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Restaurant

Restaurant Group: Multi-Unit Multi-State Payroll Consolidation

Consolidated payroll across four locations in three states, eliminated six monthly compliance gaps, and cut admin time by 60%.

Restaurant group with four locations across CA, NV, and TX; 85 employees total

Locations consolidated

4 across 3 states

Compliance gaps closed

6 (state filings + tip reporting)

Admin time reduction

~60% (25 hrs/month)

Reporting cadence

Monthly close with location P&L

The situation

The group ran each location on a different payroll provider, with different bookkeepers handling different states. Three locations had missed quarterly state filings in the prior year, triggering late penalties. Tip reporting on the California location wasn't reconciling. The owner couldn't see comparable P&L data across locations.

What we did

We consolidated payroll into a single Gusto-based setup with state registrations in CA, NV, and TX. Tip reporting was rebuilt with a tip-credit-compliant structure. We registered for sales tax in each state, set up automated monthly filings, and built a consolidated monthly close that produces location-level P&Ls with food cost %, labor %, and contribution margin per location.

  • Multi-state payroll consolidation
  • Tip reporting compliance review
  • Sales tax registration and filing across three states
  • Monthly close consolidation across four entities
  • FP&A: location-level profitability dashboards

The outcome

All four locations now run on the same payroll system with state filings on schedule. Tip reporting is compliant and reconciled. The owner reviews location-level profitability monthly with comparable metrics. Estimated admin time savings: 25 hours/month.

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