Why Multi-Location Restaurants Need Multi-Dimensional Accounting

By Katie Maw

A cornerstone of the UK economy, the restaurant sector generates £144 billion in annual turnover and employs more than 3.5 million people. While market conditions have been less than ideal, demand remained relatively robust throughout 2025.However diners are typically opting for quality, experience, value and convenience, but on a less frequent basis, leaving firms having to work harder and smarter to secure share of spend.

But in achieving this, challenges prevail. Profitable growth hinges on a precariously balanced set of dynamics and processes. Rising business rates, VAT changes, National Insurance increases, escalating labour costs and higher ingredient prices are all converging to erode margins and fuel a complex operating landscape.

Against this backdrop, digital finance platforms and multi-dimensional accounting are paramount. Together, they help restaurant groups offset unavoidable costs, build a resilient and agile financial infrastructure, and gain the insight needed to thrive in 2026 and beyond.

From Retrospective Reporting to Real-Time Insight

In recognition of their shortfalls, forward-thinking restaurant groups are replacing their legacy accounting systems with intelligent, cloud-based platforms.

While traditional accounting software enables retrospective accounting and reporting, modern systems deliver real-time insight, context and control, enabling finance teams to pivot quickly and focus on the most profitable opportunities as they emerge.

How Sage Intacct Helps

Sage Intacct is leading the way in delivering these capabilities. Representing a modern financial foundation designed for complex, multi-site hospitality businesses, it brings the following benefits to restaurant groups:

• Cut Costs: Automates accounts payable, it enforces spending controls and credit management to support cashflow, and reduces manual processing
• Increases Control: Delivers real-time financial visibility and automated workflows to improve margin and spend management
• Drives Growth: Frees finance teams from data entry, bringing intelligence to their desktop and allowing them to focus on strategic planning, innovation and expansion

Why Multi-Entity Management Matters

For restaurant groups operating a diverse portfolio of locations, concepts and legal entities, robust multi-entity functionality is essential. Consolidation, forecasting and comparative reporting must be accurate, fast and flexible.

Sage Intacct offers virtually unlimited dimensions, allowing restaurants to tag and analyse data across every aspect of the business, from ingredients, labour, average spend per cover, to seasonality, marketing activity and more.

With live, granular data at their fingertips, finance leaders can identify trends, refine ratios and maximise profitability with confidence.

These multi-entity capabilities streamline financial management across locations while delivering consolidated reporting and real-time visibility through role-based, intelligent dashboards.

In addition, Sage Intacct standardises processes across the group with a shared chart of accounts. This enables consistent reporting, simplifies scaling, and supports expansion, diversification or acquisition strategies.

Key Multi-Entity Features for Restaurants

• Automated consolidations: Combine data from any number of entities in minutes rather than days, significantly reducing month-end close times
• Shared chart of accounts: Maintain a consistent framework across locations, types of restaurant and head office for easy performance comparison
• Role and department-based dashboards: Provide CFOs a group-wide view, while location managers can drill down into their own KPIs
• Real-time visibility: Monitor live financial and operational metrics including procurement, labour and revenue for proactive, dynamic decision-making
• Simplified inter-entity transactions: For multi-entity management, automatic reconciliations and transactions balance entries, reduce errors and centralise control
• Rapid entity setup: Add new locations quickly and easily
• Seamless integrations: Connect all third-party systems for a comprehensive view of operations across POS, payroll and inventory systems
• Scale: Support complex franchise models, international operations and rapid growth while ensuring headcount is commensurate with requirements

Michelin-Star Reporting

Simon Rogan’s UMBEL Restaurant Group adopted Sage Intacct to manage 15 sites, a £10 million turnover and ambitious growth plans. The group’s business model is deliberately non-uniform, with different legal structures across entities, making multi-dimensional accounting essential for maintaining control and clarity across the business.

Having been live for several years now, Sage Intacct handles this complexity seamlessly.

At the same time, it supports the group’s highly seasonal e-commerce business, with peaks around Valentine’s Day, Christmas and New Year, as well as major events such as weddings and Ascot. Most recently, it has also supported a pop-up operation in Sydney to extend the group’s global reach.

“The level of granularity Sage Intacct provides ensures the group remains in control of every aspect of every operation at all times, a capability that entry-level accounting systems such as Xero or QuickBooks simply cannot match.

Pinpointing Trends, Prioritising Success

As the restaurant industry continues to evolve, having a means of pinpointing the trends behind profit potential and the rigour to stem costs is key.

Incremental improvements at scale equate to massive contributions to UK GDP and those who embrace digital and ensure the right capabilities for growth in a modern world, will drive long term success.

To see how better financial management can secure a stronger seat at your table and support long-term growth, contact us today or take a self-guided tour.