Whether you’re opening a new restaurant, or playing with new ways to save money at your current restaurant, budgeting the correct way can save you a ton of money! Knowing how much money you bring in each month lets you know the targets you’re hitting and if your restaurant is actually successful. Being aware of how much money you’re making allows you to be proactive with your money and plan for the future. Here are some tips for restaurant budgeting:
Forecast your Restaurant’s Sales
If you don’t already keep track of your profits, you need to go back and gather your sales from the past year. Once you know your sales from the past year, you need to make a 12-month budget. This isn’t something that needs to wait until January of each year (we know you’re just trying to procrastinate!). You can make a budget any month of the year.
Create your Budget
Making your actual budget helps you plan for the year ahead. Obviously you might make some missteps, but those can be easily corrected. It’s better to plan for the future and adapt as time passes than to completely ignore it and have to go into self-preservation mode without any idea of what you’re doing. Creating a budget allows you to set goals for the restaurant and that way at the end of your 12-month budget, you can see if you exceeded goals (or completely flopped, but we’re hoping for the former!).
Setting a budget for any business can seem stressful, but if you take the time to sit down and truly make a budget, you’ll know where your restaurant stands and you’ll be able to set goals and plan for the future.
