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Catch-Up Bookkeeping · Restaurants · Licensed CPA

Catch-Up Bookkeeping for Restaurants

Months or years behind on your restaurant books? We rebuild daily sales from your POS, reconcile cash, cards and delivery platforms, reconstruct cost of goods, tip pools and payroll, fix the split-rate HST across every period, and file the returns you are behind on, so your books hold up to the scrutiny restaurants routinely attract. Licensed Ontario CPA. Flat fee. All fees include HST.

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Split-Rate HST Corrected
Dine-in, takeout and alcohol classified properly across every period
Tips Reported Correctly
Controlled and direct tips separated and put on the right slips
Back Returns Filed
Outstanding HST and T2 returns filed from clean, reconciled books

Behind on Your Restaurant Books? You Are in Good Company, and It Is Fixable.

A restaurant produces hundreds of transactions a day across cash, cards, delivery platforms and gift cards, with two different sales tax treatments running side by side, tip income that is partly employment income, perishable inventory that has to be counted, and a roster that changes every month. Owners work the floor and the kitchen, so the books are the first thing to slip. Once they are behind, the HST classification, the tip reporting and the unreconciled cash compound quietly until a filing deadline or a CRA letter arrives.

We rebuild the whole picture from your POS exports, bank and processor statements and supplier invoices, so daily sales, cost of goods, tips, platform settlements and payroll are complete and correct, and the split-rate HST is right for every period. If you are behind, our restaurant accounting team can bring you current. See also our bookkeeping services for restaurants and GST/HST filing for restaurants.

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Gondaliya CPA team

Our Restaurant Catch-Up Bookkeeping Services

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Daily Sales Rebuild

We reconstruct daily sales from your POS and reconcile them to bank deposits and card settlements.

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Split-Rate HST Repair

We classify dine-in, takeout and alcohol correctly, capture input tax credits and file the back returns.

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Tip Pools & Payroll

We rebuild tip pools, separate controlled from direct tips, and correct the T4 and ROE treatment.

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Cost of Goods & Inventory

We reconstruct food, beverage, supply and packaging costs so your true food cost ratio appears.

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Delivery Platform Reconciliation

We separate gross orders, commissions and promotions, and recover the HST on platform fees.

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Back Returns Filed

Once the books are rebuilt we file the outstanding HST and T2 returns from clean numbers.

How We Catch Up Your Restaurant Books

Every moving part of a restaurant's books rebuilt, period by period, until you are current. All fees include HST.

1

Scope the Backlog

We map exactly how far behind you are and which deadlines are already live.

  • Establish which fiscal periods are unreconciled and what was actually filed for each.
  • Identify the HST and T2 corporate returns that are overdue.
  • Establish what POS, processor and bank data can be exported.
  • Prioritise the periods carrying filing deadlines and penalty exposure.
  • Put a single flat price on the entire rebuild before any work starts.
2

Rebuild Daily Sales

Revenue is the foundation, and in a restaurant it arrives through four or five channels at once.

  • Reconstruct daily sales from POS end-of-day summaries or exports.
  • Reconcile to bank deposits and card-processor settlements, day by day.
  • Separate cash, card, delivery platform and gift card activity.
  • Account for gift cards as a liability until they are redeemed.
  • Document how each period was derived where records were missing.
3

Fix the HST Split

One rate applied to everything is the error we correct most often.

  • Classify dine-in food and beverages as taxable across every period.
  • Treat qualifying takeout that is single-serving, unheated and under $4 as zero-rated.
  • Treat heated takeout, larger items and all alcohol as taxable.
  • Capture the input tax credits on supplies, equipment, repairs and platform commissions.
  • Quantify the correction per period and prepare the back returns.
4

Rebuild Tips and Payroll

Tips are where restaurant payroll exposure usually sits.

  • Separate controlled tips, pooled and distributed by the employer, from direct tips.
  • Reconcile tip pools to POS data for each affected period.
  • Correct T4s so controlled tips appear with CPP and EI applied.
  • Issue the Records of Employment that were never filed on past departures.
  • Bring WSIB reporting current from the same rebuilt payroll records.
5

Reconstruct Cost of Goods

Without this you cannot tell a busy restaurant from a profitable one.

  • Rebuild food, beverage, kitchen supply and packaging costs as separate categories.
  • Apply opening inventory plus purchases less closing inventory for each period.
  • Work from purchase records where counts were never taken, documented as estimates.
  • Produce a food cost ratio and a beverage cost ratio you can manage against.
  • Reconcile delivery platform commissions out of gross sales rather than into cost.
6

File and Keep You Current

Clean books only help once the returns are filed and stay filed.

  • Submit every overdue HST and corporate return once the numbers reconcile.
  • Reconcile owner draws and the salary and dividend mix to the T4 or T5.
  • Return the rebuilt file to you in QuickBooks Online or Xero, ready to keep running.
  • Apply for relief on penalties and interest where the facts genuinely support it.
  • Move you to monthly bookkeeping so the restaurant never falls behind again.

Free Restaurant Catch-Up Bookkeeping Consultation

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Case Studies

One HST Rate Applied to Everything

A takeout-heavy restaurant had charged and remitted at a single rate on all sales for two years, with no distinction between qualifying zero-rated takeout and taxable dine-in or alcohol. We reconstructed sales by category from the POS, quantified the correction for each period, filed the amended returns and reconfigured the POS so the classification now happens automatically. The figures here are illustrative of the work we do, not a specific client file.

Sales tax split corrected and returns refiled

Delivery Platform Deposits Booked as Revenue

A restaurant recorded net platform deposits as sales, understating revenue, hiding the commissions entirely and losing the recoverable tax on them. We reconciled every platform statement to the POS and the bank, separated gross orders from commissions and promotions, and recovered the input tax credits across the affected periods. The figures here are illustrative of the work we do, not a specific client file.

Platform settlements reconciled, credits recovered

Tip Pools Missing From T4s

A full-service restaurant pooled and distributed tips but never reported them, leaving the corporation exposed to an assessment for CPP and EI. We rebuilt the pools from POS data, corrected the slips for the affected years, disclosed voluntarily, and set up a tip reporting process the payroll now runs on automatically. The figures here are illustrative of the work we do, not a specific client file.

Tip reporting corrected and disclosed voluntarily

Two Locations, Three Years Behind

A two-site operator had no reconciled books, unfiled HST and outstanding corporate returns. We rebuilt daily sales, cost of goods, tips and payroll for both locations period by period, consolidated them, and filed every outstanding return from clean numbers with relief requested on the documented circumstances. The figures here are illustrative of the work we do, not a specific client file.

Both locations rebuilt and every return filed

Where Restaurant Books Go Wrong

The issues we find most often when catching up a restaurant, and the ones the CRA examines first.

ProblemWhy It Matters
One HST rate applied to all salesZero-rated takeout and taxable dine-in treated identically across every period
Tips omitted from payrollControlled tips belong on the T4 with CPP and EI; omitting them invites assessment
Platform deposits booked as revenueNet deposits understate sales and bury the commissions and their recoverable tax
Cash never reconciledUnreconciled cash is the single fact an auditor treats least charitably
Cost of goods as one lineNo food or beverage ratio, so waste, theft and pricing problems stay invisible
Owner draws not reconciledDraws that do not tie to a T4 or T5 invite a review of the whole file

Restaurants sit on the CRA's standing watchlist because of cash, tips and split-rate sales tax. Reconstructed books therefore have to be defensible, not merely complete, which is why we document how each period was derived. See our CRA audit resolution services.

HST and Tips: The Rules We Apply

The two areas restaurants most often get wrong, and exactly how we treat them as we rebuild your books.

ItemTreatment
Dine-in food and beveragesTaxable, including automatic gratuities added to the bill
Qualifying takeout under $4Zero-rated where the item is a single serving and not heated
Heated takeout or items over $4Taxable on the same basis as dine-in
AlcoholAlways taxable, however it is sold
Controlled tipsEmployment income on the T4, with CPP and EI applied
Direct tips kept by the serverReported by the employee on their own return, no employer CPP or EI

Unremitted source deductions reach the owner personally. Where controlled tips or wages should have carried CPP, EI and income tax and did not, those amounts become the corporation's liability with penalties and interest, and directors can be assessed personally for unremitted source deductions and unremitted HST, exposure that survives dissolving the corporation. Correcting the slips and disclosing voluntarily is treated very differently from the same facts emerging in an audit, which is the entire argument for starting the catch-up now rather than after the next busy season.

What Our Restaurant Catch-Up Includes

  • Scoping the backlog and quoting a flat fee before we start
  • Rebuilding daily sales from your POS across every channel
  • Reconciling to bank deposits, card-processor settlements and delivery platform statements
  • Correcting the split-rate HST on dine-in, takeout and alcohol for every period
  • Capturing the input tax credits on supplies, equipment, repairs and platform commissions
  • Rebuilding tip pools and separating controlled from direct tips
  • Correcting T4s, issuing outstanding ROEs and bringing WSIB reporting current
  • Reconstructing cost of goods by food, beverage, supplies and packaging
  • Filing the outstanding HST and T2 corporate returns from clean books
  • Handing you reconciled books in QuickBooks Online or Xero to carry forward

Know Your Exact Fee Before We Start

Flat fee, fixed in advance. All fees include HST. No hourly billing.

Calculate My Fee

Why Choose Gondaliya CPA for Restaurant Catch-Up?

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Restaurant Expertise

Split-rate HST, tips, platform settlements and cost of goods handled the way restaurants actually run.

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Licensed CPA Ontario

A certified CPA team rebuilds and files, not just data entry.

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Flat Fee, Upfront

All fees including HST, no hourly billing, scoped before we start.

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Fully Remote

Your books rebuilt through our secure portal, wherever your kitchen is.

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Transparent Flat-Fee Restaurant Catch-Up Pricing

ServiceFeeScopeDetails
Catch-Up Scoping & QuoteFREEOne-timeWe map the backlog, confirm deadlines and quote a flat fee before any work begins.
Single-Location Catch-UpQuoted upfrontPer backlogDaily sales, HST split, tips, cost of goods and payroll rebuilt for every period behind.
Multi-Location Catch-UpQuoted upfrontPer backlogEach site rebuilt and consolidated, with back returns filed for the corporation.
Back HST & T2 FilingIncludedPer returnOutstanding HST and corporate returns prepared and filed from clean books.
Ongoing Monthly BookkeepingQuoted upfrontMonthlyOptional, keeps the restaurant current so you never catch up twice.

All fees include HST, so the number quoted is the number you pay. Payment is by Interac e-Transfer to info@gondaliyacpa.ca with auto-deposit enabled and the security question set to Not Applicable. Please use our pricing calculator for an exact figure.

Behind on the Books? Start This Week.

Flat fee, fixed in advance. All fees include HST. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.

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Restaurant Catch-Up Bookkeeping: Cities We Serve

Licensed CPA catch-up bookkeeping for restaurants across Ontario, delivered virtually.

TorontoMississaugaBramptonScarboroughMarkhamVaughanOttawaHamiltonOakvilleAll of Ontario

Frequently Asked Questions

What is catch-up bookkeeping for a restaurant?
It is bringing a restaurant's books up to date when they have fallen behind. We rebuild daily sales from your POS, reconcile them to bank and card-processor deposits, reconstruct cost of goods sold, tip pools, delivery platform settlements, payroll and the split-rate HST, then file the returns you are behind on, so the books can withstand the scrutiny restaurants routinely draw from the CRA.
How far behind can my restaurant books be?
There is no backlog we cannot handle. Three months or three years, one location or several, we rebuild the records period by period. The longer books sit, the more the HST classification, tip reporting and cash variance issues compound, so the sooner we start the less it usually costs to put right.
Why do restaurant books fall behind?
Because owners work the floor and the kitchen, not a desk. Daily sales, cash, tips, food and beverage purchases, delivery platform settlements, payroll for a high-turnover roster and split-rate HST all move at once, seven days a week. Falling behind is common; leaving it unfixed is what turns it into exposure.
Why does the CRA look closely at restaurants?
Cash transactions, tip income and complex sales tax make the industry a standing audit priority, and the agency benchmarks restaurants against expected ratios for their concept and revenue band. A file whose numbers sit outside the expected range can be selected before anyone reads it, which is why reconstructed books need to be defensible rather than merely complete.
How is HST handled on restaurant sales?
By category, not by a single rate. Dine-in food and beverages are taxable, alcohol is always taxable, and qualifying takeout that is a single serving, not heated and under $4 is zero-rated while heated food or items over that threshold are taxable. Getting this split wrong across a year of sales is the most common restaurant bookkeeping error, and we correct it period by period.
Our POS applied one rate to everything. Can that be fixed?
Yes, and it is one of the more common things we repair. We reconstruct sales by category from the POS data, apply the correct treatment to each line, quantify the difference for every affected period, and file the corrected returns. Then we help configure the POS so the classification happens automatically rather than being decided during a busy shift.
How do you rebuild daily sales?
From the source. We pull the daily end-of-day POS summaries, reconcile them to bank deposits and card-processor settlements, and account separately for cash, cards, gift cards and delivery platforms. Where summaries are missing we reconstruct from processor statements and bank activity, then document how each period was derived.
What if cash sales were never properly recorded?
We rebuild what the records support and tell you honestly where the gaps are. Reconstructing cash from deposits, POS data and purchase patterns is standard work, but where sales were genuinely never recorded, the answer is voluntary correction rather than a reconstruction that will not survive review. We will explain both paths before doing anything.
How are tips handled in a catch-up?
By type, because the treatment differs. Controlled tips, meaning tips the employer pools and redistributes, are employment income belonging on the T4 and carrying CPP and EI. Direct tips kept by the server are reported by the employee. We rebuild the tip pools, reconcile them to POS data, and correct the T4 treatment for the affected years.
What happens if tips were never reported on T4s?
The corporation can face an assessment for the employer and employee CPP and EI that should have been withheld, with penalties and interest. Correcting the slips and disclosing voluntarily is treated very differently from the same facts emerging in an audit, so this is usually the first thread we pull when a restaurant's payroll is behind.
Do you reconcile UberEats, DoorDash and SkipTheDishes?
Yes, and platform settlements are where a surprising amount of money hides. Gross order value, platform commission, promotions and adjustments all need separating, the HST on the commission is recoverable as an input tax credit, and the net deposit rarely matches the sales figure. We reconcile each platform statement to the POS and the bank for every period.
How do you rebuild cost of goods sold?
Opening inventory plus purchases less closing inventory, broken down by food, beverage, kitchen supplies and packaging rather than carried as one lump. Where inventory counts were never taken, we work from purchase records and reasonable estimates, documented as such. The result is a food cost ratio you can actually manage against.
Can you claim the input tax credits we missed?
Usually, yes. Restaurants pay recoverable HST on supplies, equipment, repairs, delivery commissions, professional fees and more, and when books are behind these often go unclaimed. We capture the credits you are entitled to as we rebuild, which reduces the net HST owing on the back returns.
Do you file the HST returns we are behind on?
Yes. Once the books are rebuilt and the sales split is corrected, we prepare and file the outstanding returns for each period with the input tax credits claimed. See our HST return filing. Where penalties and interest have accrued, we advise on the relief options available.
Do you file our late corporate tax returns too?
Yes, and for most owners that is the whole reason for doing this. With the bookkeeping current, we prepare and submit each overdue T2 corporate return from figures that now reconcile. See our catch-up corporate tax filing for restaurants. Returns built on rebuilt, reconciled records are the ones that hold up if anyone asks questions later.
What records do you need to catch up our books?
Daily POS summaries or exports, bank and credit card statements for the full period, card-processor and delivery platform statements, supplier invoices for food, beverage and supplies, payroll records and tip distribution logs, lease and equipment agreements, and any prior filings. Where records are missing we reconstruct from bank and processor data.
Can you fix books a previous bookkeeper got wrong?
Yes, and it is a large part of what we do. We commonly find one HST rate applied to all sales, delivery platform deposits booked as gross revenue, tips omitted from payroll, cost of goods carried as a single line and cash never reconciled. We review what was done, rebuild a restaurant chart of accounts, and correct the coding period by period.
How long does restaurant catch-up bookkeeping take?
It depends on how far behind you are, how many locations you run and the state of the records. A few months behind can be days of work; several years across two or three locations takes longer. We scope it upfront, quote a flat fee, and start with the periods carrying filing deadlines.
How much does restaurant catch-up bookkeeping cost?
We quote a flat fee upfront based on the number of periods, your sales volume and the number of locations, with no hourly billing, and all fees include HST. There are no surprises once the work is scoped. Please use our pricing calculator for an exact figure.
What accounting software do you use?
QuickBooks Online or Xero, configured with a restaurant chart of accounts and integrated with your POS so daily sales post automatically. We rebuild the catch-up periods in the software and hand you clean, reconciled books to carry forward. See our note on the best accounting software for restaurants.
Which POS systems do you work with?
The common restaurant platforms, including Square, Clover, Toast, Lightspeed and TouchBistro. What matters for a catch-up is the data export: sales by category, tips, discounts, voids and payment types. We work from whatever your system produces and reconstruct the rest from bank and processor records.
Do you handle payroll for a high-turnover roster?
Yes, as part of the catch-up. We reconcile kitchen and front-of-house payroll, source deductions, T4s including tip income, and the Records of Employment that should have been issued on each departure. Unfiled ROEs are a common finding and are straightforward to clear once the payroll data is rebuilt.
What about WSIB?
Restaurants in Ontario are generally required to register, with premiums on insurable earnings and an annual reconciliation to actual figures. When payroll has been behind, WSIB reporting usually is too. We bring both current together, since they run off the same rebuilt payroll records. See our WSIB reporting service.
Do you handle restaurant groups with several sites?
Yes. Multi-location restaurants fall behind fastest, because sales, cash, tips, purchasing and payroll multiply across sites. We rebuild each location's records and consolidate them, so you get both site-level detail and a clean overall picture of the corporation, on one flat fee.
What if we already have CRA letters or an audit?
We can still help, and we should start immediately. We rebuild the books, file the outstanding HST and T2 returns, correct the payroll and tip reporting, and deal with the CRA on your behalf. Where a review is already underway, see our CRA audit resolution services.
Can penalties and interest be reduced?
Sometimes. Filing the correct returns stops further penalties accruing, and where illness, disaster or another circumstance beyond your control caused the delay, taxpayer relief can be requested on penalties and interest. We assess the grounds honestly, prepare the submission where they exist, and tell you plainly when they do not.
Is our restaurant too small for this?
No. A single location with one owner faces the same HST split, the same tip rules and the same filing obligations as a group, and the penalties do not scale down with the size of the business. Smaller restaurants are often exactly where the classification and tip issues have been running unnoticed for years.
Will you keep our books current afterwards?
If you want. Most restaurants move to monthly bookkeeping once the catch-up is done, which catches cost variances and cash discrepancies while they are small instead of eleven months later. See our bookkeeping services for restaurants. Staying current costs far less than catching up twice.
What makes restaurant bookkeeping different?
The volume and the variety. A restaurant produces hundreds of transactions a day across cash, cards, platforms and gift cards, with two sales tax treatments, tip income that is partly employment income, perishable inventory and a roster that changes constantly. Generic bookkeeping misses most of that; we build the books around how a restaurant actually runs.
How do we get started?
Please book a free consultation and tell us how far behind you are, how many locations you run, which POS you use and which returns are outstanding. We scope the catch-up, quote a flat fee, tell you exactly which records to send, and start with the periods that have deadlines. Book Free Consultation →

Meet Your Restaurant Bookkeeping Team

Sharad Gondaliya, CPA

Sharad Gondaliya, CPA

Founder & Managing Director
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation

Sharad advises restaurant owners on catch-up bookkeeping, the split-rate HST, tip reporting and back filings across Ontario and Canada.

Vandana Goel, CPA

Vandana Goel, CPA

Senior Accountant
Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation

Vandana rebuilds daily sales, platform settlements, tip pools and cost of goods period by period until the books are current.

What Our Clients Say

1300+ five-star reviews from business owners across Ontario and Canada.

Related Industries We Serve

Food service and owner-managed businesses we bring current and keep current.

Restaurants

  • Monthly bookkeeping built for food service
  • Split-rate HST filed correctly every period
  • Corporate tax and year-end from clean books

Franchises

  • Royalty and advertising fund reporting
  • Multi-unit consolidation
  • Franchisor reporting requirements met

Grocery Stores

  • Zero-rated and taxable inventory split
  • Shrinkage and cost-of-goods tracking
  • Supplier rebates accounted correctly

Small Businesses

  • Flat-fee books, payroll and tax
  • Catch-up work and ongoing compliance
  • One firm from cleanup to filing

Behind on Your Restaurant Books? Let a CPA Catch You Up.

We rebuild your daily sales, tips, cost of goods and platform settlements, correct the HST split, and file the returns you are behind on, so your restaurant is ready for whatever the CRA asks. Flat fee. All fees include HST.

Licensed CPA Ontario
1300+ Five-Star Reviews
HST & Tips Handled
Flat Fee, Including HST
Book Free ConsultationRestaurant Bookkeeping
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