Hospitality & Venue Accounting
Cafe, restaurant and venue owners do not run their businesses from behind a desk – and their accountant should not pretend otherwise. Apex Accounting Solutions works with cafes, restaurants, bars, function venues and food trucks across Melbourne who need accounting support that fits around dinner service, rosters and stocktake.
Our hospitality accountants understand the realities of tight margins, casual rosters, tip handling, supplier credit, gaming and liquor licensing and the cash flow swing between Tuesday lunch and a fully booked Saturday. We handle the compliance side so you can focus on guests, and we translate the numbers into plain English so you always know where the venue actually stands.
Our Services
Hospitality businesses have their own rhythm – tight margins, casual rosters, supplier credit, and a compliance load that only gets heavier as you take on staff or open a second site. Our hospitality accounting services are built to match that reality, not a generic small-business template.
We lodge your BAS, IAS and PAYG on time, every time – including correct GST treatment for dine-in, takeaway and alcohol so the ATO stays off your back.
We set up your accounting software to track COGS, wage % and venue profitability in real time, so you know which sites, days and menu items are actually making money.
We model cash flow around weekly rosters, supplier terms, rent and quiet seasons so the venue never gets caught short before the next big weekend.
Single Touch Payroll, casual loadings, super and smart structuring – all handled so you keep more of what your team earns at the door.
What It’s Like to Work With Apex
We have worked with hundreds of Melbourne cafes, restaurants and venue groups – from single-site cafes to multi-venue operators. That experience turns into sharper advice, cleaner structuring and fewer ATO surprises.
Your dedicated Apex team member learns how your venue actually works – how you cost your menu, how you roster your team, how you handle suppliers – and structures your accounting around that, not the other way around.
Most of our hospitality clients move to a fixed monthly fee so they always know what their accountant is costing them. Pick up the phone, send an email, book a chat – it is all included, so advice never feels like it has a meter running.
Our Process
We start with a free consultation to understand your business, current setup, and what you need — from tax and bookkeeping to structure and compliance.
We review your financials, clean up anything needed, and set up the right systems and accounting platforms to keep everything accurate and compliant.
We manage your ongoing accounting, BAS, and tax, while providing proactive advice and support throughout the year as your business grows.
Testimonial
You can absolutely use a general accountant, but a specialist hospitality accountant will save you money and headaches. Venues have their own quirks — Hospitality Award rates, GST splits across food and alcohol, tip pooling, supplier credit and the swing between quiet weeknights and packed weekends — and we have seen them all. That experience turns into better structuring, better tax outcomes and fewer surprises.
Yes. A large share of our hospitality clients are owner-operated cafes, food trucks and small bars. We will handle your tax return, BAS and bookkeeping at a fair fee, and give you the same strategic advice we give our multi-venue groups so you can grow on your terms.
Absolutely. We set up your chart of accounts, tracking categories and POS integrations so every dish, drink and shift is captured against the right venue and revenue stream. You get real numbers on real margins — not just a lump of data at tax time.
We make sure your payroll is configured correctly for Hospitality Industry General Award rates, casual loadings, weekend penalties and superannuation, and we treat tips and tronc payments the way the ATO and Fair Work expect. If you are ever audited, your records hold up.
There is no single right answer, but the trigger points are usually around asset protection, bringing on a business partner, employing your first salaried manager, or hitting a profit level where a different structure saves meaningful tax. We will walk you through the numbers and the risks before you commit to anything.
Yes. We look after everyone from a single coffee cart through to multi-venue groups running gaming, function and accommodation operations. As your group grows, our involvement grows with you — more reporting, more planning, more strategic support.
Book a free consultation with our team today and discover how specialist hospitality accounting can keep your cafe, restaurant or venue growing.
