Restaurants make money in small margins and lose it in small leaks: a delivery-app fee recorded wrongly, a cash drawer that's AED 50 short every day, a supplier price rise nobody noticed. Good restaurant accounting finds those leaks every month.
Delivery-app sales: the most common VAT mistake
Talabat, Deliveroo, Careem and other platforms pay you a net amount: your sales minus commission, fees, discounts and refunds. Many restaurants record only that net payout as revenue. That understates sales and usually gets VAT wrong.
The right way
- Record the gross sales made through the app as revenue, with 5% output VAT on your sales.
- Record the platform's commission and fees as an expense, with the VAT the platform charges you as input VAT (if you hold a valid tax invoice).
- Record discounts you fund as a reduction of sales; platform-funded promotions according to your agreement.
- Reconcile the remaining net payout to the bank.
| Example: one week on a delivery app | AED |
|---|---|
| Customer orders (incl. 5% VAT) | 10,500 |
| Of which sales (net) | 10,000 |
| Of which output VAT | 500 |
| Platform commission (net) | −2,500 |
| VAT on commission (input VAT) | −125 |
| Net payout to bank | 7,875 |
Download the platform's statement and tax invoice every period: you need both to support the figures. Figures above are illustrative; commission rates vary by platform and contract.
Reconcile the POS every day
- Match POS sales to card settlements, cash deposits and delivery payouts.
- Record card-machine fees as an expense, not a reduction of sales.
- Investigate cash shortages quickly: small daily differences add up.
- Keep voids, discounts and complimentary meals visible in reports.
Menu prices, service charges and tips
- Prices shown to customers must include VAT. Your POS should calculate the VAT inside each price (price × 5 ÷ 105).
- Mandatory service charges are part of the price and subject to VAT.
- Voluntary tips passed in full to staff are generally outside the scope of VAT. Keep a record of how tips are collected and distributed.
If you're inside a hotel or a specific venue, extra fees may apply. Check how they're shown on the bill and how they're treated for VAT.
Track food cost every month
Food cost percentage = cost of food used ÷ food sales. Cost of food used = opening stock + purchases − closing stock. Without a monthly stock count, you can't know your real food cost.
- Count stock at month-end (at least key items).
- Reconcile supplier statements so every purchase is recorded.
- Track food and beverage separately: they have very different margins.
- Report food cost and gross margin by outlet if you have more than one.
Payroll and staff
Restaurants have high staff turnover, so keep WPS payroll and gratuity provisions up to date and remove leavers promptly. Read WPS Payroll in UAE and Gratuity Calculation in UAE.
Monthly restaurant checklist
- POS reconciled to cash, card and bank
- Delivery-app statements recorded gross, with commission and VAT split
- Supplier statements reconciled
- Stock counted and food cost calculated
- Payroll and WPS posted; gratuity provision updated
- Monthly profit and loss by outlet
Bookkeeping built for restaurants
We reconcile your POS, delivery apps and bank every month and give you food cost and margin by outlet.