Restaurants, cafes & food service
Books and taxes for pizzerias.
Dine-in tickets, slice counter sales, in-house delivery, and third-party payouts that all come with their own costs. Gus sorts every one, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one clear number each month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
February came in at $9,500. Super Bowl Sunday alone brought in $3,100, so do not expect March to repeat that pace.
- Toast POS batch depositDine-in and takeout sales
- DoorDash payoutDelivery orders
- Restaurant Depot dough and cheese orderFood purchases
- Driver mileage payoutDriver wages and mileage
- Local ad buyMarketing
Why your books are different
A pizzeria's books go wrong in the same five places.
A generalist bookkeeper sees deposits and bills. A pizzeria runs on dough and cheese cost that swings by the week, drivers who need mileage tracked apart from wages, and a huge single day like a football Sunday sitting inside an ordinary month. When those pieces get mixed, the owner cannot tell a real trend from a one-time spike.
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1
Delivery driver mileage gets lost in wages
A pizzeria running its own delivery pays drivers a per-delivery mileage stipend on top of wages. Mixed into one payroll number, the owner cannot see what delivery actually costs against what it brings in.
What we doKeeps driver mileage payouts in their own line, separate from wages, so delivery cost is a number you can actually see. -
2
Cheese and dough cost swings hide in the noise
Cheese is a volatile commodity and a single order can jump 15 percent with no warning. Buried in with boxes, sauces, and toppings, a real price increase looks like an ordinary month of food purchases.
What we doKeeps food purchases apart from packaging so a jump in cheese or dough cost shows up clearly, not blended into a bigger number. -
3
Slice sales and whole pie sales get lumped together
A shop selling by the slice at lunch and whole pies at dinner cannot see which part of the day actually pays the bills if every ticket lands in one pile.
What we doSplits slice counter sales from dine-in and delivery pie sales so you can see which service actually carries the shop. -
4
In-house delivery and app delivery blur together
Running both your own drivers and a third-party app means driver wages, mileage, and app commissions all eat into delivery revenue in different ways, and mixed together nobody can tell which channel actually pays.
What we doKeeps in-house driver cost and third-party commissions in separate lines so you can compare what each delivery channel really costs. -
5
One huge game day skews the whole month
A Super Bowl Sunday or a big playoff night can bring in what would normally take a week, and an owner reading the monthly total assumes that pace is the new normal.
What we doFlags a one-day spike so it reads as the outlier it was, not a trend you are supposed to hit every month.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a pizzeria.
Set up once for how the counter, dining room, and delivery actually run. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Dine-in and takeout salesWhole pie and table sales rung through Toast or Square.
- Slice counter salesBy-the-slice sales, kept apart from whole pie orders.
- In-house delivery ordersOrders delivered by your own drivers and paid direct.
- Third-party delivery ordersDoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub payouts, booked at the full order value.
- Catering and party traysLarger orders for offices, schools, and parties.
Money out
- Food purchasesDough, cheese, sauce, and toppings from a restaurant supplier.
- Driver wages and mileageIn-house delivery drivers, kept apart from kitchen and counter wages.
- Third-party delivery commissionsWhat DoorDash, Uber Eats, or Grubhub keep before the payout lands.
- Boxes and packagingPizza boxes, delivery bags, and heat sleeves.
- Wages and payroll taxesKitchen and counter pay, separate from delivery drivers.
- Rent and building costsLease, common area fees, and repairs on the shop.
- Kitchen equipmentDeck ovens, dough mixers, and walk-ins, logged apart from food so they get written off right.
- Marketing and local adsFlyers, coupons, and local online ads.
What we watch for you
- Food cost percentage
Dough, cheese, and toppings against sales, the number that catches a cheese price jump early.
- Cost per delivery
Driver wages, mileage, and commissions against delivery orders, so you know what each channel really costs.
- Labor cost percentage
Kitchen and counter wages against sales.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so tax time holds no surprise.
Ask Gus
Things pizzeria owners ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
It tracks with what you paid out in deliveries. I keep mileage payouts in their own line, apart from wages, so you can see what each delivery actually costs you.
I flag one big day like that so it does not make an average month look like your new normal.
Food purchases are tracked apart from boxes and packaging, so a real cheese price jump shows up clearly instead of hiding in a bigger number.
The tax side
The tax side of a pizzeria.
Most of what goes wrong here is labels and timing: mileage mixed into wages, a driver paid the wrong way, and a spike day misread as the new normal.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Mileage for delivery driversIf drivers use their own cars and you reimburse mileage, the standard rate is 72.5 cents a mile through June 2026 and 76 cents a mile after that. Keeping it separate from wages matters for both payroll and the deduction.
- Worker classification for delivery driversA driver who uses your car, wears your uniform, and works your shift schedule is almost always an employee, not a contractor, even if paid per delivery.
- Section 179 on ovens and equipmentA deck oven, dough mixer, or walk-in cooler can usually be written off the year you buy it, with 100 percent bonus depreciation for property bought after January 19, 2025.
- The FICA tip creditIf counter or delivery staff report tips, you can often claim a credit for the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare tax on the portion above minimum wage.
Deductions pizzerias miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Delivery driver mileage
- Pizza boxes and packaging
- Dough mixer maintenance
- Walk-in cooler repairs
- Delivery bags and heat sleeves
- Driver vehicle insurance stipend
- Local flyers and coupons
- Online ordering fees
- Employee shift meals
- Uniforms and hats
- Pest control contracts
- Background music licensing
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A pizzeria's year, kept every month.
Game day can hit any week of the year. Your taxes come on a schedule. Your team keeps you ahead of both. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, the 1099 list for any contracted delivery help is readied, and you get a monthly set-aside so game day season does not turn into an April surprise.
- April
Filed and signed
Your return is filed and signed. Because the set-aside has been running since January, there is no scramble for cash after a busy football and Super Bowl stretch.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand at the midpoint of the year and whether summer takeout and delivery held steady.
- October
Before game season
Before football season and the holiday party tray rush, Gus looks at oven or equipment purchases worth making before December.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for pizzerias. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions pizzeria owners ask first.
Do you track mileage for my delivery drivers?
Gus keeps mileage payouts in their own line, separate from wages, so you can see what each delivery actually costs. Whether a driver logs mileage correctly on their end is still on you, since that is a driver-level record, not a bank transaction.
Super Bowl Sunday alone did more than a normal week. Will that mess up my monthly number?
No. Gus flags a spike like that so it reads as the one big day it was, not a new normal you are supposed to hit every month after.
I run my own delivery drivers and also use DoorDash. Can Gus keep those separate?
Yes. In-house delivery wages and mileage stay in their own line, and the app's commission is tracked apart from that, so you can compare what each delivery channel actually costs you.
Cheese prices keep climbing. How would I even notice from the books?
Food purchases are tracked apart from boxes, packaging, and everything else, so a real jump in cheese or dough cost shows up clearly instead of blending into a bigger number.
My books are a mess from opening month. Is that a problem?
No. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them, the accountant checks them, and most owners know where they stand within a week.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
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What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever