Accountants for Hospitality
Businesses in Ireland

Restaurants, cafés, hotels, bars & food operators

Less admin. Clear margins. Better nights’ sleep.

Running a hospitality business is relentless. Long hours, tight margins, staff turnover, rising costs, and constant pressure on cash flow. The last thing you need is unclear numbers or tax surprises. Forti provides specialist accounting for hospitality businesses across Ireland. We help you understand your margins, control costs, stay compliant, and make better decisions — without drowning in spreadsheets or paperwork.
Book a free hospitality finance review

Why hospitality businesses need specialist accountants

Hospitality accounting is not standard accounting. Volume, VAT, wastage, payroll complexity, and margin sensitivity make it one of the toughest sectors to manage financially.
A generic accountant may file returns. A specialist accountant helps you stay profitable.
What specialist hospitality accounting gives you
  • Clear visibility on gross margin and food cost percentage
  • Proper handling of multiple VAT rates
  • Control over staff costs and payroll compliance
  • Monthly insight instead of year-end surprises
Ask us to run the numbers for your situation

The financial realities hospitality owners face

If you run a restaurant, café, bar, hotel, or food business, this will sound familiar:

Tight margins and rising costs

Food inflation, energy bills, rent, and staff costs creep up quietly. Without regular reporting, profit disappears before you notice.

VAT complexity

Different VAT rates across food, drink, takeaway, accommodation, and events can create costly mistakes if not handled correctly.

Cash flow pressure

Busy doesn’t always mean profitable. Suppliers, payroll, and Revenue need paying even when cash is tight.

Staff and payroll headaches

High staff turnover, variable hours, tips, service charges, and holiday pay make payroll a constant challenge.

No time to look at the numbers

You are on the floor, in the kitchen, or dealing with suppliers — not analysing spreadsheets late at night.

Ask us to review your claimable expenses

Hospitality accounting built around how you operate

We build your accounting system around the reality of hospitality — not theory.

VAT handled correctly

We manage VAT across:
  • Food vs alcohol
  • Eat-in vs takeaway
  • Accommodation
  • Events and functions
No guessing. No costly errors.

Payroll and staff costs

We handle payroll for hospitality teams, including:
  • Variable hours and shift patterns
  • PAYE, PRSI, USC
  • Holiday pay
  • Staff benefits

Monthly management accounts

Each month you get clear reports showing:
  • Turnover
  • Gross margin
  • Staff cost percentage
  • Net profit
  • Cash position
So you can act before problems escalate.

Bookkeeping that reflects daily trading

We structure your books so sales, refunds, tips, service charges, and supplier costs are captured properly.

Year-end accounts and tax

Clean books mean smoother year-end accounts and better tax planning.

How hospitality accounting
works with Forti

Project accounting is what turns your books from a yearly compliance exercise into a management tool. Here is how we set it up for architecture and design practices.

We understand your setup

Restaurant, café, bar, hotel, takeaway, or multi-site — we tailor everything to how you trade.

We clean and structure your data

Sales systems, bank feeds, supplier invoices, and payroll are aligned so reports actually make sense.

We deliver monthly clarity

No waiting until year-end. You see performance month by month.

We highlight risks early

Rising staff costs, margin pressure, VAT exposure, or cash pinch points are flagged before they become serious.

We keep you compliant

Revenue, VAT, payroll, and filings are handled properly and on time.

Hospitality accounting vs general accounting

Why hospitality businesses choose Forti

Area General Accountant Forti (Hospitality Specialist)
VAT handling Basic Multi-rate VAT expertise
Margin tracking Often missing Food & labour cost visibility
Payroll complexity Generic Hospitality-specific payroll
Reporting frequency Annual Monthly management accounts
Support response Variable 24-business hour enquiry response
Thinking of switching accountants?

Pricing That Fits Your Hospitality Business

Hospitality businesses are run in different ways. Some focus on food, others on drink, and many juggle both with long opening hours and busy seasons. Cash flow can change quickly from week to week. The pricing below shows starting points — your final fee depends on how you operate, how busy you are, and the level of support you need.

Why Businesses Choose Forti

Clarity, reliability, expertise, and service without complexity. Everything is clearly priced, professionally handled, and fully supported.

Feature Forti Others
Transparent pricing ⚠️
Software included ⚠️
CRO compliance ⚠️
Dedicated accountant ⚠️

Who this service is for

We build your accounting system around the reality of hospitality — not theory.

This is for you if

  • You run a hospitality business in Ireland
  • Margins matter and cash flow feels tight
  • You want clarity, not just compliance
  • You value proactive advice and fast support

This may not be the right fit if

  • You only want the cheapest year-end filing
  • You do not review numbers during the year
  • You are not open to improving financial visibility

Sole trader or limited company?

Many hospitality businesses start as sole traders and later incorporate.
We help you decide:
  • When incorporation makes sense
  • How it affects tax and take-home pay
  • How to structure director pay properly
Explore: sole trader accounting | limited company accounting
Book a Free Chat

Who We Work With

We work with hospitality businesses that operate at pace and need tight control of margins and cash flow.
Free Hospitality Review

Restaurants and cafés

Managing VAT, payroll, suppliers, and daily takings.

Takeaways and food operators

Including delivery platforms and high transaction volume.

Pubs and bars

Where stock control, tips, and staffing are critical.

Hotels, guesthouses, and hospitality groups

Supporting payroll, seasonal cash flow, and reporting.

What Our Clients Say

What hospitality owners say

Before Forti, we were busy but constantly stressed about money. The monthly reports helped us see where profit was leaking. That alone paid for the service.

Restaurant Owner

Dublin
VAT used to terrify me. Forti sorted it properly and explained it in plain English. Huge relief.

Café Owner

Cork
Our payroll was a mess with variable hours. Now it just works, and I know exactly what staff costs are each month.

Bar Manager

Galway

What hospitality businesses can typically claim

Many hospitality owners overpay tax simply because expenses are not tracked properly.
Common allowable costs

Food and beverage purchases

Wages and employer PRSI

Staff meals and uniforms

Rent, rates, utilities, and energy

Repairs, maintenance, and equipment

POS systems and software

Marketing and delivery platform fees

Insurance and professional fees

We help you claim everything allowable, with clean records to support it.
Ask us to review your claimable expenses

Frequently Asked Questions

Hospitality has tight margins, high transaction volume, staff turnover, and constant VAT and payroll pressure. A specialist accountant understands tills, card payments, tips, staff costs, and seasonal cash flow, not just year-end numbers.
VAT depends on what you sell and how it’s sold. Eat-in, takeaway, alcohol, and accommodation can all have different VAT treatment. We make sure sales are coded correctly so VAT returns are accurate and stress-free.
Yes. Tips and service charges need to be handled correctly for payroll and tax purposes. We help you set up a clean system that keeps you compliant and avoids confusion for staff.
Yes. We run payroll for full-time, part-time, and seasonal staff, including overtime, holiday pay, PRSI, and PAYE. We also help manage starters and leavers, which is common in hospitality.
We set up systems that reconcile cash tills, card machines, and online delivery platforms properly. This keeps your records tidy and reduces the risk of errors or Revenue queries.
Yes. We help break down costs so you can see where profit is made or lost. This includes food costs, drink margins, staff costs, wastage, and supplier pricing.
Many hospitality businesses benefit from operating as a limited company, especially once profits grow or staff numbers increase. We compare the options first so you can decide based on real numbers.
We work with all major accounting systems. Xero with Hubdoc works particularly well for hospitality, as it saves time, reduces paperwork, and keeps records up to date even during busy periods.
Hospitality doesn’t run on a 9–5 schedule. We aim to respond to enquiries within 24 business hours, and you’ll deal with someone who understands how hospitality businesses operate day to day.

Get In Touch

Ready to take control of your hospitality numbers?

If you want clearer margins, fewer surprises, and an accountant who actually understands hospitality, we would love to help.