#restaurant
Restaurant
Accounting solutions for restaurants and food businesses
Virginia's HB 975 Replaces the 45% Food-to-Beverage Ratio: What Restaurant Owners Need to Track Now
Effective July 1, 2026, Virginia's HB 975 replaces the flat 45% food-to-beverage ratio for mixed beverage licensees with three tiers — no ratio above $48,000 in monthly food sales, 30% between $25,000 and $48,000, and 45% below that — making monthly food-sales tracking a compliance requirement, not just an annual MBAR exercise.
California's SB 68 Allergen Disclosure Law: A July 2026 Compliance Checklist for Restaurant Chains
California's SB 68 (the ADDE Act) requires restaurant chains with 20+ locations and at least one California site to disclose the nine major food allergens on every menu format starting July 1, 2026, with civil liability rather than regulatory fines as the primary enforcement risk.
Cat Cafe Accounting: Why Admission, Coffee, and Adoption Fees Need Separate Revenue Lines
Cat cafes run three distinct revenue streams — lounge admission, food and beverage, and pass-through pet adoption fees — that need separate accounting treatment because admission is often non-taxable, F&B is taxable, and adoption fees legally belong to the rescue partner as a liability, not cafe revenue.
FTC Fee Transparency Rules and NYC's 43% Delivery Cap: What Restaurants Need to Know in 2026
The FTC's April 2026 ANPRM targets hidden food-delivery fees while a new NYC law raises the cap on platform charges to restaurants from 23% to 43%. What each change means, why a $50 order can net $41 or $28.50 depending on fee tier, and how to record gross sales and platform fees correctly.
2026 State Minimum Wage Increases: A Small Employer's Budgeting Guide
Nineteen states raised their minimum wage on January 1, 2026, and Florida steps up to $15.00 on September 30. This guide covers which rate applies when federal, state, and local minimums overlap, how tipped-wage and exempt-threshold rules shift alongside the headline number, and how to budget for the pay-compression ripple effect across your wage ladder.
Automatic Gratuity Isn't a Tip: Payroll, Tax, and 'No Tax on Tips' Rules for Restaurants
Automatic gratuities fail the IRS's four-factor tip test and must be taxed as wages, which excludes them from the FICA tip credit, the FLSA overtime rate, and the new "no tax on tips" deduction.
Menu Engineering 101: Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, and Dogs
Menu engineering classifies every dish by two numbers — contribution margin (menu price minus food cost) and popularity (sales mix) — into four quadrants, Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, and Dogs, revealing that a high-volume 32% food-cost burger can generate far more total profit than a "leaner" 38% food-cost entree that rarely sells.
Accounting for Customer Loyalty & Rewards Programs Under ASC 606: Points Liability, Deferred Revenue, and Breakage
Loyalty points are a separate performance obligation under ASC 606 — allocate revenue to points at standalone value, hold it as deferred revenue, and recognize it (plus proportional breakage) only on redemption or expiry.
All-In Pricing in 2026: SB 478, the FTC Junk Fees Rule, and the State Compliance Patchwork
California SB 478, the FTC Junk Fees Rule, and new Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Connecticut statutes require all-in pricing across hotels, tickets, restaurants, and subscriptions in 2026. A practical compliance checklist covering pricing engines, third-party feeds, frontline scripts, and the accounting reclassification work that follows.
DOL Tip Pooling, the 80/20 Vacatur, and FLSA Tip Credit Compliance in 2026
How the Fifth Circuit's vacatur of the 80/20/30 rule, the DOL's 2024 technical amendment, and an expanding state mini-tip-credit patchwork reshape FLSA tip pooling, dual jobs analysis, and Section 3(m) compliance for restaurants, bars, hotels, and salons in 2026.
FLSA Youth Employment Rules for 2026: A Small Business Guide to Hiring 14- to 17-Year-Olds This Summer
A practical 2026 walkthrough of FLSA youth employment rules for small employers — the four age tiers, the 17 Hazardous Occupations Orders, state work permits, the $4.25 subminimum wage, Section 3(m) tip rules for teens, and the civil penalty math after the 2024 inflation adjustments.
OSHA's Proposed Heat Standard: A HIIPP Compliance Playbook for Construction, Restaurant, and Warehouse Employers
OSHA's proposed federal heat rule sets 80°F and 90°F triggers requiring water, shade, paid breaks, acclimatization, and a written HIIPP. Five state plans — California (Cal/OSHA 3395 and 3396), Washington, Oregon, Nevada, and Maryland — already enforce binding heat illness standards. Here's the compliance playbook construction, restaurant, warehouse, and delivery employers can build today under the General Duty Clause.