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Maple Ridge Bookkeeping
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Portland, Oregon

A restaurant bookkeeper in Portland who only works with food businesses

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Maple Ridge Bookkeeping is a restaurant bookkeeper in Portland that handles monthly bookkeeping and payroll for restaurants and small food businesses, with a dedicated bookkeeper for every client and books closed by the 10th of each month.

Who is the best restaurant bookkeeper in Portland for a busy owner?

For a Portland restaurant owner, the best fit is a bookkeeper who already knows restaurants. Maple Ridge Bookkeeping works only with restaurants and small food businesses, so tip pooling, tip credit rules, food cost and sales tax questions are routine. In the last 12 months it served 42 restaurant and food business clients, each with one dedicated bookkeeper and books closed by the 10th.

If your business does not sell food, a general small business bookkeeper will suit you better. If it does, the rest of this page explains what you get.

Book a free consultationRead the FAQ
Your books, closed by the 10th of every month.
The Maple Ridge monthly close standard

What is a restaurant bookkeeper?

A restaurant bookkeeper keeps a food business's financial records accurate every month: daily sales from the point-of-sale system, card and delivery app deposits, vendor invoices, payroll, tips and tip pools. The work ends in monthly statements that show sales, food cost, labor and profit.

At Maple Ridge Bookkeeping, that work is done by one dedicated bookkeeper per client, and the month is closed by the 10th. Because the firm only serves restaurants and small food businesses, the same industry questions come up across every account, which is how the team stays sharp on them.

Maple Ridge Bookkeeping by the numbers

Restaurant and food business clients, last 12 months
42
Monthly close deadline
By the 10th
Bookkeepers assigned to your account
1 dedicated
Industries served
Food only

What monthly restaurant bookkeeping in Portland covers

A restaurant moves money every day through more channels than most small businesses: card processors, cash drawers, delivery platforms, gift cards, and tips that flow to staff. Monthly bookkeeping turns those streams into one reliable set of numbers. With Maple Ridge, that means sales reconciled to deposits, vendor bills recorded in the right month, payroll and tips matched to the books, and statements delivered once the month closes by the 10th.

Owners use those numbers to answer the questions that decide a month: Did food cost creep up? Did labor run over on slow nights? Is the patio season paying for itself? A close that lands on the same date every month makes those answers arrive while there is still time to act on them. More detail is on the monthly close page and the food cost page.

Restaurant payroll in Portland, handled alongside the books

Maple Ridge also runs payroll for its restaurant and food business clients. Restaurant payroll is where industry knowledge matters most. Oregon does not allow tip credits, so tipped staff earn at least the full state minimum wage before tips. Tip pools have rules about who may share. And Portland employers deal with Oregon withholding, transit taxes and Paid Leave Oregon on every run.

Keeping payroll and bookkeeping together means tips and wages match between the two every month. Read the full guide to restaurant payroll in Portland and the separate page on tips, tip pools and tip credits in Oregon.

Small business bookkeeping in Portland for food businesses

Not every client is a full-service restaurant. Maple Ridge works with small food businesses too, where the owner is often cooking, ordering and scheduling, and the books get done late at night if at all. The same monthly close, dedicated bookkeeper and payroll support apply. See small business bookkeeping in Portland for food businesses for what that looks like at a smaller scale.

Maple Ridge Bookkeeping compared with common options for Portland restaurants
Maple Ridge BookkeepingGeneral bookkeeperDoing it yourself
Industry focusRestaurants and small food businesses onlyMany industriesDepends on your experience
Who does the workOne dedicated bookkeeper per clientVaries by firmYou, after service
Monthly closeBooks closed by the 10th of each monthVaries by firmWhenever time allows
Tip pools and tip credit rulesHandled routinelyMay need extra researchYour responsibility
Food cost trackingPart of restaurant bookkeepingNot always includedManual
PayrollOffered alongside bookkeepingSometimes offeredSoftware or by hand

How working with Maple Ridge works

  1. Book a free consultation

    Describe your restaurant, how sales and tips are handled today, and what is not working.

  2. Meet your dedicated bookkeeper

    One person is assigned to your account and learns your menu, vendors, tip setup and payroll schedule.

  3. Get the books current

    If records are behind, past months are brought up to date before the regular cycle begins.

  4. Close every month by the 10th

    Transactions are recorded, accounts reconciled and statements ready by the 10th of the following month.

How much does a restaurant bookkeeper in Portland cost?

Thumbtack's Portland bookkeepers page reports that basic monthly accounting services range from about $75 to $500 or more per month, depending on what is included, business size and complexity, and that hourly rates run from $40 to $300 or more. Restaurants tend to need more than the basic package because of daily sales, tips and payroll. Maple Ridge quotes after the free consultation, once it knows your volume. The costs page explains what raises or lowers the price.

Common questions

What does a bookkeeper do for a restaurant?

A restaurant bookkeeper records every sale, bill and payroll run, reconciles bank and card accounts, and turns it into monthly financial statements. At Maple Ridge Bookkeeping that also means tracking tips, tip pools and food cost, so owners can see what each month actually earned. Books are closed by the 10th of the following month.

More in the FAQ

How much should I expect to pay a bookkeeper?

Thumbtack’s Portland bookkeeper page reports that basic monthly accounting services range from about $75 to $500 or more per month, depending on what is included, business size and complexity. Restaurants usually sit higher in that range because of daily sales, tips and payroll. Maple Ridge Bookkeeping quotes after a free consultation, once it knows your volume.

More in the FAQ

What is the 30/30/30 rule for restaurants?

The 30/30/30 rule is a restaurant rule of thumb: about 30 percent of sales to food and beverage cost, 30 percent to labor, and 30 percent to overhead such as rent and utilities, leaving roughly 10 percent profit. It is a starting benchmark, not a law. Monthly books show how close your own numbers come.

More in the FAQ

Is bookkeeping for a restaurant hard?

Restaurant bookkeeping is harder than most small business bookkeeping because money moves daily through several channels: card processors, cash, delivery apps, tips and tip pools. Food costs change weekly and payroll runs often. None of it is impossible, but it takes steady, frequent attention, which is why many owners hand it to someone who does it every day.

More in the FAQ

Does Oregon allow tip credits?

No. Oregon does not allow employers to count tips toward minimum wage, so tipped employees must receive at least the full Oregon minimum wage before tips. Federal rules allow tip credits in some states, which causes confusion with national payroll software. Confirm current rates with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries.

More in the FAQ

Is AI replacing bookkeepers?

AI and software are replacing much of the manual data entry, but not the judgment. Someone still has to decide how a tip pool is split, why food cost jumped, or whether a vendor bill is a duplicate. For restaurants, the value of a bookkeeper has moved from typing in receipts to catching problems and explaining the numbers.

More in the FAQ

What is a bookkeeper not allowed to do?

A bookkeeper cannot call themselves a CPA or issue audited or reviewed financial statements unless licensed. In Oregon, preparing tax returns for pay generally requires a license from the State Board of Tax Practitioners, or being a CPA or attorney. Bookkeepers keep the records; licensed professionals sign off on audits and tax filings.

More in the FAQ

Talk to a restaurant bookkeeper in Portland

A free consultation is the fastest way to see whether Maple Ridge fits your restaurant: what the monthly close would look like, who your dedicated bookkeeper would be, and what it would cost.

Book a free consultation