GUIDE · MULTI-LOCATION AND FRANCHISE RESTAURANTS
Multi-location restaurant bookkeeping,
every location’s numbers on their own.
Multi-location restaurant bookkeeping keeps each location’s sales, costs and deposits apart so every unit has its own profit and loss. Each legal entity gets its own books, money moved between them is recorded on both sides, and franchise royalty and ad fund fees are booked per location. ZeraBooks bookkeeping services do this monthly from your statements.
Free call · quoted for your locations and volume · from $150 a month (USD)
ONE ENTITY OR SEVERAL
Should each restaurant location have its own books?
Follow the legal entities. Each business that files its own tax return needs its own complete books; locations inside one business can share books as long as their numbers stay separable.
One company, several locations
One set of books and one tax return. Give each location its own bank account for deposits, and keep its sales and main costs on location-named accounts, so each unit’s profit can still be read.
One LLC or corporation per location
Common for franchisees and for owners who want each lease and loan in its own company. Each entity has its own books, bank accounts and balance sheet. Money moving between them is intercompany, not a transfer.
A holding company over the locations
Shared costs such as the owner’s salary, the bookkeeper or a central kitchen often sit in the parent and are charged out. Decide the charge-out basis with your accountant once and use it every month.
Franchisee with several units
Usually one entity per unit, because the franchisor reports and collects fees per unit. The franchise agreement may also say how your books must be kept and what you report each month.
Tell us about your books. We’ll scope the work and quote it before anything starts.
LOCATION TAGS OR SEPARATE BOOKS
Location classes or separate books per location?
Software such as QuickBooks Online offers class or location tags inside one set of books. Separate books per location is the other way to do it. They answer different questions:
| Question | Location tags in one set of books | Separate books per location |
|---|---|---|
| Profit and loss per location | Yes, if every line is tagged | Yes, always |
| Balance sheet per location | Usually no; cash, loans and payables are shared | Yes |
| Fits several legal entities | No, one company file per entity anyway | Yes |
| Main risk | An untagged line puts a location’s number off | Intercompany entries that don’t match |
| Combined view of all locations | Built in | Add the location reports together |
ZeraBooks has no class, department or location tags on its reports. We keep separate books for each entity, and inside one entity we give each location its own bank account and location-named sub-categories for sales and prime cost. There is no consolidated report across companies yet: each location’s statements download as Excel, so the combined view is a short spreadsheet.
WORKED EXAMPLE
How do you record royalty and ad fund fees for each location?
Juniper Taqueria is a fictional franchisee with three locations, each its own LLC. Its franchise agreement charges a 5% royalty and a 2% ad fund contribution on net sales, drafted weekly from each location’s checking account. September 2026:
| Location | Net sales | Royalty 5% | Ad fund 2% | Drafted by the franchisor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main St | 182,400.00 | 9,120.00 | 3,648.00 | 12,768.00 |
| Riverside | 141,250.00 | 7,062.50 | 2,825.00 | 9,887.50 |
| Westgate | 96,830.00 | 4,841.50 | 1,936.60 | 6,778.10 |
| All three | 420,480.00 | 21,024.00 | 8,409.60 | 29,433.60 |
Each location books its own drafts: debit Royalty fees and Advertising fund contributions, credit checking. Keep them as two expense lines, not one “franchise fees” line, because they change with sales at different rates and your accountant may treat them differently. Check each draft against sales: if Westgate’s drafts add up to more than 7% of its POS net sales, the franchisor used a different sales figure. The fees themselves are disclosed in Item 6 of the franchisor’s Franchise Disclosure Document.
DEPOSITS BY LOCATION
How do you match each location’s deposits to its sales?
Each location’s card batches should arrive in that location’s own bank account. For each one, start from the POS card total for the month and explain every dollar that didn’t arrive:
| Location | POS card batches | Less: Sep 30 batch in transit | Less: processing fees withheld | Deposited in September |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main St | 168,900.00 | (1,842.10) | (3,843.55) | 163,214.35 |
| Riverside | 129,600.00 | (2,105.40) | (2,980.80) | 124,513.80 |
| Westgate | 88,450.00 | (1,377.25) | (2,034.35) | 85,038.40 |
All three tie, so nothing is missing. The last batch of the month lands on October 1 or 2 and belongs to September’s sales. Fees are booked as card processing expense, so sales stay at the full POS figure. A deposit that turns up in the wrong location’s account is the most common multi-location error; record it where it landed and move it with an intercompany entry. Daily matching for one location is covered in our guide to restaurant bank accounts.
INTERCOMPANY
How do you record money moved between locations?
On September 15, Main St LLC sent 8,000.00 to Westgate LLC to cover payroll. Two separate companies, so each records its half.
- 1
In the lending location
Main St LLC: debit Due from Westgate 8,000.00, credit checking 8,000.00. It is an asset, money Westgate owes back, not an expense.
- 2
In the receiving location
Westgate LLC: debit checking 8,000.00, credit Due to Main St 8,000.00. It is a liability, not income.
- 3
Tie them out every month
At month end Due from Westgate on Main St’s balance sheet must equal Due to Main St on Westgate’s. Both show 8,000.00 here. A difference means one side was missed or booked to the wrong account.
- 4
Settle or keep a schedule
Pay it back, or keep a running schedule your accountant can review at year end. Balances that only grow can be a tax question, so raise them before the return is prepared.
- 5
Same company, different account?
If both accounts belong to one entity, it is just a transfer between its own accounts, with no due-to or due-from at all.
WITH ZERABOOKS
How does ZeraBooks keep the books for several locations?
ZeraBooks works from the statements and reports you send. It has no POS, bank feed or payroll connection.
- 1
Send each location’s documents
Every bank and card statement for every location, the POS month-end summary for each, the franchisor’s royalty statements and payroll reports. Our team tells you what is missing.
- 2
Each entity gets its own books
Its own chart of accounts, bank accounts and statements. Locations inside one company get their own bank account and location-named sub-categories for sales and prime cost.
- 3
Every account is proven to its statement
Each statement must add up, follow on from the last one and agree with the ledger before the month is signed off. Transfers between one company’s own accounts are paired, never counted as sales.
- 4
Intercompany balances tie out
Due-to and due-from accounts are checked against each other every month, and any difference comes back to you as a question.
- 5
You get each location’s reports
Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow for each entity on the schedule you set. A single restaurant’s month, with prime cost and tips, is walked through in bookkeeping for restaurants.
Do I need a separate bank account for each restaurant location?
Yes, in practice. One deposit account per location is the only reliable way to match each unit’s card batches and cash to its own sales. Separate entities need separate accounts anyway.
Are franchise royalty fees an expense?
Ongoing royalties and ad fund contributions are operating expenses of the location that pays them. The initial franchise fee is different; it is usually capitalized and amortized, so ask your accountant how to treat yours.
How do I split shared costs like the owner’s salary across locations?
Pick one basis, such as each location’s share of sales, and charge it out the same way every month. Changing the basis month to month makes the location P&Ls impossible to compare.
Does ZeraBooks have class or location tracking?
No. ZeraBooks has no class, department or location tags on its reports. Locations are kept apart with separate books per entity, or separate bank accounts and location-named sub-categories inside one entity.
Does ZeraBooks connect to Toast, Square or other POS systems?
No. ZeraBooks has no POS, delivery app, payroll or bank connection. You upload each location’s POS month-end summary and statements, and the deposits are matched from those.
How much does bookkeeping for several restaurant locations cost?
ZeraBooks bookkeeping starts at $150 a month (USD). For several locations the price is agreed after a free call, based on how many entities and accounts there are and the monthly volume. Want to do it yourself? The ZeraBooks AI bookkeeping software is priced on ZeraBooks pricing.
WE DO YOUR BOOKS
Tell us how many locations you run.
We’ll quote every set of books.
Send a month of statements for each location and we’ll show you what the work looks like before anything starts.
Last updated October 21, 2026 · Written by Damin Mutti, founder of ZeraBooks