Multi-location restaurant chain transforms accounting operations
A Dubai-based restaurant group operates 5 full-service dining locations across the city, serving Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine. With annual revenue exceeding AED 15 million, the business employs 80 staff members and processes over 10,000 transactions monthly across dine-in, delivery platforms, and catering services.
Each location uses Foodics POS systems with multiple payment methods including cash, card, and delivery platform integrations (Talabat, Deliveroo, Zomato). The business needed professional accounting to support expansion plans and secure bank financing.
Daily POS closing took 3-4 hours per location with frequent mismatches between cash, cards, and delivery platforms. Bank reconciliations lagged by 2-3 weeks.
Food cost and labor cost percentages were estimated, not calculated. No visibility into which menu items or locations were profitable.
Quarterly VAT returns filed late 3 times in 12 months, resulting in AED 5,000 in FTA penalties. Input VAT recovery was incomplete.
Owners had no reliable cash flow forecasts. Vendor payments were reactive rather than planned, damaging supplier relationships.
Ratio implemented a structured accounting system built around daily discipline, automated workflows, and monthly financial reporting with operational insights.
Connected Foodics API to accounting system for automated daily sales recording by location, payment method, and revenue type. Eliminated manual data entry.
Established mandatory end-of-day reconciliation for cash, cards, and delivery platforms at each location. Reduced reconciliation time from 4 hours to 30 minutes per location.
Implemented recipe costing and portion control tracking. Calculated actual food cost percentage weekly by location and menu category.
Built 13-week rolling cash flow forecast based on historical patterns, planned vendor payments, and seasonal trends. Updated weekly.
Delivered P&L by location, consolidated financials, KPI dashboard (food cost %, labor cost %, prime cost), and variance commentary by the 5th of each month.
"Before Ratio, I was buried in spreadsheets every night trying to figure out if we made money. Now I get clean financials on the 5th of every month with commentary that actually helps me make decisions. We caught a supplier overcharging us by 12% in month two."
Owner, Restaurant Group
Ratio continues to manage complete accounting, VAT compliance, and monthly financial reporting for all 5 locations. We supported the client's successful bank loan application with audited financials and cash flow projections, enabling expansion into a 6th location in 2024.
The business now reviews financial performance weekly using Power BI dashboards that track sales trends, cost variances, and cash position in real-time.
Get the same structured accounting, POS integration, and financial reporting that helped this business improve cash flow by 35%.