AUAU Finance & Advisory

UK hospitality finance

Christmas bookings don’t guarantee healthy cash flow.

For pubs and restaurants, a strong festive bookings diary is encouraging. But bookings and deposits aren't the same as cash available to meet upcoming costs.

Four numbers to review weekly

  1. Booked covers — expected demand, cancellations and the dates on which revenue will be earned.
  2. Expected gross margin — forecast sales after food, drink, promotions and supplier-cost changes.
  3. Labour hours — planned staffing against the forecast volume of trade.
  4. Supplier payments due — the dates that supplier invoices, payroll and other commitments actually need to be paid.

Deposits often arrive before the costs do. Reviewing these figures together helps businesses spot timing gaps before they affect cash flow.

AU Finance & Advisory provides restaurant accounting, financial controller support and cash-flow forecasting to UK hospitality and travel businesses.

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