Pizza Today - April 2022 - 34

Bookkeeper & CPA
To pay on time, you need a capable
OPERATIONS
Cash on Hand
Cash flow best practicies By Mike Bausch
H
ighly disciplined people tend
to have been through something
that made them that way.
Discipline is not an inherited trait; it's
learned. People in recovery never want
to go back to their rock bottom. People
who fanatically work out tend to have
grown up unhealthy. Most great business
professionals I know come from hardship.
They've seen their business ventures
close or come close to it, which motivates
them to respect every penny. Early on,
after having our best sales weeks ever, I
felt empty and dumb when my debit card
declined at a gas station. That failure and
the resolve to never let it happen again
started from a misunderstanding of cash
flow. Great Revenue is meaningless without
standards and protocols to handle the
waves of expenses.
Pizza people are passionate about
fermentation times, hydration percentage,
what type of flour was used, etc. Rarely
are these conversations revolving around
cash flow. However, cash flow determines
success or failure. Many successful or
seemingly prosperous restaurants close
34 / PIZZATODAY.COM / APRIL 2022
because of poor cash flow. Here's, from
experience, how to manage, mitigate and
act like the big boys when you're an independent
controlling cash flow.
Pay on Time
First and foremost, pay your bills. Don't
just eventually pay them; pay them like a
professional that's dependable and not a
delinquent payee that continually needs
chasing down. I've met operators who
like to keep their money in the bank till
the last possible second under the guise
of building interest. That's ill-fated logic.
Don't just pay on time; pay ahead of time.
For your big vendor payments, pay those
on a seven-day net. Do this even if you
have the option of 90 days. If you are way
later today than a seven-day net, slowly
move it ahead week by week until you
get to a seven-day net. This way, you're
valued as a highly capable customer. Also,
if you ever get into a jam, your vendor will
have your back because you've had theirs.
If you're the " check is in the mail " style
customer, your vendor will not go to bat
for you when the chips are down.
bookkeeper. That potentially could be you
or someone close to you. But I highlight
the word capable. This person MUST know
how to properly code on your general ledger,
otherwise known as GL codes. You want to
make sure vendors, payments and codes get
set up in a focused non-asinine manner, and
that it's clearly discernible what money went
to what vendor and for what reason. Most
businesses run on QuickBooks. There are
several other options in the landscape, but
it's the most widely agreed-upon software.
A good bookkeeper needs to be skilled in
your program of choice and set up for success
from the start. I suggest utilizing a competent
restaurant CPA to act as a CFO for hire.
When you're small and don't have access
to high-level talent daily, like a full-fledged
CFO, rent that talent hourly to lay the proper
groundwork. Let them guide you and your
bookkeeper for how you should set things
up rather than try and invent it yourself. This
person must be versed in restaurants. Ideally,
this CPA has consulted for multiple independent
chains and franchises, not a run-of-themill
accountant who once helped a restaurant
a few years back. Check with your banks and
ask who they regard as a great CPA; that will
tell you more than a Google search.
A great bookkeeper is trustworthy,
dependable, a self-starter and thorough.
Also, they're someone who doesn't get easily
sidetracked. This role is more important than
your best pizza baker or best manager. Your
bookkeeper's success or failure determines
whether you thrive or close due to fiscal
mismanagement. Have checks and balances
on this person, pay by check and sign every
payment. Look into the bank account daily,
check the payouts, discounts and petty cash.
Realize now that nice and seemingly good
people steal all the time. Good people steal
when it appears there's no system to overtly
check on them and tell them not to take
cookies from the cookie jar.
I mage via alexialex/stock.adobe.com
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Pizza Today - April 2022

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