Can I actually see prime cost with this?
The accounts are grouped so food, beverage, and labor report in a way that makes prime cost easy to calculate. You still enter your own numbers.
QuickBooks Chart of Accounts · For restaurants & food service
Restaurant & Food Service Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks Online
Food-cost and prime-cost structure, ready to import into QuickBooks Online.
$49 · one-time
QuickBooks Online import CSV + setup guide (PDF)
Sold and fulfilled by Gumroad, Inc. as merchant/seller of record. Content authored by ExpertEngine LLC d/b/a ProAxis Templates — built by the licensed CPAs at ProAxis Tax & Accounting Services.
What it is
Restaurants live and die by prime cost — food plus labor as a share of sales — and a generic chart of accounts makes that number impossible to see. This template is a restaurant chart of accounts built around how food-service books report: cost of goods split by food and beverage categories, labor grouped so prime cost falls out cleanly, and the operating accounts a restaurant actually uses.
Designed by a licensed CPA firm (NJ + NY), it imports in minutes using QuickBooks Online's built-in chart-of-accounts import — no retyping a hundred-plus accounts by hand. Start clean, or use it to fix a chart of accounts that has drifted into a mess.
What's included
- QBO-ready import CSV with a full restaurant chart of accounts
- Food vs. beverage COGS categories for food-cost tracking
- Labor grouping designed for prime-cost reporting
- Step-by-step import setup guide (PDF)
Who it's for
- Independent restaurants, cafes, and bars on QuickBooks Online
- Restaurant bookkeepers who want food-cost visibility from day one
- Owners who want to actually see prime cost each month
How you get it
After checkout you receive an instant digital download — quickbooks online import csv + setup guide (pdf). There is no physical item and nothing ships. You can start using the file the same day.
Setting it up
Getting this chart of accounts into QuickBooks Online takes about ten minutes and does not require any accounting background. The file is a CSV formatted for QuickBooks Online's built-in chart-of-accounts import, so there is no manual retyping of a hundred-plus accounts. The included setup guide (PDF) walks through every step with screenshots.
- Open a fresh QuickBooks Online company file (recommended) or an existing file you want to restructure.
- Use QuickBooks Online's built-in import tool to upload the CSV. The accounts, types, and detail types come in together.
- Follow the guide to confirm the handful of detail-type labels that vary between QBO versions — the guide flags each one and shows the one-click fix.
- Adjust or add accounts so the structure matches how your business actually operates.
Simple Start, Essentials, and Plus each cap the total number of accounts, and this template is sized to fit comfortably in a new file. It is built for QuickBooks Online, not QuickBooks Desktop.
Why buy a template built by a CPA firm
Most bookkeeping templates sold online are built by spreadsheet marketers to look good in a listing. This one was built by the licensed CPAs at ProAxis Tax & Accounting Services (New Jersey and New York) around how the return actually reads. That difference does not show up in a screenshot, but it shows up the first time you reconcile: the accounts are grouped the way your situation reports, the categories line up with the tax form, and the structure holds when the numbers get real.
Every product is reviewed by a licensed CPA before it is published, and any figure it references is cited to a primary IRS or state source and dated inside the file. The goal is an honest, professional starting point — not an optimistic one. If you later decide you would rather hand the work to a CPA than do it yourself, ProAxis does bookkeeping setup, cleanup, and ongoing accounting for businesses across NJ, NY, and PA. The template makes that conversation shorter; it does not depend on it.
Related resources
More QuickBooks chart of accounts templates
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- Medical & Dental Practice Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks Online → A 120-account practice structure, ready to import into QuickBooks Online.
- E-Commerce Seller Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks Online → A multi-channel seller structure, ready to import into QuickBooks Online.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work for a bar or cafe, not just a restaurant?
Yes. The food-service structure fits restaurants, cafes, bars, and similar operations on QuickBooks Online.
Does it include recipe or inventory costing software?
No. It is a chart of accounts, not an inventory or recipe-costing app. It organizes your books; it does not price menu items.
Important — please read before buying
Educational template — not advice. This is a do-it-yourself template. It is general educational material, not tax, accounting, or legal advice, and is not written tax advice under Treasury Circular 230. Your purchase does not create a CPA-client, engagement, or advisory relationship. Figures reflect the law as of the date shown for the tax year noted and are not updated after purchase — verify at the primary source before acting. Consult a professional you separately engage about your specific situation. Results vary; no specific tax, refund, deduction, or compliance outcome is promised.
Refunds: Digital products are delivered instantly and are non-refundable once downloaded. We will refund or replace any file that is corrupt, materially not as described, or not delivered, within 30 days of purchase.
Purchases are governed by the Digital Product License & Terms of Sale. Sold and fulfilled by Gumroad, Inc. as merchant/seller of record. Content authored by ExpertEngine LLC d/b/a ProAxis Templates — built by the licensed CPAs at ProAxis Tax & Accounting Services.
Want a CPA to set up your books, not just a template?
ProAxis Tax & Accounting Services does bookkeeping setup, cleanup, and ongoing accounting for NJ, NY, and PA businesses. Book a free consultation to talk through your situation.