We are thrilled to welcome Sara Bronson, owner of Amani Financial, as a Guest Coach in The Walk-In: a 6 month group coaching program to become the leader you’ve always needed in this industry. 

Sara is a small business Finance pro with deep knowledge of the specific challenges of the hospitality industry. She empowers purpose-driven entrepreneurs to master their finances with clarity and confidence. With over 30 years of expertise, Sara transforms financial overwhelm into sustainable success for owners in hospitality and service-based businesses, helping clients grow profitable businesses while keeping more cash.

Members of The Walk-In, which kicks off in February of 2025, will benefit from a full week of coaching support from Sara during the program, giving you a place to ask your burning questions related to the most fear-inducing part of owning a food business: money. 

In this blog on restaurant financial management, Sara shares directive, clear, and compassionate guidance to kick avoidance to the curb and take action in the direction of smartly building your financial team and feeling empowered by your numbers.

We hope you learn as much from this article as we did. 

Alison & Kimberly

Restaurant Financial Management 101: Building Your Dream Team and Conquering Financial Fears

by Sara Bronson, Amani Financial

When you imagined owning a restaurant, you probably pictured bustling tables, the sizzle of a grill, and customers raving about your signature dishes. What you didn’t picture? Spending late nights buried under a pile of receipts, frantically wondering if there’s enough cash to make payroll this week.

If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. 

Many restaurateurs feel overwhelmed by the financial side of their business, but the good news is: you don’t have to stay stuck. 

In this article, I’ll cover:

• Why and when to hire a bookkeeper for your food business 
• An overview of the financial tools you need to guide your decision-making
• The best strategy for improving the financial health of your food business
• My recipe for financial sustainability

Let’s walk through how to turn your financial fears into financial clarity. And don’t worry—there’s no math quiz at the end.

The Importance of Hiring a Bookkeeper to Support Restaurant Financial Management

Here’s the thing about trying to juggle everything yourself: eventually, the balls drop. You didn’t become a restaurant owner to moonlight as a bookkeeper, yet somehow, you’re spending more time paying bills and juggling finances than perfecting your menu.

So, when’s the right time to hire a bookkeeper? Hint: if you’ve ever muttered, “I can’t keep doing this,” while staring at QuickBooks at 1 a.m., the time is now.

Bringing in a bookkeeper isn’t just about handing off the grunt work; it’s about reclaiming your headspace. It’s the difference between worrying about whether you can afford next month’s payroll and confidently making decisions to grow your business. 

A good bookkeeper will actually help you make money by managing the flow of cash and keeping your finances organized. Once you see how much better someone else is at tracking your numbers, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

The truth? The ideal time to hire a bookkeeper is the day you open your business, even if you’re starting a food business with no money. So why do so many owners wait? We’ll get into that later.

The Best Strategy for Improving Your Restaurant's Financial Performance? Don’t Do It Alone

Running a restaurant can feel like an episode of Survivor, except you’re battling rising food costs instead of tropical storms. But here’s the secret to thriving in this industry: you don’t have to do it alone.

Your bookkeeper is the steady hand who keeps the day-to-day numbers tidy.

Your CPA or tax preparer is the genius who turns those numbers into a solid tax return while leveraging deductions to grow your business.

And if you’re scaling fast, a fractional CFO can help you create a roadmap for sustainable growth.

The best part? These experts aren’t here to judge you—they’re here to support you. With the right team in place, you’ll go from feeling like a solo act to knowing you have trusted advisors and allies in your corner.

Need help finding these pros? Start with referrals from industry peers or local small business groups. The right fit matters—they should understand your vision and feel as invested in your success as you are.

What Does Financial Management in the Restaurant Industry Entail?

Let’s get real for a second: money talk can feel...awkward. Maybe you’re embarrassed about what you don’t know or afraid that digging into your financials will uncover mistakes you’d rather ignore. Sound familiar? That’s normal.

Here’s the truth: even the most successful restaurant owners started where you are—wondering if they were the only ones who didn’t have it all figured out. The good news? 

Your financial reports tell the story of your business—whether it’s a thriller, a romance, or a cautionary tale. The good news? You’re the author, and the right financial tools let you take control of the plot.

Here’s how these tools work together:

Understanding a Restaurant P&L

Think of it as your business’s report card. It shows how much money is coming in (revenue), how much is going out (expenses), and whether you’ve got anything left over—or if you overspent. 

Restaurants live and die by percentages, and your P&L can tell you whether your cost of goods sold (COGS) is in the right range or if it’s time to adjust pricing, portion sizes, or vendor contracts.

Learning how to read a restaurant P&L is your key to moving from avoidance to effective action. 

Your Restaurant Balance Sheet

This is your business’s health report. It shows what you own, who you owe, and the overall financial worth of your business.

Your Restaurant Budget 

OUCH—that word feels restrictive, doesn’t it?  Let’s call it your spending plan.

Budget/spending plans aren’t about limiting your options—it’s about creating a starting point. 

You’ll use your restaurant budget to measure what actually happens against what you thought would happen. It helps you see where you’re on track and where you need to adjust.

It’s not just about cutting costs; it’s about finding opportunities.

Developing the Restaurant Financial Plan

If the budget is the first step, the financial plan is where it all comes together. It’s the bigger picture—a tool to help you set long-term goals and create a roadmap to get there. 

As you track your actual results against your budget, you’ll start to see patterns that inform your plan. It’s a cycle: the budget feeds the plan, and the plan gives meaning to the budget. Together, they help you make confident, informed decisions about the future of your business.

Shifting from avoidance to action isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being proactive.

Start small. Commit to reviewing your numbers weekly with your bookkeeper. Over time, you’ll see how empowering it feels to know exactly where your business stands.

A Recipe for Financial Sustainability

What’s the takeaway? Restaurant financial management isn’t about becoming an overnight expert—it’s about building the right team, embracing the tools, and giving yourself permission to learn as you go.

You don’t need to love spreadsheets to succeed (though there’s nothing wrong with nerding out over a good expense report). What you do need is a willingness to trade overwhelm for clarity and isolation for collaboration.

Remember: every great chef started with a messy kitchen, and every successful restaurateur started with messy financials. The key is to take the first step—don’t go it alone.

Start with a great bookkeeper—not the CPA. Your bookkeeper is the everyday hero who keeps your finances in order so your CPA can work their tax magic later. They know the ins and outs of your cash flow, your expenses, and yes, even that receipt you lost from the produce vendor.

Wondering where to find one? This is the work we do at Amani Financial. We’re excited to be partnering with Salt & Roe as a guest expert for their upcoming group coaching program, The Walk-In. 

Joining this coaching program is an ideal way to step into your power as the leader of your business, and to experience the relief and clarity that comes with investing in financial support. I look forward to meeting you in The Walk-In.

Small, consistent actions lead to big results—and with the right bookkeeper on your team, you’ll gain the clarity to focus on what you love most: creating amazing dining experiences for your customers. 

Behind you, 

Sara

Kimberly, Alison, and Sara in Sonoma.