Case Studies

Case Study 1: Full Business Turnaround

Helping a Passionate Restaurant Owner Save and Grow His Business

The Challenge

Despite his creativity, incredible menu, and tireless work, this restaurant owner was struggling. Costs were climbing, sales were dropping, and every month, he was just trying to stay afloat. Financials were sent to him 2-3 months late and by the time he saw his numbers, the information was already obsolete and inaccurate. It was too late to take any action. The fundamental problem was that he was losing money and didn’t even know why. His revenue had fallen 20% year-over-year, and his accounting reports arrived two months late, making it impossible to make informed decisions. Rising costs, declining sales, and a lack of financial clarity put his business at risk.

We worked side by side with the owner to turn things around. Our approach included:

1. Providing Financial Visibility: We replaced outdated accounting practices, introduced weekly financial reporting, and built a revenue forecasting model to eliminate financial blind spots.
2. Driving Revenue Growth: We identified profitable areas, doubled down on delivery, and optimized menu pricing—especially for high-cost specials that were secretly draining profits.
3. Tightening Cost Controls: We introduced an easy-to-use inventory system, helped the team track waste, and trained staff to portion correctly—so no more over-consumption or lost profits.
4. Improving Labor Efficiency: We developed a labor efficiency tool that compared hourly labor costs with revenue, highlighting inefficiencies/inconsistencies in scheduling. This saved 10% on labor costs, allowing them to extend hours of operation and increase revenue.
5. Refining Marketing Strategy: We partnered with their marketing agency to reallocate savings into high-performing campaigns, ensuring every marketing dollar was put to use.
6. Creating Structure & Consistency: We established SOPs for operations, inventory, and labor management and, trained the team, ensuring long-term success.

The Results

• Increased sales by 40%, surpassing their highest revenue year by 20%.
• Achieved real-time financial visibility, allowing timely and informed decision-making.
• Optimized costs across purchasing, labor, and marketing, making the business profitable and sustainable.

Now, instead of worrying about next month, the owner is planning his next expansion. That’s the power of having the right systems in place.

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Case Study 2: Restaurant Consulting Services

Helping a Restaurant Group Save $4 Million Annually on Food Costs

The Challenge

We helped this successful restaurant group with their U.S. expansion (Region A), showing them a new way to run their operations—where Accounting and Ops worked hand in hand. The financial success of their newest expansion led them to bring us in for another, more established region (Region B). In Region B, we found some key issues:

• High Food Costs: Region B had 35% food cost for the same menu while Region A had 27% food cost. Multiply that by tens of millions of dollars—the company was losing millions of dollars to wastage.
• No Financial Guidance: The accounting department provided reports but no financial guidance.
• Significant Cost Variance: A 20% variance between actual and recipe costs, leading to massive product loss.
• Lack of Accountability: Owners couldn’t track where the leakage was coming from, making it impossible to hold staff accountable.

Our Solution

We worked side by side with the owner to turn things around. Our approach included:

1. Fixing the Accounting Disconnect: The biggest issue wasn’t just the numbers—it was the lack of trust between the Ops and Accounting teams. We rebuilt this trust, aligning financial reporting with operational decisions.
2. Updating Recipe Costing: Created detailed, accurate recipe costing, starting with the top 10 dishes and then expanding across the full menu.
3. Strengthening Inventory Management: Developed a weekly stock count process and trained staff on tracking consumption in a system that we implemented.
4. Holding Staff Accountable: After introducing tracking tools to reduce waste and variance, we introduced a bonus plan that worked for both the business and the employees. We helped the company hold underperforming staff accountable.

Optimizing Purchasing: Identified lower-waste ingredient alternatives to further improve margins and ensure consistency.

The Results

After collaborating with Accross Restaurant Consulting and implementing our solutions, this restaurant group:

• Achieved a 10% cost reduction in the first month by eliminating waste and inefficiencies.
• Reduced food costs by 20% in two months, saving $4 million annually.
• Carried our teachings to a third region by themselves as they absorbed the Accross Method.

Now, instead of letting profits slip away, they’re in complete control of their costs—and their future.

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Case Study 3: Restaurant Accounting Services

Providing Financial Leadership to Help a Restaurant Scale

The Challenge

This restaurant group was growing fast but flying blind. They had no idea how much money was coming in, what was going out, or if they were even profitable. With an average restaurant’s profit margins only reaching 5-15%, its expenses represent 85-95% of its revenue. But without accurate financial reporting, this restaurant didn’t have a grasp on its costs, so it certainly didn’t have a grasp on its revenue.

Things come up. Meals get comped or voided. Repairs are needed. Staff work overtime. These are all inevitable in the industry. Without someone reviewing the hours, tracking invoices, or keeping a pulse on the cash flow of this restaurant, this restaurant group was unprepared to run a growing restaurant.

Our Solution

• Built a clear financial reporting system, replacing guesswork with accurate, real-time data.
• Developed cash flow management tools that aligned financial planning with operations.
• Created dashboards with easy-to-read financial metrics, training the Ops team on financial literacy.

After collaborating with Accross Restaurant Consulting and implementing our solutions, this restaurant group:

• 100% financial clarity, eliminating uncertainty.
• Positioned for scalable, sustainable growth.

They’re no longer just managing their business—they’re leading it.

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Case Study 4-6: Purchasing Program Success

How Changing Your Purchasing Strategy Can Save Your Restaurant Money

The Challenge

Purchasing is an essential process in running a restaurant but, shockingly, so many restaurant groups do not have a clear strategy when it comes to food purchasing. Overspending, working with too many vendors, and failing to have a cost strategy are all common problems that restaurant owners encounter.

Let me tell you the story of three restaurant groups that were held back by their purchasing strategies:

• Restaurant Group A was spending $278,000 monthly on food purchases across multiple vendors with no cost strategy.
• Restaurant Group B was spending $440,000 monthly with a nonoptimal purchasing strategy.
• Restaurant Group C was buying from 7-8 vendors, leading to high costs, inconsistency, and waste.

What do these groups have in common? Their purchasing strategy was causing them to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly, leaving the fate of their restaurants up in the air.

Our Solution

• Analyzing purchasing and securing better supplier contracts.
• Renegotiating supplier pricing, keeping a restaurant’s broadline vendor but cutting unnecessary expenses.
• Streamlining purchasing, cutting down to two key manufacturers for consistency and cost efficiency.

The Results

Restaurant Group A:

• $35,700 monthly savings ($428K annually)
• 13% cost reduction while improving product consistency

Restaurant Group B:

• $57,000 monthly savings ($684K annually)
• 13% cost reduction without compromising supply

Restaurant Group C:

• 20% cost reduction on purchases ($3M annually)
• Improvement in product quality & reduction of waste

Want to achieve similar results for your restaurant? Let’s talk! Our tailored solutions are designed to help independent restaurant owners like you increase profitability, streamline operations, and scale successfully. Contact us today for a free consultation.