Restaurant numbers that hold up to a cash proof

Restaurants are cash-heavy, run on thin margins, and sell through several channels that each pay out differently. That is exactly why SBA now requires a cash proof, and why restaurant books need a controller who knows where the money hides.

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Quality of Earnings

What we test in a restaurant QoE

POS sales reconciled to bank deposits, by channel
Third-party delivery payouts, commissions, and refunds
Cash sales and cash handling controls
Comps, voids, and discounts as a share of sales
Prime cost (food, beverage, and labor) trends by location
Tip pooling, tip credits, and payroll tax treatment
Sales tax filings tied to reported revenue
Gift card liabilities and occupancy costs, including related-party leases

Lender QoE · Buyer QoE · Which QoE do I need?

Every channel, tied to the bank

Dine-in and counter POS
Online ordering and catering
Third-party delivery apps, net of commissions
Merchant processor batches and chargebacks
Cash deposits
Gift card sales and redemptions

CFO services

Finance leadership for restaurants

Weekly flash reporting: sales, labor, and prime cost
Multi-unit close with location-level P&Ls
Delivery-platform and merchant-processor reconciliations
Menu pricing and margin analysis
Cash forecasting for new units and remodels

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Why restaurants get extra scrutiny. The SOP's cash proof must reconstruct receipts and disbursements from bank statements and reconcile them to the income statement and tax return for the trailing 12 months and the last two fiscal years. Unreported cash and channel fees surface here first.

Questions buyers and lenders ask

Does a restaurant acquisition need a QoE under the new SBA rule?

If it's a 7(a) Initial Acquisition or Business Expansion with a business purchase price of $3 million or more, yes. Multi-unit groups cross that line far more often than single locations. Below it, a lender-requested QoE or Buyer QoE Lite tests the same cash questions at lower cost.

How do you verify restaurant cash sales?

With the cash proof: we rebuild receipts from bank statements and tie them to POS reports by channel, third-party delivery payouts net of commissions, and merchant-processor batches, then to the income statement and tax return. Gaps get quantified, not assumed away.

Can unreported cash sales be counted?

No. Under SOP 50 10 8.1 the QoE reconciles to tax returns and IRS transcript data, and the lender sizes the loan on the QoE earnings. Income that isn't in the deposits and the returns doesn't support debt.

Two ways to start

Buying or financing a deal? Start with a QoE conversation. Running the business? Start with a CFO conversation.

Quality of Earnings CFO services