The Importance of Financial Training for Restaurant Owners

The Importance of Financial Training for Restaurant Owners

Financial literacy is key to the success of any independent restaurant owner. Now more than ever, economic uncertainty is making the financial landscape more difficult to manage. That’s why it’s so critical to have a solid grasp on your business’s financial situation, and financial training is here to help.

It’s unfortunate that business owners don’t always receive the proper financial training they need to run a successful business. Doing “the books” for a business can be confusing and time-consuming; if you don’t have the budget to hire a professional accountant, the money-management aspect of the business tends to fall squarely on its leadership team. And if this task is left to the uneducated, the possibility for error increases significantly.

Financial training programs often offer a-la-carte options that allow users to access just what’s relevant to their needs. If there’s a specific financial issue coming to light, a small business owner can dedicate time to learning about this particular challenge. Which plays nicely into another benefit of financial literacy: it breeds confidence. The restaurant industry has seen tremendous upheaval in the wake of the pandemic, and now it’s being hit with even more economic uncertainty (inflation, lack of workers, etc.). When armed with financial best practices and concepts, it’s easier to make the best decisions possible for your restaurant.

Financial training is now widely available online, making it more convenient than ever for business owners to understand how to run a restaurant’s finances. Most of these trainings are on-demand, so users can access materials no matter where they are or what they’re doing. For instance, Money Smart for Small Business is an instructional toolkit that “provides a practical introduction to topics related to starting and managing a business.” It was created by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Instructor-led, it features 13 modules with 3 components each: an instructor guide, participant guide, and PowerPoint slides. There’s also the Foodservice Training Portal’s new MoneyWise Manager™, designed to give restaurant management the tools needed to understand and implement financial concepts as quickly as possible. Nine content modules cover topics like profit and loss, cost management, and pricing strategies—and they’re all around 20 minutes each. Being equipped with the most critical financial concepts will help independent restaurant owners with a host of items—from menu planning to inventory management, and everything in between. Training doesn’t take a lot of time, nor is it hard to locate. The payoffs, however, are significant.

Is your restaurant ready for the next chapter? If so, the experts at ARF Financial are here to help. Our team of loan consultants specializes in providing the trusted lending services you need to keep your restaurant running smoothly—and ensure you’re set up for success. Our latest loan offerings allow you to borrow up to $1,000,000 with terms up to 36 months, so you can focus on the big picture and keep your costs low. To learn more, visit ARF Financial and check out how we stack up to the competition.