030 555 721 370
anfrage@guhr-steuerberatung.de
Auerstr. 14, 10249 Berlin
Industry · Restaurants & Food Service
Tax advisory for food service that protects your margin.
We are the tax advisory for owners of restaurants, cafés, bars and catering businesses. We handle bookkeeping and annual accounts reliably – but beyond that, we cleanly separate the 7% and 19% VAT rates, make your cash register audit-proof and give you the cash-flow clarity a low-margin business needs. Nationwide, digital and personal.
Nationwide · 100% digital- Specialised in food service
- A dedicated contact person
Sound familiar?
Problems restaurateurs know all too well.
We talk to owners of restaurants, cafés, bars and catering businesses every day. This is what we hear again and again:
The 7%-vs-19% question keeps you on edge.
Takeaway, dine-in, delivery, a drink with the meal – the wrong VAT rate on every entry, and the next tax audit gets expensive.
Fear of the cash-register inspection.
High cash share, TSE (certified security module), Z-reports, procedural documentation – you never truly know whether your register would survive an unannounced inspection under Sec. 146b AO (German Fiscal Code).
You don't know your real food cost.
Purchase prices rise, the menu stays the same, spoilage and shrinkage quietly eat your margin – and no one shows you the ratio month by month.
Your liquidity is constantly on the edge.
Rent, purchasing, wages, VAT prepayment – all due at the start of the month while revenue only comes in later. One weak month and it gets tight.
Your tax advisor doesn't understand food service.
Tips, night and Sunday premiums, casual staff, staff meals – you have to explain to your advisor how your business even works.
Receipts and the register are running away from you.
Supplier invoices, entertainment receipts, cash and card takings, delivery-platform statements – the paperwork eats time you need on the floor.
What changes for you
More clarity. Fewer taxes. More time for your guests.
We are not a classic tax firm. We deliver what you as an owner really need – results, not just binders.
7% and 19% get it right – automatically.
We set up the register and chart of accounts so that takeaway and dine-in are booked cleanly and separately. No more fear of the VAT audit.
A register that survives any audit.
TSE, GoBD-compliant recording and robust procedural documentation. When the inspection comes, you stay calm – not in a panic.
Food-cost ratio in view – every month.
You see your food-cost and labour ratio in black and white and spot immediately when purchasing, shrinkage or prices are eating your margin.
Liquidity that becomes plannable.
We plan VAT prepayments, rent and wages ahead and show you early when it will get tight – instead of surprising you on the 10th.
A noticeably lower tax burden.
Night/Sunday/holiday premiums under Sec. 3b EStG (Income Tax Act), the investment deduction, legal form and managing-director salary – we review proactively, not in hindsight.
Time that flows back into the business.
Receipts via app, register data imported automatically, supplier invoices booked digitally. No more Sunday evenings with the shoebox.
Personally from Karsten Guhr
A food-service business rarely fails because the house isn't full. It fails because of a cash register that won't survive an audit, a food cost no one monitors, and liquidity no one planned ahead. That's exactly where we come in: we separate the 7% and 19% cleanly, make your register audit-proof, and give you the numbers that let you sleep soundly in a low-margin business.
We know your business
We speak the language of food service.
7% and 19% VAT, TSE and cash-register inspection, food-cost ratio, tips, night premiums, rent and delivery-platform commissions – we know how a food-service business ticks. So you don't waste time explaining your business model.
- 01
VAT: 7% vs. 19%
Food to take away at 7%, dine-in at 19%, drinks, combo offers and delivery – we set up the split in your POS system in a legally sound way.
- 02
GoBD & TSE cash-register rules
Certified security module (TSE), single-transaction recording, daily Z-reports and robust procedural documentation – the basis of every tax audit.
- 03
Cash-register inspection, Sec. 146b AO
We make your business audit-proof and accompany the unannounced cash-register inspection – including a cash count and data export (DSFinV-K).
- 04
Treatment of tips
Tips to employees are tax-free, tips to the owner are not – we draw the line cleanly and document it in an audit-proof way.
- 05
Food cost & pricing
Food-cost ratio, mark-up and the tax authority's guideline-rate tables – we cost your menu and arm you against estimates by the tax office.
- 06
Staff & wage premiums
Mini-jobs, casual staff, staff meals as a benefit in kind, and tax-free night, Sunday and holiday premiums under Sec. 3b EStG – correctly payrolled.
- 07
Spoilage, shrinkage & stocktaking
Documenting stock losses plausibly and setting up stocktakes so your figures hold up against any recalculation.
- 08
Entertainment & travel costs
Entertainment receipts under Sec. 4 (5) EStG, own hospitality, company events and travel costs – deductible instead of wasted.
Industry benchmarks
We know your industry's margins. And we protect them for you.
We support food-service businesses nationwide and see real figures every month – not menus. We know the food-cost and labour ratios typical for your segment, where you should sit and which levers lift your after-tax margin.
Typical food-cost/labour ratio & EBIT
- Food 28–35% · Labour 30–38% · EBIT 5–10%Restaurant / full-serviceKitchen-driven · clean pricing and staff control decide the profit
- Food 25–32% · Labour 30–40% · EBIT 6–12%Café / bakery caféHigh labour share · the 7%/19% split and footfall are the key levers
- Food 18–25% · Labour 20–30% · EBIT 8–15%Bar / clubBeverage-driven · high margin, but cash and register controls are critical
- Food 30–38% · Labour 25–35% · EBIT 4–9%Catering / chain food serviceVolume-driven · economies of scale and cost control set the margin
How we lift your after-tax margin – legally and without balance-sheet acrobatics:
- 7%/19% optimisationCorrect VAT split for combo offers and takeaway sales – not a cent too much, and no risk at the audit.
- Tax-free wage premiumsNight, Sunday and holiday premiums under Sec. 3b EStG are free of tax and social security up to 25–150% – attractive for your team, cheaper for you.
- Investment deduction (IAB)Claim up to 50% of planned investments in advance to reduce profit – ideal for kitchen, refrigeration, fit-out and POS systems.
- Legal form & holdingAbove a certain size, a GmbH (limited company) with a holding markedly reduces tax on retained profits – instead of over 40% at the private level.
- Food-cost controllingA monthly food-cost ratio instead of a year-end review – we spot shrinkage, mis-pricing and cost pressure before they cost you profit.
- Staff meals & benefits in kindStaff catering and the EUR 50 benefit-in-kind exemption used correctly – a tax-efficient perk for your employees.
Why GUHR
Tax advisory that finally thinks along with you.
We don't want to be the next advisor emailing "receipts by the 10th, please." We want to be the partner who makes your business audit-proof, more profitable and more predictable.
Specialised in food service
Over 50 food-service engagements – we know the typical tax traps, from 7%/19% and the register to the tax office's recalculation.
Nationwide · digital
Fully set up digitally. Whether Berlin, Munich, Hamburg or Cologne – register data and receipts flow automatically, without you sending a thing.
Proactive, not reactive
We reach out before the tax office asks. A register check and tax strategy for the current year – not after the audit.
Personal, not anonymous
A dedicated contact who knows your business, your register and your numbers. Answers in hours, not weeks.
More than tax advisory
A network of strong restaurateurs. Included.
With GUHR you become part of a client circle you would otherwise only meet at trade shows and industry meet-ups. Owners who speak openly about food cost, rent, staff and expansion – because they trust the same advisor.
A selection from our food-service client circle
We name specific clients only with their consent. In the initial consultation we'll show you relevant cases from your niche.
What that means for you in concrete terms:
- 01
Food-service round tables
Small-group meetings – topics such as pricing, staff recruitment, rent negotiation and expansion. By invitation, under confidentiality.
- 02
Peer benchmarks
We benchmark your food-cost and labour ratio anonymously against comparable businesses in your segment. So you see where you really stand.
- 03
Warm referrals
Looking for a supplier, a succession or a location? We connect you directly within the circle – with no commission games.
Head office Berlin · clients from Sylt to Garmisch
Nationwide · 100 % digital
One firm. Available anywhere in Germany.
Whether Berlin, Munich or somewhere in between: we run every mandate fully digital – DATEV-connected, signed PDFs, video meetings. No commuting, no postal delays, no 90s-style bookkeeping.
- 01
DATEV Unternehmen online
Receipts, banking, payroll, reports – you work in the standard interface every German tax advisor speaks. No vendor lock-in.
- 02
Video meetings instead of on-site visits
Quarterly review, tax strategy, holding check – via video with screen sharing. You save half a day every time.
- 03
Signed PDFs & digital powers of attorney
Tax filings, annual accounts, contracts – signed via qualified e-signature. Accepted by the tax office, done in minutes.
How we work with food service
From first consultation to an audit-proof register.
On average 14 days from the decision to switch to a running digital operation.
First consultation & register check
30 minutes. We review your register, VAT split, food cost and the biggest levers – free.
01
Onboarding in 14 days
We handle the switch from your previous advisor, set up DATEV and connect your POS system, banking and delivery-platform statements.
02
Ongoing support
Monthly management accounts with food-cost and labour ratios, live figures in the dashboard, a dedicated contact – plus proactive tips when we see potential.
03
Annual review & strategy
Annual accounts, tax optimisation and a clear plan for next year – from investments and staff to succession or leasing out the business.
04
030 555 721 370FAQ
Answers for restaurateurs.
What you ask us most often before switching.
Initial consultation for food service
What your business is leaving on the table in taxes – we'll show you in 30 minutes.
You describe your business, we name the concrete levers (7%/19% split, an audit-proof register, food cost, Sec. 3b premiums) and send a written proposal within 48 hours. Nationwide and free.