This time of year the restaurant industry typically sees a nice upswing in sales. From corporate holiday parties to extended family dinners, sales usually increase for restaurants near the end of the year.
However, like many industries, restaurants experience seasonality throughout the year, which leads to highs and lows in their bookkeeping. The highs of end-of-the-year spending cannot always offset the lows experienced throughout the rest of the year. When we work with restaurant clients there are some reliable strategies to help cut their costs and steadily increase their profits over time.
One easy way restaurants can cut food costs is by shortening their menu. Fewer items leads to fewer ingredients which leads to a lower purchasing cost. Start by identifying which items may not be selling well; they are good contenders for elimination. In addition, be strategic about your ingredients in your remaining menu items. Have a purchased item that will spoil soon? Incorporate it into your specials menu to get it sold quickly.
Another strategy for restaurants is to go paperless. Adopt a technology that allows you to text or email your customers their receipts. By eliminating the paper you save not only on the actual paper, but on printers, print cartridges, file folders and maintenance required for upkeep of these items. Restaurants are usually amazed at the amount of money saved by this simple change.
Another strategy is to reduce hours during non-peak seasons. This time of year most restaurants will be opening on time and closing late. However, in January when it’s cold and snowing they might consider closing early or staying closed on Mondays when business is slow anyways. This helps save cost on hourly employees, as well as on utilities and other expenses that accrue just from being open.
The restaurant business is highly competitive and it can be difficult to serve great food at a competitive price while also turning a profit. However, we encourage our restaurant clients to always be strategically thinking about their expenses and ways to cut their costs, especially during their non-peak months of the year.
Do you own a restaurant or simply want to learn more about some of the strategies mentioned here? Shoot us an email or give us a call at 317-580-8440 to see how we can help your business succeed!
