Fork 'n Finance

10/02/2026

🍽️ **FRIDAY FINANCE TIP**

Here’s your Friday reminder:

**Your bank balance is NOT your profit.** 👀

I know… it’s tempting to look at your bank account and think:

💰 “We have money! We must be doing great!”

Or…

😳 “Where did all the money go?!”

But your bank balance only tells you how much cash is sitting in the bank **right now.**

It doesn’t tell you:

👉 How much you actually made
👉 What you still owe your vendors
👉 What payroll is coming due
👉 How much sales tax you’re holding
👉 Whether your food costs are creeping up
👉 Whether your restaurant is actually profitable

That’s why I love a good **P&L + balance sheet + cash flow conversation.**

They each tell you a different part of the story.

So here’s your Friday Finance homework:

**Look at your current bank balance and then look at your P&L.**

Ask yourself:

**“Do these two numbers tell the same story?”**

If they don’t…

That’s not necessarily a problem.

It’s a **clue.** 🔎

And those clues are where the really good restaurant bookkeeping begins.

Have a great weekend, restaurant people! 💚💗

Send a message to learn more

09/16/2026

🍴📊 The first issue of The Restaurant Profit Playbook is LIVE!

I’m so excited to officially launch my new bi-weekly LinkedIn newsletter for independent restaurant owners.

After 25+ years in the restaurant business—from waiting tables and managing restaurants to owning a coffeehouse, specializing in restaurant bookkeeping, and co-founding a hospitality-focused bookkeeping firm—I’ve learned something:

Restaurant owners don't need more complicated accounting jargon.

They need someone who understands restaurants AND numbers.

That’s what The Restaurant Profit Playbook is all about.

Every other week, I’ll share practical, restaurant-specific education about:

🍽️ Food & labor costs
📊 Understanding your P&L
💰 Finding profit leaks
💵 Cash flow
🧾 Bookkeeping & tax preparation
📈 Restaurant numbers and KPIs
…and plenty of real-world bookkeeping tips and shortcuts.

My goal?

To help restaurant owners become more confident and financially informed—whether you're doing your own books or simply want to understand what your numbers are telling you.

Issue #1 is an introduction to me, my restaurant journey, and what you can expect from The Restaurant Profit Playbook.

👉 Read it here: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-restaurant-profit-playbook-7379592503404109824

And if you know an independent restaurant owner who could use a little more confidence around their numbers, please send them my way!

Here's to cleaner books and bigger profits! 🍴💰

Practical bookkeeping, profit strategies, and financial tips for independent restaurant owners

09/12/2026

Hey everyone! 👋💚

Well… life has been LIFE-ING. 😂

I know I’ve been a little MIA around here, and I’m sorry for disappearing! Sometimes you have a plan for how things are going to go, and then life says, “That’s cute. Let’s do something else.” 😆

But I’m here, I’m getting back into the groove, and I’m really looking forward to being more present in the group again.

So let’s ease back in with a Friday Finance Hint:

🍽️ FRIDAY HINT: Don’t wait until month-end to look at your food cost.

If you’re only looking at your food cost percentage when you get your monthly P&L, you’re looking in the rearview mirror.

Instead, pick ONE thing to check weekly:

👉 Food purchases
👉 Sales
👉 Waste
👉 Inventory
👉 Your food cost percentage

Even a quick 10-minute weekly check can help you spot a problem before it becomes a month-end surprise.

And here’s the question I want you to ask yourself:

“What changed?”

If food cost suddenly jumped from 29% to 34%, don't just accept the number. Go looking for the story behind it.

Was there a price increase?
Did you over-order?
Was there waste?
Did sales drop?
Was inventory counted differently?

The numbers are telling you something. Your job is to figure out what. 🔎

Have a great Friday, everyone! And thank you for hanging around while I’ve been letting life do its thing. ❤️

I’m happy to be back. 💚

Send a message to learn more

08/22/2026

I am getting ready to start a Newsletter here is the link for LinkedIn Subscribe on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7379592503404109824 And if you don't have LinkedIn just send a DM and I will get you set up. Have a great weekend!

Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.

07/18/2026

**🍽️ Fork 'n Finance Friday Pro Tip 🍽️**

One of the biggest mistakes I see new restaurant bookkeepers make is believing that **every restaurant is completely different.**

The truth?

While every restaurant has its own menu, concept, and personality, the bookkeeping fundamentals are remarkably similar.

Whether you're working with a:

☕ Coffee shop
🌮 Taco truck
🍕 Pizza restaurant
🍷 W**e bar
🥩 Steakhouse

The foundation is the same:

✅ Reconcile the POS to your bookkeeping
✅ Reconcile the bank accounts
✅ Record payroll correctly

Once you've mastered those three core components, everything else becomes much easier.

Don't let the different menus, vendors, or chart of accounts intimidate you. Stay focused on the fundamentals, and you'll build the confidence to work with just about any restaurant client.

**What's one part of restaurant bookkeeping that feels the most intimidating to you right now?** Drop it in the comments—I may cover it in an upcoming training! 👇

Send a message to learn more

05/24/2026

A little about the creator of Fork 'n Finance....

03/16/2026

One thing I hear a lot from bookkeepers working with restaurants is this:

"Sometimes I feel like I’m figuring this niche out on my own."

Restaurant books can be messy.

POS systems, delivery apps, inventory, payroll, vendor fluctuations… there are a lot of moving parts.

That’s actually one of the main reasons I created the Fork 'n Finance Membership — so restaurant bookkeepers could have a place to:

• ask questions
• share experiences
• learn from others in the niche
• talk through tricky client situations

Enrollment is currently open through St. Patrick’s Day, and the founding member price is available until then.

Either way, I’m really glad this group exists because it’s great seeing so many bookkeepers interested in the restaurant industry.

Premier Membership for Expert Restaurant Bookkeeping

03/13/2026

🍀 St. Patrick’s Day Surprise for Restaurant Bookkeepers 🍀

I thought it would be fun to do something special for St. Patrick’s Day this year…

So I’ve reopened the Fork 'n Finance Membership for a few days and brought back the original Member price.

When I first created Fork 'n Finance, the goal was simple:
To create a place where bookkeepers who work with restaurants could ask questions, learn from each other, and continue building expertise in this niche.

Restaurant bookkeeping can get complicated quickly — POS integrations, third-party delivery, food cost swings, labor percentages, cash handling — and it helps to have other specialists to bounce things off of.

Enrollment will be open through St. Patrick’s Day (March 17).

If you’ve been thinking about joining the membership, now is a great time because the $47/month price will be locked in as long as you remain a member.

I’d love to see some of you inside the community! 🍀

Premier Membership for Expert Restaurant Bookkeeping

10/09/2025

Hey! Check out my YouTube page!
www.youtube.com/-nk8hj
Please "like and subscribe" Thanks!

Welcome to Fork ‘n Finance! 🍽️📊 If you're a bookkeeper looking to specialize in restaurant bookkeeping, you're in the right place! With 25 years of experience in the industry, I created this channel to help restaurant bookkeepers navigate this profitable and rewarding niche. From daily sal...

10/07/2025

🍷🍕 Here’s a big one: Many restaurants pay thousands for fancy POS systems (Toast, Square, etc.)… and never set them up properly.
So instead of seeing food, liquor, b**r, w**e sales broken out, you just get one lump number. 🤦‍♀️

That makes it nearly impossible to guide the owner on:

True food cost %

How much they’re comping or discounting

Which areas are profitable (or not)

As bookkeepers, we want to help owners make smarter decisions—but without the right setup, it feels like flying blind.

👉 Have you ever helped a client clean up their POS setup? What tips would you share?