Accounting Basics for a Food Truck Business

Image Source: mobile-cuisine.com

Image Source: mobile-cuisine.com

A person who goes into the food truck business because of a love of food will eventually be turned off by the business if he or she sees that the business is bleeding dry. In other words, c

The Basics of Accounting

The money you use to start a food truck business is called starting capital. As a general rule, start-up capital pays for the food truck, supplies, salaries, permits, marketing, packaging, and equipment. Once your business starts, you have to have a revolving fund. You can get this initially from your start-up capital but you should be able to tap into your gross profits to keep the fund from being depleted.

However, before you even open up for business, you should seek the services of a cost accountant. This is the person who will help you set your menu and food prices. A cost accountant will take everything that is spent to produce a certain food item and tell you the minimum amount you can charge for that specific item. If you go below that amount, you will be losing money. The cost accountant is also a very valuable resource for information on how to cut costs so you do not have to charge as much.

Golden Rules in Business

There are a few golden rules in business and a few of them are:

  • Never spend more than what you are making in profits.
  • Give yourself a salary and do not see your profits as your personal income. The money minus your salary has to go back into business to pay for ingredients, fuel, and other expenses.
  • Conduct a regular inventory on your raw ingredients, packaging, and equipment.
  • Keep a detailed record of all your expenses and sales. This will give you valuable information on what are selling, peak hours, and unnecessary expenditures.

Other recommendations include Investing in a POS system which will also serve as your daily sales record and inventory and hiring a part-time accountant who can help you with tax returns and Profit and Loss statement.

 

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