--- title: Restaurant Costs, Inventory and Cash Flow | FIXE description: Why your restaurant P&L shows a profit while the bank runs low, plus how vendor terms and smarter inventory counts help you keep more of your cash. image: https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hubfs/cou%20cou%20interior%20with%20logo.png --- [Skip to content](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-costs-and-cash-flow#main-content) [![FIXE Logo](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/FIXE-2@2x.png?width=333&height=200&name=FIXE-2@2x.png)Homepage](https://www.getmyfixe.com/) - [How FIXE Works](https://www.getmyfixe.com/how-fixe-works/) - [Restaurant Types](https://www.getmyfixe.com/restaurant-types/) - [Pricing](https://www.getmyfixe.com/pricing/) - [FAQs](https://www.getmyfixe.com/faqs/) - [Communal Table](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table) [Book a demo](https://www.getmyfixe.com/book-a-demo/) - [How FIXE Works](https://www.getmyfixe.com/how-fixe-works/) - [Restaurant Types](https://www.getmyfixe.com/restaurant-types/) - [Pricing](https://www.getmyfixe.com/pricing/) - [FAQs](https://www.getmyfixe.com/faqs/) - [Communal Table](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table) [Book a demo](https://www.getmyfixe.com/book-a-demo/) ![Costs, Inventory and Cash Flow](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/cou%20cou%20interior%20with%20logo.png?width=2000&height=1200&name=cou%20cou%20interior%20with%20logo.png) Financials FIXE Best Practices # Costs, Inventory and Cash Flow ![FIXE](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hubfs/FIXE-mark-trees-icon.svg) FIXE October 1, 2026 Your P&L shows how you performed over a period; your bank balance shows when cash actually moves. The gap usually comes from delivery deposits that haven't landed, paying down vendor bills, sales tax and tips you're holding, equipment purchases and loan repayments. Read the P&L and a cash view together, not either one alone. Start with where cash hides, then vendor terms and when inventory counts are worth the labor. ## Start here - [Why Your P&L Says Profit but Your Bank Account Is Empty](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/why-your-pl-says-profit-but-your-bank-account-is-empty): Your P&L shows profit but your bank account isn't growing? Ryan from FIXE explains the six places restaurant cash hides that never touch your P&L. - [Negotiate terms with restaurant vendors to maximize operating cash flow](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/negotiate-terms-with-restaurant-vendors-maximize-operating-cash-flow): Operating Cash Flow is an important part of succeeding in the restaurant business. You have wiggle room in how you pay some vendors. - [Restaurant inventory: When it makes sense + best practices](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-inventory-when-it-makes-sense-best-practices): Restaurants need ingredients, utensils, plates and paper goods to serve customers, but must you do restaurant inventory on a regular basis? ## Everything else in this guide - [COGS-Well co-founder Bill Lindsey on managing restaurant inventory](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/cogs-well-co-founder-bill-lindsey-managing-restaurant-inventory): Bill Lindsey co-founded COGS-Well with Dave Douglas, Glen Nelson and Mike Brown in 2019 to help restaurants with inventory management. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do loan payments show up on my P&L? Only the interest. The principal is a balance sheet item, so a POS loan or merchant cash advance repaid out of your card deposits pulls real cash every day while your P&L barely shows it. ### What payment terms should I ask my food vendors for? Ask for terms that give you about a month to pay, though a new restaurant without history may not get them. If a vendor insists on a credit check, offer terms with automatic withdrawal instead. Watch autopay closely, since nobody checks that each charge is right. ### Does my restaurant need to count inventory every month? Not always. Count if you buy in bulk or carry slow-moving stock like wine and liquor, since skipping it swings your cost of goods from month to month, while a fast-casual spot that turns food over daily gains less. When you count, keep the same person, process and schedule. ### Why does my bank account look healthy right before payroll? Tips and sales tax build up in your account every day before they go out. Tips leave on payday and sales tax goes out in one payment the following month. Neither is your money, so subtract both before deciding what you can spend. ## Your next step Want to know if your numbers are driving profit? [Take the Profit Check](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/profit-check?src=blog). Ready to talk it through? [Book a demo](https://www.getmyfixe.com/book-a-demo/). ## Related topics - [Reading Your P&L and Reports](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-pl-and-reports) - [Delivery Apps and Deposits](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/delivery-app-reconciliation) - [Restaurant Bookkeeping Glossary](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/fixe-restaurant-bookkeeping-glossary) ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fhub.getmyfixe.com%2Fcommunal-table%2Frestaurant-costs-and-cash-flow](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fhub.getmyfixe.com%2Fcommunal-table%2Frestaurant-costs-and-cash-flow) ## Keep reading ### [![Tech Stack and AP Software](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/FIXE-Communal-Table-FIXE-Core-Tech-Stack-1000x667-1.png?width=1000&height=667&name=FIXE-Communal-Table-FIXE-Core-Tech-Stack-1000x667-1.png) Comparison FIXE Accounts Payable Restaurant Tech Stack and AP Software Guide | FIXE](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-tech-stack) ### [![Cleanup and Tax Season](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/gertrudes%20nyc.png?width=4000&height=2668&name=gertrudes%20nyc.png) Bookkeeping FIXE Best Practices Restaurant Book Cleanup Before Tax Season | FIXE](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-cleanup-and-tax-season) [![FIXE-2@2x-1](https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hs-fs/hubfs/FIXE-2@2x-1.png?width=150&height=90&name=FIXE-2@2x-1.png "FIXE-2@2x-1")](https://www.getmyfixe.com/) - SOLUTIONS - [How FIXE Works](https://www.getmyfixe.com/how-fixe-works/) - [Fresh Financial Reports](https://www.getmyfixe.com/how-fixe-works/#reports) - [A/P Automation](https://www.getmyfixe.com/how-fixe-works/#automation) - [3rd Party App Intelligence](https://www.getmyfixe.com/how-fixe-works/#3rd-party-intelligence) - RESOURCES - [Restaurant Types](https://www.getmyfixe.com/restaurant-types/) - [Pricing](https://www.getmyfixe.com/pricing/) - [Book a demo](https://www.getmyfixe.com/book-a-demo/) - [Glossary](https://www.getmyfixe.com/fixe-restaurant-bookkeeping-glossary/) - COMPANY - [FAQs](https://www.getmyfixe.com/faqs/) - [Communal Table](https://www.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/) - [Sign in](https://www.fixebookkeeping.com/) - [Contact us](https://www.getmyfixe.com/contact-us/) © 2026 FIXE. All rights reserved.   [Privacy policy](https://www.getmyfixe.com/privacy-policy/) --- ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "FIXE", "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/author/fixe" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-01T18:27:15.257Z", "datePublished" : "2026-10-01T18:27:15.000Z", "headline" : "Restaurant Costs, Inventory and Cash Flow | FIXE", "image" : [ "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hubfs/cou%20cou%20interior%20with%20logo.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-costs-and-cash-flow", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/hubfs/FIXE-2@2x.png" }, "name" : "Fixe Inc." } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "CollectionPage", "description" : "Why your restaurant P&L shows a profit while the bank runs low, plus how vendor terms and smarter inventory counts help you keep more of your cash.", "hasPart" : [ { "@type" : "BlogPosting", "headline" : "Why Your P&L Says Profit but Your Bank Account Is Empty", "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/why-your-pl-says-profit-but-your-bank-account-is-empty" }, { "@type" : "BlogPosting", "headline" : "Negotiate terms with restaurant vendors to maximize operating cash flow", "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/negotiate-terms-with-restaurant-vendors-maximize-operating-cash-flow" }, { "@type" : "BlogPosting", "headline" : "Restaurant inventory: When it makes sense + best practices", "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-inventory-when-it-makes-sense-best-practices" }, { "@type" : "BlogPosting", "headline" : "COGS-Well co-founder Bill Lindsey on managing restaurant inventory", "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/cogs-well-co-founder-bill-lindsey-managing-restaurant-inventory" } ], "name" : "Costs, Inventory and Cash Flow", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "name" : "FIXE", "url" : "https://www.getmyfixe.com/" }, "url" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-costs-and-cash-flow" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement" : [ { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table", "name" : "Communal Table", "position" : 1 }, { "@type" : "ListItem", "item" : "https://hub.getmyfixe.com/communal-table/restaurant-costs-and-cash-flow", "name" : "Costs, Inventory and Cash Flow", "position" : 2 } ] } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "FAQPage", "mainEntity" : [ { "@type" : "Question", "acceptedAnswer" : { "@type" : "Answer", "text" : "Only the interest. 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