Opening a New Outlet: Finance Checklist

The finance work of opening a venue is mostly invisible until it's missing. Teams pour energy into the fit-out, the menu and the launch, then discover in the first month that the POS doesn't talk to the ledger, suppliers were onboarded ad hoc, and nobody can say what the opening actually cost. A new outlet set up properly on the finance side is reconciled and reporting from its first day of trade. Here's the sequence.

1 · Before you open — entity & registration

• Confirm which legal entity the outlet trades under; map it into the group structure
• Trade licence, and any activity or alcohol licences, in place and logged
• Operating bank account opened or confirmed for the outlet/entity
• VAT / tax registration (TRN) confirmed; corporate-tax position noted for the entity (eligible entities)
• Outlet added to the chart of accounts, mapped the same way as every other outlet

2 · Systems & integrations

• EPOS/POS configured — menu, tax rates, tender types, payment media
• POS connected to the finance platform so sales post automatically from day one
• Payment providers and merchant accounts live (cards, payment links)
• Delivery-platform accounts linked and mapped to revenue
• Supplier master set up; key suppliers onboarded with terms and accounts
• Payroll set up for the entity; journal feed into the ledger agreed (payroll runs separately)

3 · Controls & access

• Cash-up procedure defined; opening float set and recorded
• Purchase-approval hierarchy configured — who approves what, up to which limit
• User access granted by role (site, finance, head office)
• Petty cash and expense process defined

4 · Opening budget & cash

• Pre-opening / mobilisation budget agreed, with the capex vs opex split clear
• Opening cash-flow forecast prepared
• Pre-opening costs captured and correctly capitalised or expensed

5 · From the first day of trade

• Daily sales posting live from day one; every tender reconciled
• Supplier invoices captured and coded on arrival
• First cash and card reconciliations running
• Daily flash report issued (sales vs opening budget)

6 · First month-end

• First close run to the group standard
• Budget-vs-actual reported from month one
• Opening / mobilisation costs reconciled and reported
• First management pack issued

7 · Into the group

• New outlet folded into consolidated group reporting
• Intercompany set up where the outlet transacts with other entities
• Per-outlet economics reported on the same basis as the rest of the estate

Companion guides: the Restaurant Month-End Close Checklist and the Hospitality Reporting Calendar.