility. …
So, is Xero the best choice for your restaurant? Only you can decide but, given all of its features and benefits above, we’d definitely recommend it as a simple, but effective accounting solution!
Let’s take a closer look at how to use Xero’s features for effective restaurant management below.
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How to use Xero’s features for your restaurant business
1. Record and reconcile restaurant invoices
As we mentioned above, Xero helps you manage restaurant invoicing and payments. Xero records all of your unpaid bills, purchase orders and expenses in a single location. You can also view bills that are ready to be paid as well as drafted bills. You can also schedule payments ahead of time, so they’ll automatically be paid according to your automated triggers which could save you time!
2. Pay restaurant staff
Xero doesn’t just provide accounting features, it also offers features that assist with payroll. You can pay yourself and all of your employees and keep track of payroll updates. Xero calculates employee tax, pensions and leave as part of payroll tracking. It also provides pension re-enrolment, sending reminders and automating the re-enrolment process which can be useful, especially here in the UK.
Employees also get the chance to manage their payroll admin by accessing their payslips and leave requests on the Xero Me app. Xero also contains timesheets for tracking employee scheduling and rotation as part of payroll management.
Xero states that it is HMRC compliant which enables you to meet HMRC compliance requirements more easily.
Initially, setting up the payroll process might be a little confusing for new users. But, with a bit of fine-tuning, it is possible to use Xero for payroll processing and management.
3. Create reports
Xero helps you better understand your business performance through reporting and analysis features. View a range of up-to-date reports covering key areas of your business and to measure specific performance metrics and KPIs. According to user reviews the reports cover all legally required accounting reporting, but may be lacking some more advanced reporting capabilities that professional accountants would prefer.
However you can also customise your reports and add tracking categories to make this more personalised. Xero can also present results as percentages so you can get an overview of exactly how and where your cash flow is being spent in the business.
4. Manage expenses
Something Xero added in response to user requests is the ability to let staff log on and submit their own expense claims, instead of having to channel this through the accounts team.
As soon as an employee puts in an expense claim on Xero, you’ll get a notification. You can immediately review and approve the claim, paying it the same way you pay regular bills.
Xero stores all digital copies of your receipts for easy retrieval anytime you need them (great for auditing purposes!). Your team can submit claims on the go from their phone and you can view and approve them from yours, preventing potential errors or omissions in your expense management.
Master your accounting and inventory management with growyze
Getting on top of your restaurant accounting is easy to do with Xero, but its inventory management features are limited. This is where we can help. growyze is an all-in-one stock management solution that centralises and simplifies your inventory management.
Combining Xero with growyze allows you to push invoices to Xero in one-click without any manual work. Our smart-engine scans your invoices and auto-validates them against orders and deliveries to catch hidden losses and ensure you don’t pay for more than was delivered. growyze also sends invoices to Xero for a streamlined, single view of your operating expenses.
Book a demo today to learn how growyze can integrate with Xero to enhance operational efficiency.
