Deli and QSR on a PDI store
Prepared food is the highest-margin part of a store when it is controlled, and the first place margin leaks when it is not. This page explains how to record deli or quick-service sales, food cost, waste and franchise fees so you see what the food business really earns. We do not sell PDI or any food program.
Works with your POS, back-office & accounting stack
Keep prepared food sales in their own income account, buy-in costs in food cost, and any royalty or advertising fees in their own expense lines. Compare food cost to food sales every month, and keep waste visible. Franchise terms come from your agreement, so confirm them with the franchisor.
By the FuelCFO team. Where this page describes a vendor's product, the details come from the vendor's own public descriptions and can change, so confirm them with the vendor. Figures in diagrams are illustrative.
A deli or quick-service counter turns raw ingredients into a sale, which means costs and margins behave differently from packaged goods. How food sales appear in PDI depends on your setup, so confirm with PDI. We work from the reports your PDI setup already produces, your statements and your QuickBooks Online file. We are not part of PDI, we do not set up or change anything in it, and what your own plan reports is something to confirm with PDI.
Prepared food margins and packaged goods margins are very different. If both sit in one store sales line, a good deli hides a weak shelf, or the reverse. Give food its own income account and, if useful, its own department in the report.
Food cost is what you spent on ingredients, supplies and packaging, adjusted for what is left on hand. Compare it with food sales every month. A food cost percentage that moves without a reason is the first sign of waste, over-portioning or theft.
Food that is made and thrown away is a real cost. If it is hidden inside cost of goods, you cannot see whether it is getting worse. A simple waste log, even a weekly total, lets the books show it on its own line.
If you operate a branded counter, you may pay royalties, advertising contributions or technology fees. These belong in their own expense lines so margin is read after fees. The amounts and calculation come from your agreement, so keep a copy with the books.
Food vendors, bread, dairy and produce deliveries should be matched to invoices, with credits for returns. Rebates or promotions from a supplier are not food sales. Record them in their own account, as your accountant directs.
For what to check each month, go to the table. For the common mistakes, go to where it goes wrong. The full service is described on our prepared food and deli accounting and franchise fee accounting pages. To have a team own it, see what we do.
Prepared food has its own income account.
Ingredients and supplies are compared with food sales monthly.
Waste is recorded on its own line, not buried in cost.
Royalty and advertising fees go to their own expense lines.
You see the margin after cost, waste and fees.
In your PDI reports, by department.
Where food and packaged goods share a department, we ask how to split them.
We tell you the report names we need.
Food sales go to their own account.
Packaged goods stay in store sales.
Each store is kept separate.
Vendor invoices are coded to food cost.
Credits for returns are matched, not ignored.
Supplier rebates go to their own account.
Waste from your log and franchise fees from statements.
Fees are checked against the agreement when it is available.
Anything unusual is listed for you.
Food sales less food cost, waste and fees.
A change from last month is flagged with a likely cause.
You get a short note.
Report names depend on your PDI setup and your franchise program. Ask PDI and your franchisor what yours are called.
Food margin is invisible.
Rising cost goes unnoticed.
You cannot tell if it is getting worse.
Margin looks better than it is.
Revenue is overstated.
You want to know what food really earns.
You want fees shown on their own lines.
You want it set up cleanly from the start.
No waste log yet? Start with a weekly total. We will show you how to use it.
A 30-minute call and about 48 hours of review, free, of how PDI Foodservice and Deli Accounting shows up in your PDI reports and in QuickBooks today.
We write down the QuickBooks account each item goes to, and why.
The first month is posted that way and tied to the bank.
Any fuel side of PDI Foodservice and Deli Accounting recorded where it belongs.
5 services →PDI Foodservice and Deli Accounting: store income and cost of goods kept in separate accounts.
9 services →Tax and pass-through money from PDI Foodservice and Deli Accounting recorded as a liability.
4 services →PDI Foodservice and Deli Accounting handled the same way at every store.
3 services →FAQ
More guides on the same system, or send us a day or a month for a free review.
Monthly bookkeeping for stores that run PDI: daily reconciliation, month-end close and PDI totals posted into QuickBooks Online.
Read more →How we find the first bad day, fix the map and close the months.
Read more →A step-by-step month-end close checklist for a gas station running Verifone, PDI and QuickBooks Online.
Read more →Send us a day or a month and we'll show you where the three systems disagree.
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