Industry Guide
Restaurant Bookkeeping Checklist Canada: A Practical Guide
A practical restaurant bookkeeping checklist for Canadian food-service businesses, covering sales, inventory, payroll, GST/HST, receipts and year-end records.
A restaurant bookkeeping checklist in Canada should help you track daily sales, food and supply purchases, inventory, payroll, tips, GST/HST and supporting receipts in a consistent system. The right process depends on your business structure, activities, GST/HST status, employees and the records you keep. Good bookkeeping does not guarantee a deduction, refund, tax result or error-free return, but organized records can make it easier to calculate income and expenses and respond if the CRA asks for support.
This guide is designed for restaurants, cafés, food trucks, caterers and other food-service operators. It focuses on practical record organization rather than promising that any particular cost is deductible or that a tax position will apply to every business.
1. Set up separate restaurant bookkeeping records
Start by keeping records for each business separately. If you operate more than one location, consider maintaining location-level sales and expense records so that you can compare activity and reconcile each site to its bank deposits and payment processor reports. The CRA says business records can include invoices, receipts, statements, agreements, images and other information in paper or electronic form. You are generally required to keep records for at least six years from the end of the last tax year to which they relate. See the CRA guidance on business records.
Choose a consistent filing structure
- Create folders for sales, supplier invoices, rent, utilities, repairs, advertising, professional fees, payroll, GST/HST and banking.
- Use the same expense categories every month.
- Keep digital copies readable and backed up.
- Do not mix personal purchases with restaurant transactions where you can avoid it.
- Save contracts and agreements for leases, equipment, delivery services, software and financing.
The CRA does not prescribe one bookkeeping system. Your system can be paper, electronic or a combination, provided the records are clear and support the transactions.
2. Reconcile daily restaurant sales
Restaurants may receive cash, debit, credit, online-ordering payments, gift-card payments and delivery-platform deposits. Record sales by business date and payment type, then compare the totals with point-of-sale reports, cash counts, bank deposits and processor statements.
Income records should show the date, amount and source of income. The CRA identifies sales invoices, cash-register tapes, receipts and bank deposit slips as examples of documents that may support income entries. Review the CRA’s income-record requirements when designing your daily close process.
Daily sales close checklist
- Run the point-of-sale daily sales report.
- Record gross sales, discounts, refunds, voids and complimentary items separately.
- Separate cash, debit, credit, delivery-platform and other payment methods.
- Count cash and record the deposit amount.
- Save processor reports and delivery-platform statements.
- Investigate differences between the point-of-sale report, cash count and deposit.
- Record sales taxes using the categories configured for your business and location.
Do not assume that a bank deposit is the same as revenue. Processor fees, refunds, chargebacks and timing differences can change the deposit amount. Your bookkeeping should preserve the connection between the sale, the payment method and the amount deposited.
3. Track food, beverage and operating purchases
Separate purchases by what they are used for. Typical categories may include food ingredients, beverages, packaging, cleaning supplies, smallwares, equipment repairs, rent, utilities, insurance, advertising and professional services. The category should describe the transaction well enough for you to understand how it relates to the business.
The CRA explains that a business expense claim must be supported by an invoice, purchase agreement, receipt or another voucher supporting the expenditure. Receipts should generally identify the purchase date, supplier, buyer, description and, where applicable, the supplier’s business number. Read the CRA’s expense-record guidance for the information to capture when a receipt is incomplete.
Restaurant purchase controls
- Match supplier invoices to delivery notes or receiving records.
- Record returns, credits, shortages and damaged goods.
- Keep invoices for recurring suppliers in date order.
- Record whether a purchase is an operating cost, inventory item or property requiring separate treatment.
- Attach a short note to unusual purchases, staff events or mixed business and personal transactions.
- Keep proof of payment, such as a bank or credit-card statement, with the receipt when useful.
Personal expenses are not business expenses. A transaction that benefits both the owner and the restaurant may require a reasonable allocation based on the facts and supporting records. Eligibility for any expense treatment depends on those facts and records.
4. Count inventory and monitor food costs
Inventory is central to restaurant bookkeeping because food, beverage and packaging purchases may not tell the whole story for a reporting period. Track opening inventory, purchases, transfers, waste, spoilage, staff meals, promotional use and closing inventory where relevant to your accounting process.
The CRA states that an annual inventory is generally required and that inventory is used to calculate cost of goods sold and net income on Form T2125 for applicable business activities. The CRA also provides information on inventory and cost of goods sold.
Inventory checklist
- Choose a regular count date and document who performed the count.
- Use consistent units, such as cases, bottles, kilograms or individual items.
- Separate sellable stock from expired, damaged or unusable items.
- Keep count sheets or electronic count reports.
- Compare purchases and usage with sales trends.
- Investigate unusual food-cost changes rather than adjusting figures without support.
- Retain year-end count records with the rest of your tax documents.
5. Organize payroll, wages and tips
Restaurant payroll records should connect employee hours, wage calculations, deductions, remittances and year-end slips. The CRA’s GST/HST and payroll records guidance states that payroll records must include hours worked and amounts withheld for income tax, CPP and EI where applicable. It also identifies documents such as TD1 forms, information slips and filed returns.
Tips need special attention. The CRA explains that the treatment of employee tips can depend on whether the employer controls the amount or distribution. Review the CRA page on tips received by employees and document your tip process, including tip-pool calculations, credit-card tips, cash tips and amounts paid through payroll.
Payroll record checklist
- Keep approved timesheets or time-clock records.
- Save payroll summaries and remittance confirmations.
- Record taxable benefits and other payroll adjustments.
- Document how tips are collected, allocated and paid.
- Reconcile payroll expense to the bank account.
- Keep employee forms and year-end information slips as required.
6. Review GST/HST sales and purchases
If your restaurant is registered for GST/HST, your bookkeeping should distinguish sales and purchases in a way that lets you calculate tax collected, tax paid and the amounts reported on your return. The CRA says GST/HST records must describe goods and services in enough detail to determine whether GST/HST applies and must allow the registrant to calculate amounts collected, payable, refundable or claimable.
Use the CRA’s GST/HST record requirements and input tax credit documentation guidance when reviewing supplier invoices. Depending on the invoice amount, supporting information may include the supplier’s name, date, amount, GST/HST details, registration number, buyer information and a description of the supply.
Food-service tax treatment can vary by the type of supply and how it is sold. For example, the CRA explains that food and beverages sold in dining rooms, cafés, bars and similar establishments are generally subject to GST/HST, while specific exceptions can apply. Review the CRA’s food and beverage GST/HST information before configuring your point-of-sale tax categories. Eligibility and treatment depend on the facts of the transaction.
7. Practical example: closing a café month
Imagine a café that closes its books at the end of each month. The owner exports the point-of-sale report, separates cash and card sales, and matches card totals to payment-processor statements. The owner then uploads supplier invoices, marks credits for returned dairy products, records payroll from the payroll report, and counts coffee, food and packaging inventory.
During the review, the owner notices that bank deposits are lower than point-of-sale sales because processor fees and refunds were recorded separately. Instead of changing revenue to match the deposits, the owner keeps the sales report, processor statement, fee entry and refund documentation together. The owner also flags a catering invoice for review because the tax treatment may differ from an ordinary café sale. This creates a clearer audit trail without assuming that every transaction receives the same tax treatment.
8. Monthly and year-end review checklist
- Reconcile each bank and payment-processor account.
- Review unpaid supplier invoices and customer balances.
- Compare sales reports with deposits and investigate variances.
- Check that receipts are readable and linked to the correct category.
- Review inventory counts, waste and supplier credits.
- Reconcile payroll expense, tips, remittances and payroll liabilities.
- Review GST/HST collected and paid, if registered.
- Separate repairs, equipment and improvements for further review.
- Save year-end inventory counts and financial reports.
- Back up electronic records and confirm that files can be opened.
Restaurant record-keeping checklist
Use this short checklist before filing or giving records to a bookkeeper:
- Daily sales reports and cash counts
- Bank deposits and bank statements
- Debit, credit and delivery-platform statements
- Supplier invoices and proof of payment
- Inventory count sheets
- Waste, spoilage, refunds and credit records
- Payroll reports, hours and remittance records
- Tip-pool or tip-distribution records
- GST/HST sales and purchase documentation
- Lease, equipment, insurance and service agreements
- Receipts for repairs, advertising and professional fees
- Year-end financial statements and supporting schedules
Next step: create a weekly bookkeeping routine
Start with one repeatable routine: close sales daily, upload receipts as purchases arrive, reconcile payments weekly and review payroll and GST/HST records before the reporting or filing work begins. A receipt-scanning and expense-organizing workflow such as TiKi Tax can help you keep purchase documents together, while mileage and report tools can support other parts of your record system. You remain responsible for reviewing entries and deciding whether a transaction is supported and eligible based on your circumstances.
Educational information only: This article is general information, not tax, accounting or legal advice. CRA treatment depends on the facts, records and rules applicable to your business. Consider consulting a qualified Canadian tax professional for advice about your restaurant.