Great Food.
Profitable Business.
Both Are Possible.
Restaurants and hospitality businesses run on thin margins, complex payroll, and daily cash management. Most accountants don't understand the industry. We do — and we build the financial systems that keep your doors open and your margins intact.
Prime Cost Is One of the Most Important Metrics in Hospitality
Prime cost — food cost plus labor cost — is a key operating metric in food service. Many operators aim to keep it within a healthy range based on concept, pricing, and labor model. We build the reporting that keeps you on top of it before it becomes a problem.
What's Eating Your Margins
The hospitality industry has some of the most complex accounting in small business. These are the problems we see most often — and solve.
Food Cost & Waste Tracking
Food cost should run 28–35% of revenue. Most restaurants don't track it accurately because inventory management is manual, waste isn't recorded, and recipe costing is never done. The result is margin erosion that's invisible until it's too late.
Labor Cost Management
Labor is typically 30–35% of revenue in food service. Overtime, tip credits, tip pooling rules, and scheduling inefficiencies can push this to 45%+ without anyone noticing until payroll hits.
Cash Handling & POS Reconciliation
Reconciling POS system reports to actual bank deposits — accounting for tips, voids, comps, and cash drawer variances — is one of the most error-prone processes in the industry.
Tip Reporting & Payroll Compliance
Tip reporting, FICA tip credits, tip pooling compliance, and service charge vs. tip distinctions are a minefield. Getting it wrong means IRS exposure and potential wage claims.
Multi-Location Complexity
A second location doesn't just double your revenue — it doubles your accounting complexity. Intercompany transactions, shared staff, and consolidated reporting require systems that most restaurant accountants don't have.
Alcohol & Excise Tax Compliance
Breweries, distilleries, and bars face excise tax obligations, TTB reporting, and state liquor license compliance that general accountants routinely miss or mishandle.
Seasonal Cash Flow Swings
Montana restaurants and hospitality businesses face dramatic seasonal swings — peak summer and ski season followed by slow shoulder months. Without cash flow forecasting, the slow months are always a crisis.
Vendor Payments & AP Timing
Food and beverage vendors often require COD or net-7 terms. Managing vendor payment timing against weekly cash flow is a constant balancing act that most operators handle reactively.
What a Healthy Hospitality
Business Looks Like
Most restaurants and bars never achieve this state — not because it's impossible, but because the financial systems were never built to support it. This is what we're building toward.
Prime Cost Actively Managed
Your combined food cost and labor cost is tracked against a target range suited to your concept and pricing model. You know it every week — not at year-end. When it creeps up, you catch it before it becomes a crisis.
POS Reconciled to the Books
Your point-of-sale system, payroll, and accounting are connected. No manual entry. No month-end surprises. Your books close in days, not weeks.
Seasonal Cash Reserves Built
You know exactly how much to set aside during peak season to survive the shoulder months. No line-of-credit panic in October. No payroll stress in February.
Owner Out of the Weeds
You're not reconciling bank statements or chasing receipts. You're running the restaurant. The financial systems run without you — and report to you monthly.
What Are You Trying to Solve?
We work with hospitality businesses at every stage — from first-year restaurants to multi-location operators.
Survive the First Two Years
Most restaurants fail in the first two years — and bad accounting is a leading cause. We get your books right, track your prime cost, and give you the financial visibility to make it through.
Protect Your Margins
You're open and profitable, but margins are tighter than they should be. We identify where the leakage is — food cost, labor, waste, or pricing — and help you fix it.
Open a Second Location
You're ready to expand, but you need to know your first location's unit economics before you commit. We build the financial model and set up the multi-entity structure for growth.
Services for Hospitality Businesses
We work across every type of hospitality operation — from solo restaurant owners to multi-location groups and brewery taprooms.
Need a one-time project? Our Advisory Services menu includes à la carte projects like prime cost analysis, POS setup, and cash flow modeling — priced transparently.
The foundation. POS reconciliation, prime cost tracking, and payroll so you know your numbers every week — not just at year-end.
The rhythm. Monthly bookkeeping, sales tax, and inventory so your books are always current and compliant.
The strategy layer. Cash flow forecasting, seasonal planning, and multi-entity structure for operators ready to grow.
What Changes When We Work Together
We Understand Seasonal Hospitality
Montana hospitality businesses face a unique challenge: extreme seasonality. A Glacier-area restaurant might do 70% of its annual revenue in 12 weeks. A ski-town bar has two peak seasons separated by a dead shoulder.
We build cash flow models that account for your specific seasonal pattern — helping you set aside reserves during peak season and plan for the slow months without a cash crisis.
Software We Work With
We integrate with your POS, payroll, and accounting systems.
What We've Done for Hospitality Businesses
Real outcomes from real restaurants, hotels, and hospitality operators — not projections.
Ice Cream Shop — $820K, Montana
Restructured to S-corp, corrected tip reporting, and implemented weekly cash flow tracking. Owner saved $13K in year one and finally understood her true food cost percentage.
Restaurant Group — $4.2M, 3 Locations
Built per-location P&L, standardized food and labor cost tracking, and created a weekly flash report. Owner could see which location was underperforming within the first month.
Boutique Hotel — $2.8M, Wyoming
Built lender-ready financials with RevPAR and ADR analysis. Secured a $1.4M SBA 7(a) loan for a property renovation. Bank required 3-year projections — delivered in 12 days.
What Hospitality Owners Say
“I had no idea what my actual food cost was. 406 built me a weekly report that shows food cost, labor cost, and net margin by day. I cut food waste by 12% in the first quarter.”
“Tax season used to be a nightmare. Now it's just another month. 406 keeps our books clean all year, handles tip reporting, and makes sure we're not leaving money on the table.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Run a More Profitable Kitchen?
Whether you're a first-year restaurant or a multi-location operator, we build the financial systems that protect your margins and keep your doors open.
Serving restaurants, breweries, and hospitality businesses across Montana and the Mountain West.