Over the years since the pandemic, more shops have opened up in the food and beverage (F&B) industry, allowing more restaurants and cafes to flourish in the country.
According to Business Monitor International (BMI), growth in the food and drink sector will remain strong for 2024 and beyond, with annual growth in the mid-to-high single digits.
“[There are] favorable demographic trends, including an expanding middle class and a large, young adult population, underpin our positive outlook,” it said.
While the industry is slowly growing over time, BMI warned that rising inflation could limit consumers’ spending and stated, “In the short term, the ability to spend will be constrained by rising inflation, while generally reduced earnings will restrict the expansion of spending on food and beverages.”
Expanding the F&B industry, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in 2022 found that restaurants and mobile food service activities had a major share in the majority of establishments, accounting for 23,242 or 75.3 percent. Beverage-serving activities like cafes amounted to 3,213 in that same year.
The demand for more restaurants and cafes continues to rise. However, it’s the complex financial management these owners must look out for in order to cater to their consumers continuously.
Getting finances in order
Cloud-based accounting company CloudCFO explained that restaurants and bars need more financial insights since its firm often caters to startups and small and medium-sized enterprises.
CloudCFO founder and chief executive officer Mickael Cardoso established the company in the Philippines in 2016. He recognized that cloud technology helps businesses streamline their financial capabilities, adjust their activities, and reduce the risk of losing money.
During a media briefing last Wednesday, he explained that the major cause of business failure is poor financial, tax, and cash flow management—all of which risk capital raising.
“Restaurants need more financial insights because it’s a complex business. You got inventory, spoilage, people paying you from different point-of-sale (POS),” he said when asked which industries need more cloud-based accounting.
“People just think a chef can build and start a restaurant, and then they realize their inventory is not adding up,” Cardoso elaborated. “We have helped multiple restaurants readjust their strategy and understand what is and what’s not working.”
Aside from F&B, the company noticed that financial technology businesses, e-commerce, and business process outsourcing (BPO) establishments are some of their top clients since these industries are also rising.
Their services include accounting, bookkeeping, tax and payroll, financial reporting, forecasts, and more. Recently, CloudCFO has integrated artificial intelligence (AI) into its systems to streamline its processes for clients.
When it comes to service costs, Cardoso assures that their prices are fair and vary according to each establishment’s requirements.
“Some of our customers pay less than P20,000 a month,” he added.
Company expansion
Because of its nearly a decade-long success in providing accounting services, CloudCFO has catered to more than 230 clients worldwide, 80 percent of whom come from the country.
When asked about the firm’s plans moving forward, Cardoso said that the company is looking into reaching out to other countries in the near future.
“North America [is] a primary market. We’ll probably look at Australia and New Zealand as secondary market due to its proximity,” he shared.