Help please: Some Questions About Coffee Shop Accounting

[Coffeegold]

Do barista's wages count as a direct cost? What if they do cleaning as well as making cups of coffee?

 

[Stonewall123]

yes, its a direct cost

 

[Ramiel]

Actually, barista's wages is a direct cost, it does not contain additional payments for other services. For example, I own a coffee shop and I pay my barista with $13 per hour. He also does clean at his workplace. I think the salary is good for a professional. I remember when I just started my business and opened my first cafe, I consulted with the guys from Szweda Consulting. They advised how I should manage my taxes and what salaries I should offer to my employees. Finally, no one of my employee has ever been dissatisfied with their salary. If you work efficiently, you are appreciated.

 

[topher]

Rimusol, I am not sure if you are in the States or not. If you are. What happens to your $13 an hour employee when they raise the minimum wage to $15? Will you raise your current employess to $19.44 to make up for the cost of living increase?

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

Actually, barista's wages is a direct cost, it does not contain additional payments for other services. For example, I own a coffee shop and I pay my barista with $13 per hour. He also does clean at his workplace. I think the salary is good for a professional. I remember when I just started my business and opened my first cafe, I consulted with the guys from Szweda Consulting. They advised how I should manage my taxes and what salaries I should offer to my employees. Finally, no one of my employee has ever been dissatisfied with their salary. If you work efficiently, you are appreciated.

This is THE question being asked by business owners and employees who have worked for years for a business who never got to $15.00. In California, the minimum wage has been bumped up a few times in recent years, but I have not heard that employers have used this sliding scale to proportionately increase the payroll during these increases. I will be curious to see the different approaches to retaining good employees in lieu of pay adjustments across the staff.

 

[PinkRose]

This is THE question being asked by business owners and employees who have worked for years for a business who never got to $15.00. In California, the minimum wage has been bumped up a few times in recent years, but I have not heard that employers have used this sliding scale to proportionately increase the payroll during these increases. I will be curious to see the different approaches to retaining good employees in lieu of pay adjustments across the staff.

I also will be curious to see if businesses use a sliding scale to raise the hourly wage for their long-time employees. I'm sure there are many people who have worked a lot of years and only received small yearly increases to get to $15 an hour, and now the new employees will be starting out making that much. There's going to be a lot of resentment if a sliding scale isn't used to increase the hourly wage of long-time employees. It's not going to be easy to retain good employees, especially if they're getting paid the same rate as someone who is just starting out.

 

[Rustlen]

As Rimusol mentioned there, it is a direct cost. I worked as a barista and my boss paid me 20$ per hour. I have to admit that at the end of the day I managed to have 100$ and it was ok for me as a student. I was working to pay my courses at Worcestershire accounting services. They offer a great start in learning all this kind of issues and how to manage the accounting in general. I am very happy that I had the opportunity to meet such nice people.

It is great that you managed to pay your courses

 

[Severuss]

I guess it is direct, at least we get like this. Anyway, what about tips? Do you get your own, or you put all together and share at the end of the day? I am so angry on my boss.

 

[Alisonin]

Well, I would agree with everybody here! I think it is direct, but don't take my words for granted. I'm actually wondering the same as Severuss. Do tips count as a direct cost or not? By the way, a friend of mine is opening a coffee shop, and I'm here to help him find a company that offers virtual accounting services. It's a small business, so please be aware of that. Also, please only recommend someone if you've used their services before or are 100% sure they're reliable. Thanks a lot, and looking forward to hearing from you, guys!

 

[KKDivan]

The vending machines also have taxes. Sales of food and beverages from vending machines are generally taxed in the same manner as sales of the same items in food stores. Also, you need to prove the income from the vending machine, so if you want to start a business using vending machines, I can suggest making a paystub every time you get the money from them. It will help you prove the provenance of the money you got at the end of the year or any time you want to buy something significant like a car or house.