Question:
I am working on building a P&L for a new concept and have a question about G&A. What is typically included in G&A and is there a typical % range for this expense? We are expecting $1.5 million in gross sales for this fast casual concept. We have the following items in the general expense section of the P&L. I have seen G&A in several other sample P&L's and am wondering if I should add it to mine or if I already have the expenses covered in my other categories.
– Phil, Founder, NRES Concepts, Chicago, Illinois
Answer:
G&A, or general and administrative expenses, vary by concept—and accountant. In general they include expenses not related to food and beverage cost or other cost of goods sold (like packaging), or labor tied to the production and sales of your food and beverage. They are often referred to as indirect costs and may include management salaries, office administration, utilities, insurance, and so on.
Mary Sigel, president of Sigel and Associates Consulting Group in Berwyn, PA, sets up P&L categories for her clients. “We like to set up pretty comprehensive ones…and we do that by category. Here is a thought for you:
Income at the top - Broken down by the categories that you would like to break out (i.e. Food, Catering, Liquor, Beer, Wine) and then all of the individual Comps.
COGS is the next Category - Food (i.e. Meat, Seafood, Dairy, Produce, Dry, Non-Alcoholic Bev). Then if a bar is involved, a separate section for Liquor, Beer, Wine, Non-Alcoholic Bev Bar, Bar Fruit
After those 2 categories we produce a Total COGS line and then a Gross Profit line. The rest of the expenses are now in the following order ...
Payroll
- Payroll FOH
- Payroll BOH
- Payroll Office
- Payroll Bonus Program (if one exists)
- Employer's Payroll Taxes
- Payroll Service Fee
- Workers Compensation Ins
- Health Insurance
Total Payroll Costs
Marketing
- Website
- Online Ordering & Reservation Systems
- Menu & Menu Covers
- Public Relations
- Music, Entertainment
- Decorations
- Special Events
- Print Advertising
- Dues & Subscriptions
Total Marketing Costs
FOH Expenses
- FOH Uniforms
- Linen
- Glasses, Flatware, Glasses
- Paper/Take-out
- FOH General Supplies
Total FOH Expenses
BOH Expenses
- Cleaning Products
- Kitchen Supplies
- BOH Uniforms
Total BOH Expenses
Utilities
- Cable TV
- Telephone & Internet
- Gas
- Electric
- Water & Sewer
- Trash Removal
Total Utilities
Repairs & Maintenance
- Pest Control - R&M
- Warewashing (Lease) - R&M
- Kitchen Equipment - R&M
- Grounds - R&M
- Restaurant R&M
- Bar - R&M
- Cleaning - R&M
Total Repairs & Maintenance
Administrative Fees, Taxes and Expenses - this category has a lot
- Credit Card Fees
- Cash Short & Over
- Lease & Cam
- Bank Loan - P&I
- Real-estate Taxes
- Legal Fees
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Insurance - Property, Casualty, Liquor License
- Professional Fees
- Bank Fees
- Office Supplies
- Misc. Fees
Total Administrative Fees, Taxes and Expenses
Total Expenses
Then Net Ordinary Income - This is also know as EBITDA
Below this line we leave room for the accountant to input at the end of the year:
- Depreciation Expense
- Amortization Expense
All Capital we place on the balance sheet as Current Year Additions, and we don't include in the P&L.
I think I captured all of your items and added a few.”
Doing it Mary’s way gives you a bit more control and flexibility over expenses and also allows you to pinpoint a better when trying to reduce expenses. In terms of your question about percentage, it is one of the often bemoaned parts of our industry that there aren’t good benchmarks, further complicated by how different operators categorize and group expenses.
More on benchmarks here.