Sydney 'cafe-wise' accountant and advisor needed

bonkers

Morning everyone,

I have narrowed my search for buying a cafe down to 2 shops. However, because my background is in graphic designing I'm going to need to employ the assistance of the professionals to help with checking it over (properly).

Does anyone here know of a reputed accountant and/or advisor who know the Sydney cafe scene well? I would like to speak to someone to obtain their services.

Have you or someone you know used or are using someone you consider 'good'? If so, and you don't mind I would like to get their contact number, preferably in the North West area of Sydney.

Thanks! Ben.

askthecoffeeguy

Good luck with finding an accountant to help you out with your purchase choice - but at the end of the day its still you who has to make the final decision I say look at the number, but go with your gut reaction. Also, do the costings.  Work out how many covers you would have to do each day in a given price bracket, to break even - bearing in mind that this is a year round prospect - and how many you would need to do to run profitably. Then ask yourself: Can I make this happen? I'm assuming that you've already done your business plan, and this should help you with you r financial forecasting. If not, I can highly recommend the process to fine tune your thinking, iron out the nuts and bolts (I think that's actually a mixed metaphor - but whatever), and to narrow down you options as to what to include / exclude in the operation of the cafe. Feel free to PM me if you need any pointers. Pat

fattylateplease

Good luck. An accountant will be only able to advise you on the current situation but they are quite negative people- checkout the area well, talk with other local businesses - at the end of the day, it all comes down to you - you will be the business and will need to put in a fair bit. Look for a mentor and don't underprice yourself. I have seen great businesses sold and run into the ground... :D But it is fantastic work, so good luck.

Lovey

G'day Ben, check this thread out, it's a bit old now, but it seems to suit your needs. http://cremamagazine.sitesuite.ws/forums/YaBB.cgi?num=1127716166 Good luck.

bonkers

Don't know what happened?! I lost my membership/profile...

Lovey

G'day Ben, another suggestion would be to PM or email '2muchcoffeeman' on this site, and he has a consultancy service. He is based in Melbourne but he should have some contacts in Sydney. Another option is to scroll down the bottom of the page and click the 'Coffee training.com' link. The owner of that site, John Doyle aka 'Pinot' on this site, is Sydney based and should be able to help you or point you in the direcion of someone who can. There is also the 'cafebiz.net' site to have a look around on, but I don't know how much consulting they do. Hope this helps.

bonkers

Thanks for the helpful reply Lovey. I'll check them all out and I'm sure somewhere along the line I'll be pointed in the right direction. I keep procrastinating on making a forward step with buying a cafe. Because of this I've missed a couple of cafes which I've been interested in, which I thought were good. They were sold to others  >:( My problem is that I am very hesitant because I don't know what I am doing and am scared of getting taken for a ride - this is all new to me. I've read other posts saying the same thing so it seems like it is a common problem with others coming into this industry from elsewhere. I am just better at procrastinating then others!!

Unknown

"An accountant will be only able to advise you on the current situation but they are quite negative people" I was going to make a post on something else as my first post but this narrow little line caught my eye. Calling accountants 'negative' is a bit like saying 'my barista is bad' because u didnt like the coffee roast. Unfortunately your comment is the reason so many small business owners don't call accountants and then find themselves going under so easily. The number one person who you should rely on is yourself, you will know if a place is going to work for you and if it works for YOU then you should be able to make it work for your customers. An accountant can help with: Compiling  business forecasts Assist with setting up systems - accounting software, stock control, MIS, POS GST and Tax Guidance Bookkeeping - help you work ON your business and not just IN your business. Some might even have established business models that can comprehensively do scenario planning for your business. BUT an accountant will not jump up and down with joy and sing your praises or back your idea with Paradise Passion.  You might think you are going to make $1Million  in your first month, most accountants will say - lets assume you don't mate!  This is what most people call 'being negative' but I can not push enough that you should always seek the best help available. PS Im an accountant in the Northern Beaches who owns a cafe but I don't do consultancy, so I say all this because I think you should find a good accountant or at least a business consultant.  It took me 9 months of planning and research before opening my cafe and I knew from the outset where the money came from and where it went to.  >:(

NewBiz

PM sent

admin

There are also several people who specialise in giving consultancy advice to potential new cafe owners - one guy who comes to mind is a guy called Craig [based in Sydney] - he has made several posts some time ago in the Trade Page section... He looks at the whole business [as well as financial] if this is the sort of thing you're after, it may pay to look back in earlier posts in Trade section. -A

admin

Hi guys - remember there are a lot of old threads with useful information - thought I'd raise just one as an example! A

thecafeninja

What I would say is that accountants don't really cut the mustard because they don't really understand the cafe business. They can look at the numbers tell you if you are making a profit, but in terms of telling you what your costs should be for specific areas I don't believe they can help that much. I have an excellent accountant but in terms of running my businesses he doesn't get involved because he doesn't understand the intricacies (such as the percentage costs, etc) Whilst I'd say that a good accountant is absolutely essential (as well as a good solicitor if you are going through the buying process) it is also essential to get good experienced advice from either an existing cafe owner or consultant (yes, like myself!) I have seen too many nightmare situations where people have bought terrible underperforming cafes that have been made to look good by business brokers and which have been largely ignored by well meaning accountants. Cheers, Craig Reid - The Cafe Ninja www.thecafeninja.com

askthecoffeeguy

excellent advice cafe ninja I've said this before but opening a cafe is like getting a bucket full of holes and tipping all the money you own, plus as much as you can get your hands on, in there - and then watching it run out faster than you can catch it opening a cafe is an excellent way to loose a lot of money very quickly - but it cab also be quite lucrative if you know what you're doing, if you have excellent advisors, and you are willing to learn from your mistakes... the people I have seen who have done well out of this industry have invariably started small, and grown incrementally bigger with each step that they make, with (fingers crossed) each new being a bigger and better version of the one that has gone before but yes i would also agree that for every success story there are probably ten cafes with their backs against the wall, and its a lot to risk especially when you have a family, as there is more than just the individual at stake - which is why I say its a young folks game: so get in and make your mistakes early as you cant afford to make them when you're older! p

cafelawyer

you need an accountant that knows how to deal with cash. reconstructing books and benchmarking from the tiny skerrick of information cafe vendors provide

thecafeninja

on 1291787412:

you need an accountant that knows how to deal with cash. reconstructing books and benchmarking from the tiny skerrick of information cafe vendors provide

No cafe lawyer - they need me!