Restaurant accounting software in Ireland for restaurants and cafés

Meals and food service are at the 9% second reduced rate from 1 July 2026, while alcohol is at the standard rate. A single table’s bill can therefore carry two rates, and your till reports need to split sales by rate so the books can follow. Sales before 1 July 2026 stay at 13.5%, so a 2026 Return of Trading Details will show both reduced rates.

Record takings from the till’s end-of-day report, split by VAT rate, and let the card settlements and cash lodgements match against them when the bank statement arrives. Delivery platforms usually pay out net of their commission, so record the gross sale and the commission as a separate cost, with its own VAT treatment.

Food, drink, packaging and cleaning suppliers send dozens of invoices a month, often with several VAT rates on each. Photograph or upload them and HelloBooks reads the supplier, the totals and the VAT, proposes the cost account and matches each bill to its payment. Review mixed-rate invoices closely before confirming.

Because most restaurant customers are consumers who cannot reclaim VAT, many restaurants qualify for the moneys received basis, where VAT is due when you are paid rather than when you invoice. Revenue allows it where turnover does not exceed €2,000,000 in a twelve-month period, or where at least 90% of supplies go to customers who are unregistered or cannot fully reclaim VAT. Check with your accountant whether it suits you.

HelloBooks does not run Irish payroll. Keep your payroll product for wages, PAYE, USC and PRSI, and post the totals to the books after each pay run. A direct payroll journal import is coming soon.

With takings and supplier bills coded each week, food and drink cost as a share of sales becomes a report rather than a year-end surprise. Watch it monthly; a few points of margin lost to waste or supplier price rises is easier to fix in March than in December.