What it is
A restaurant’s revenue is made of thousands of small transactions, and the control environment is the daily close: the sales report, the drawer count, the deposit and the card settlement. This workbook puts each day’s numbers side by side so a difference between what was rung up, what was tendered and what was banked shows at once.
It also tests the sales tax: collected against the rate on net sales, then against the ledger credits. A flag column marks days with a tender difference, a cash difference beyond your tolerance or voids and comps above your threshold, and the Summary ties the month to the ledger, the card processor and the bank.
When to use it
- On restaurant, bar and café audits as the revenue completeness and cash test.
- For monthly management review of the close, by an owner or a controller.
- When a sales tax audit or a lender asks for the sales to deposit trail.
What’s inside
- Daily tab: 31 days with net sales, tender, cash paid out, deposit, over and short
- Void and comp rate and a flag column driven by your thresholds
- Expected sales tax at the rate and the difference to tax collected
- Summary tab with ties to the ledger, sales tax payable, card settlements and bank deposits
Standard cited
This template follows AU-C 330 / AU-C 520. It is written in our own words, except for phrases the standard requires the document to contain, with [bracketed placeholders] for client details, amounts in USD and dates as MM/DD/YYYY. Check it against the current standard and your firm’s methodology before use. See AU-C 330 explained, AU-C 520 explained.
Questions
Why will expected sales tax differ from the tax collected?
Because not every item is taxable the same way in every state or city, and the rate can vary by location. Obtain the explanation for the difference, such as non-taxable items or delivery fees, and treat an unexplained difference as an exposure.
How should tips be treated?
Tips charged to cards are not revenue. They are a liability to employees until paid. The workbook includes them in the total due so the tenders agree, and the audit should confirm that tips flow through payroll or cash payouts and not into sales.
What does a repeated cash shortage point to?
A pattern by day of week, shift or employee points to a control gap such as shared drawers, unrecorded voids or skimming. A single day is usually a counting error. Review the flagged days together.
Related templates
- Audit Program: Restaurant
- Restaurant Audit Checklist
- Proof of Cash Template (Four-Column)
- Analytical Procedures Expectation Workpaper (AU-C 520)
Last updated 11/05/2026. All free templates.