Accountant

Responsible for day-to-day financial control and reporting for a restaurant (or group of restaurants). Ensures accurate cash management, cost control, vendor and payroll oversight, and timely financial forecasting to support profitable operations and compliance.

Key Responsibilities

• Daily cashflow management: run, review and reconcile daily cashflow reports; monitor cash positions, deposits, and petty cash; escalate variances.
• Daily cash audit: verify cash takings against POS reports, bank deposits and manager receipts; investigate discrepancies.
• Wastage audit: track, record and analyze food/beer/waste variance; reconcile waste reports to production/stock usage and recommend corrective actions.
• Daily payroll audit: verify timecards, tip pools, overtime calculations and payroll data before processing; reconcile labor costs to schedules and sales.
• Purchase order & sales auditing: review and approve/verify purchase orders; reconcile received goods vs. PO and supplier invoices; audit daily sales reporting for completeness and integrity.
• Purchasing forecasting: forecast short‑ and medium‑term ingredient and supply needs using historical usage, upcoming promotions and sales trends; optimize order timing and quantities to minimize stockouts and waste.
• Vendor relations: maintain supplier relationships; resolve invoicing, delivery or quality issues; negotiate pricing, lead times and service levels.
• Costing management: maintain and update menu item costings, recipe yields and food cost percentages; run margin analyses and recommend menu/pricing adjustments.
• Vendor tenders & contracts: prepare, manage and evaluate vendor tender processes; compare bids, recommend award decisions and manage contract renewals/terms.
• Price audits: continuously monitor supplier pricing and invoice accuracy; implement spot checks and scheduled audits to ensure contracted pricing is honored.
• Reporting & analysis: prepare daily/weekly/monthly financial summaries for operations and leadership (sales, labor %, food cost, variances); highlight trends and propose corrective measures.
• Compliance & controls: enforce internal controls, maintain accurate records, support external/internal audits and ensure compliance with tax and regulatory requirements.
• System maintenance: keep accounting and inventory systems updated, ensure accurate chart of accounts mapping for multi‑location operations.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance or related field (or equivalent experience).
• 2–4 years accounting experience, preferably in hospitality/restaurant industry; high-volume retail/foodservice experience strongly preferred.
• Proficiency with accounting software (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, Sage) and POS/inventory systems; advanced Excel skills (pivot tables, lookups).
• Strong understanding of cost accounting, inventory valuation, payroll processing and internal controls.

Key Skills & Attributes

• Detail-oriented with strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills for vendor and operations interactions.
• Ability to prioritize and work under daily deadlines.
• Integrity, reliability and ability to enforce controls diplomatically.
• Comfortable working with cross-functional teams (kitchen, operations, purchasing, HR).

KPIs / Targets (examples)

• Daily cash variance < X%
• Food cost % within target range
• Payroll cost % within target range
• Purchase order/invoice match rate > 98%
• Vendor pricing discrepancies resolved within Y days

Optional / Nice-to-Have

• CPA/part-qualified or equivalent.
• Experience with multi-unit restaurant accounting and centralized finance models.
• Familiarity with vendor tender platforms and contract management systems.