Accountants for Hospitality Instant quote
Café on a red-brick street corner

Outsourced finance team for hospitality

We provide a finance manager, financial controller or finance director who works in your Xero every week, from £750 + VAT a month.

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Call 07476 989568

Three levels, each including the one before

Finance manager

from£750+ VAT a month

  • Xero and your appsXero set up with the till, the receipt and the supplier apps, and kept running as you add sites.
  • Weekly bookkeepingSupplier invoices posted and the bank reconciled every week, and each month closed within five working days.
  • Payroll and tipsPayroll run on time, with card tips and the tronc paid out by the deadline.
  • VAT returns and recordsVAT returns filed from records that are ready when a lender, a buyer or HMRC asks for them.

Financial controller

from£1,500+ VAT a month

Includes the finance manager work.

  • Monthly management accountsA monthly report for each site and the group, set out so you can send it to a lender, an investor or a partner.
  • Invoicing and chasingFunction, event and corporate account invoices sent promptly and late payers chased.
  • Supplier payment runsDrinks wholesalers, food suppliers and the pub company paid on time, with each payment run sent to you to approve.
  • Cash alertsAn alert when the bank balance falls below a level you set, in time to act before the VAT quarter or a quiet month.

Finance director

from£2,000+ VAT a month

Includes the financial controller work.

  • One-page plan for the yearThe year's objectives and each site's priorities, agreed with you and written on one page.
  • Cash flow forecastProfit and loss, balance sheet and cash for at least the next twelve months, ready for a lender or a buyer.
  • KPI dashboardSales, gross profit, labour and covers or occupancy for each site in one place.
  • Quarterly board meetingA meeting each quarter with Peter Allen to review the results, take decisions and check last quarter's actions were done.

What the finance team does in a hospitality business

The week starts with the till. Each day's sales post into Xero split by VAT rate and payment type, and card settlements are matched to the bank. Supplier invoices from the brewery, the drinks wholesaler and the food suppliers are posted as they arrive, so the cost of sales is current when you look at it.

Payroll is run with the tips. Card tips go to staff in full by the end of the month after the customer paid, under your written tipping policy, and a tronc runs through its own PAYE scheme. Holiday pay for irregular-hours staff is worked out at 12.07% of hours worked.

Each month closes within five working days. With the financial controller you get a report for each site: sales, gross profit on food and on drink, labour as a share of sales, and the cash position against the next VAT payment.

Business Pulse
Owner reading papers beside a laptop at a restaurant table

What it costs to employ the same people

Salaries are the national median for each job title in the Robert Half 2027 UK Salary Guide. Employer costs are at 2026/27 rates: National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 and a workplace pension of 3% of qualifying earnings. The Employment Allowance is left out.

Finance manager

Employed: £60,250 salary, £8,288 employer National Insurance, £1,321 pension £69,859
Outsourced, a year from £9,000

Financial controller

Employed: £70,000 salary, £9,750 employer National Insurance, £1,321 pension £81,071
Outsourced, a year from £18,000

Finance director

Employed: £111,250 salary, £15,938 employer National Insurance, £1,321 pension £128,508
Outsourced, a year from £24,000

Common questions

Which level does a single restaurant or pub need?

Most single sites start with the finance manager, which keeps the books, payroll, tips and VAT up to date every week. The financial controller adds monthly management accounts and payment runs, which owners usually want once there is a second site or a lender asking for figures.

Who is the finance director?

Peter Allen, co-founder and Finance Director of Buzz, with more than 20 years in accountancy. He writes the plan for the year with you and runs the quarterly board meeting.

Does the finance team include the year-end accounts and tax returns?

The finance team runs the books, payroll and VAT through the year. Year-end accounts and corporation tax are priced with it, from £149 + VAT a month.

Can you work with our till and stock system?

Yes. We post the till's daily sales into Xero split by VAT rate and payment type, and match card settlements to the bank. Stock figures from your stocktakes go into the monthly accounts so gross profit is measured on what was sold.

What does it cost to employ the same people?

A finance manager on the national median salary of £60,250 costs £69,859 a year with employer National Insurance and a workplace pension, against an outsourced finance manager from £9,000 + VAT a year. The figures are from the Robert Half 2027 UK Salary Guide and the 2026/27 employer rates.

Book a free review

Send us last month's figures and tell us how many sites you run. We will tell you which level fits and what it costs each month.

Book a free reviewCall 07476 989568