Bookkeeping for pubs and bars
Pubs depend on tight stock control and disciplined cash handling. The gap between what should have been sold and what was banked is where profit leaks.
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Bookkeeping for pubs and bars
Your price
4.5 hours at £15
£67.50
Set-up fee£0
ContractNone
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The short answer
What does bookkeeping for pubs and bars involve?
Bookkeeping for pubs and bars means keeping till and card settlement reports, brewery and supplier invoices, stock count sheets and the rest of your records accurate and reconciled. At £15 an hour, a typical village pub with food (about 300 transactions a month) needs about 11.5 hours a month, which is around £172.50.
What makes these books different.
Every sector has its own records and rules. These are the ones that matter for pubs and bars.
Wet and dry gross profit
Tracking gross profit separately for drinks and food shows where margin is made and lost.
Stock takes
Regular stock counts compared to sales identify waste, over-pouring and theft.
Machine games duty
Fruit machines and quiz machines can attract duty, which must be returned and paid.
Cash and card mix
Banked takings must agree with the till for every session.
£15
an hour, flat
£172.50
a month for a typical village pub with food
11.5h
of bookkeeping a month, about 300 transactions a month
0
contract, stop whenever you like
Records we keep for you.
- Till and card settlement reports
- Brewery and supplier invoices
- Stock count sheets
- Machine income and duty returns
- Entertainment and licensing costs
- Payroll and tips
Rules worth knowing.
Alcohol and tips
Employers must pass on tips in full and have a written policy under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act.
Machine games duty
Machine games duty is returned and paid quarterly where applicable.
VAT
Food and drink sold for consumption on the premises is standard rated at 20%.
General information, not tax advice. Rules change, so check GOV.UK or ask your accountant. Last reviewed November 2026.
A typical month.
A village pub with food with about 300 transactions a month, VAT registered, running payroll. Here is the time it takes and what it costs.
- Core bookkeeping (251 - 500)10h
- Limited company extras0.5h
- VAT-ready books (MTD)0.5h
- Payroll journals0.5h
Each month
£172.50
Where this sector is most common.
Using ONS business counts for 2026, hospitality is the biggest share of local businesses in these places. We serve all of them online.
- Dundee11% of local businesses, 1.7 times the UK share, about 390 firms
- Newcastle upon Tyne11% of local businesses, 1.7 times the UK share, about 1,000 firms
- Glasgow11% of local businesses, 1.7 times the UK share, about 2,200 firms
- Sunderland11% of local businesses, 1.7 times the UK share, about 635 firms
- Edinburgh11% of local businesses, 1.6 times the UK share, about 1,965 firms
- Swansea11% of local businesses, 1.6 times the UK share, about 705 firms
Clients say it better than we do.
4.9300+ Google reviews of Accotax
“He took the time to explain every step of the process and made a complex situation much easier to understand.”
Hugo Alvarez
Google review of Accotax
“They take the time to understand how our business works and what our needs are.”
Mael Leboucher
Google review of Accotax
“Very prompt in responding to questions and patient with us even when we seem to be slow.”
Mansur Liman
Google review of Accotax
“The work was completed promptly, my tax return was successfully filed.”
Sergey M
Google review of Accotax
pubs and bars: your questions.
Can you calculate gross profit percentages?
Yes. With sales and purchases coded by category and a stock figure each period, we report gross profit for drink and food separately.
Related sectors.
- Restaurants and cafesCash, tips, stock and the VAT rules on hot food for restaurants and cafes.
- Hairdressers and beautyChair rental, products, deposits and staff for salons and beauty therapists.
- Gyms and personal trainersMemberships, direct debits and class income for gyms, studios and trainers.
- Retail shopsTill reconciliation, stock and retail VAT schemes for independent shops.
- Market traders and street foodCash, stock, pitch fees and events for market stalls and street food traders.
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