THERE'S MONEY HIDING IN YOUR PAYROLL.
Restaurant payroll is its own animal. Tipped wages, overtime math, tip-credit compliance, and the FICA tip credit waiting to be claimed every period. We run payroll the way a restaurant operator would actually want it run, and we recover the payroll tax you've been quietly overpaying on tips. Most accountants never go looking.
FICA tip credit. Tipped-wage compliance. Clean payroll runs.
Payroll is where restaurants quietly overpay.
Are you recovering the FICA tip credit?
The employer's share of payroll tax on reported tips is partly refundable, every single period. It adds up faster than you'd think, and it's routinely missed because nobody's actively looking for it.
Is your tipped-wage compliance clean?
Tip credits, overtime calculations on tipped staff, hour rules that vary by state. There's a lot of room to be wrong, and being wrong is expensive. We keep the compliance clean and audit-ready.
Are you catching overstaffing before payday?
Labor creep shows up in the schedule first, then in the P&L, then in your bank account. By the time it's on the P&L, you've already paid for it. We flag the drift while you can still adjust.
Are POS tips reconciling to payroll?
Clean reporting is what makes the tip credit claimable. If your POS and your payroll don't agree, the credit isn't defensible. The reconciliation is unglamorous and exactly the thing we do.
How much is hiding in your payroll?
Most restaurants leave the FICA tip credit on the table. Move the sliders for a rough annual estimate , then we'll find the exact number.
The FICA tip credit lets you recoup the employer payroll tax (7.65%) you pay on reported employee tips. The cleaner your tip reporting, the bigger the recovery.
Based on ~$112,320 in reported tips per year across 12 tipped staff.
Claim it with VASTRough estimate for illustration only , actual credit depends on tip reporting, the $5.15/hr wage floor, and your filing. VAST calculates the exact figure.
Restaurant payroll without the surprises.
Accurate runs every period. Clean tip reporting. And the tax recovery your restaurant has been owed but hasn't been getting.
Payroll runs
On time, accurate, with the restaurant-specific categorization built in. Tip pools, voids, comps, overtime, all where they should be, every cycle.
FICA tip credit recovery
The credit captured every period, not just at year-end. The savings show up in your account on a real cadence instead of all at once if you happen to be lucky.
Tipped-wage compliance
Tip credits, overtime, state minimums, all kept current and clean. If the rules change, we change with them so you don't have to track it yourself.
POS to payroll reconciliation
Period-by-period matching of POS tips to payroll records so the credit is defensible and the underlying numbers tell the truth.
Labor visibility
Weekly labor as a share of sales, broken down where it matters. You see the drift while it's still cheap to fix instead of after payday.
Transitions handled
If you're switching from another provider, we manage the migration end to end. No gaps, no double-runs, no employees missing a paycheck.
A CPA who actually owns restaurants.
Tanya is Founder & CEO of VAST and Co-Owner & CFO of Local Food Group , a multi-unit Reno restaurant group. She's built and operated brick-and-mortar restaurants and reviewed thousands of restaurant P&Ls. She reads your numbers like a line cook reads a ticket.
“Having a dedicated team of professionals that knows the dynamics of our business has been key to our growth and financial health.”
Questions, answered.
What is the FICA tip credit, exactly?
Why do so many restaurants miss it?
Can you take over payroll from our current provider?
Is the calculator's number what I'll actually get?
Ready to talk?
Tell us about your restaurant and book a no-pressure intro call with a team that actually speaks operator.