A Carlton owner showed me last quarter's P&L like a report card.
I asked for last week. He had the accountant's pack, six weeks late, no session split, no theoretical food cost.
You cannot steer Saturday with a document that arrives after the month has died.
A weekly restaurant P&L is not a full set of accounts. It is the short list that changes the roster and the pass this week.
The Monday list
- Revenue by day and session
- Labour hours versus that revenue
- Food and beverage cost against a theoretical, even if rough
- The ten items that move the most money, over or under
- Variance over 3%: treat it as a process, not a mood
A 3% food-cost miss on $100,000 a month is $3,000. You will not see it in a quarterly meeting. You will see it on a Tuesday stocktake.
What the accountant pack is for
BAS, tax, the board. It is a post-mortem. Use it. Do not drive with it.
POS must be set up to give sessions and items. If it cannot, that is a pre-opening miss you can still fix.
Advisory vs doing it alone
Some owners want a second set of eyes every month: a retainer, one call, WhatsApp in between, three-month minimum. Fee quoted on the call. Some only need the audit once. Do not buy a retainer to avoid looking at Monday.
FAQ
What software do I need?
The POS you already have, used properly, plus a stocktake you actually do. Do not wait for a new dashboard.
Who should run the Monday review?
The person who owns the roster and the pass standards. If that is only you, that is the SOP problem.
How long should it take?
Under an hour if the reports exist. If it takes a day, the POS and the stocktake are the job.
Bring one ugly week of POS, payroll and invoices. Appointments. Melbourne and Perth.
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