11.28.12

What is a Mission Statement and What Makes it Effective?
Adam M. Levine

Most people often believe that a charitable organization develops a mission statement for internal purposes with the added benefit of drawing in donations. However, mission statements not only express the purpose of the charity, but also create the foundation for success.

11.27.12

Up-Selling to Increase Your Restaurant’s Revenues
James Pellino

Pick up a local newspaper or browse your local deal or restaurant websites and you’ll find an array of elaborate and unique restaurant promotional campaigns to attract more customers. Restaurateurs spend countless hours and dollars developing ideas on how to increase their restaurants’ sales by increasing the foot traffic that is coming into their establishments.

11.19.12

Celebrating Progress, While Keeping a Focus on the Future
Susan Mantel

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, designated to bring attention to the needs of all those affected by an often invisible disease. In our lifetime, one in 14 of us will be diagnosed with this disease. In fact, over the course of the next year, approximately 225,000 people will be diagnosed with lung cancer.

11.09.12

Managing Your Restaurant’s Inventory

Maintaining effective and efficient control over inventory is a challenge for every restaurant. The following are best practices to address inventory issues such as theft, high costs, excessive waste, etc.

10.31.12

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Get the Facts
Dr. Sandy Goldberg

Although October is the month most closely associated with breast cancer and breast cancer awareness in the U.S., the disease can strike at any time throughout the year. In 2012, it is expected that more than 207,000 women and 2,300 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Awareness and education are critical, because no one is immune from developing breast cancer.

10.25.12

Gift Cards: Adding Revenue to your P&L Statement
Brian R. Israel

Many restaurants estimate and recognize gift card breakage income based on their historical redemption patterns. Restaurants analyze their specific patterns of redemption and use the results to determine the amount of the unredeemed gift card balance that is estimated to have a remote probability of being redeemed. The next question to consider is how this income should be recognized on your financial statements.

10.18.12

Proposed Lease Changes Are Forthcoming… Eventually

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have been working together to develop a new approach to lease accounting. Potential changes to lease accounting have been debated for years and to-date these changes remain undecided:

10.12.12

Finding the Right Mix: Board of Directors

Attracting the right people to your not-for-profit board can be challenging.  You obviously want people who are enthusiastic about your mission, and who are willing to give of their time.  Time is often a scarce commodity for people, so you need to exercise caution to not overwhelm your Board members or other volunteers.  These constraints, […]

10.03.12

Are You Planning for the 2012 Fiscal Cliff?

By now you’ve probably heard of the “fiscal cliff,” a term coined by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that describes what could happen if no action is taken by Congress against the expiration of tax rates and spending reductions. Some of the highlights of what tax effects we could see include:

09.28.12

Menu Engineering to Improve Your Restaurant’s Bottom Line
James Pellino

When restaurant owners think of all the different hats they have to wear in their day-to-day business operations, an engineer’s hat probably isn’t one of them. However, many restaurateurs are finding that adding this skill set can dramatically improve their bottom line. Menu engineering is an effective tool for evaluating the profitability and popularity of your menu items.