Fractional Controller – Remote Full Time

Position Description: The Controller is responsible for the overall integrity, timeliness, and usefulness of the companys financial information and related systems. This primarily remote role (with occasional travel to the restaurants and support office) oversees accounting operations, implements and improves financial processes, and provides actionable analysis and key performance indicators (KPIs) to support executive and operations management. The Controller will serve as a key business partner to ownership and leadership, helping to drive profitable, well-controlled growth as the company expands its restaurant base.

Additional Information:

• 510 years of progressive accounting/finance experience in a multi-unit restaurant environment (corporate or large franchise group).
• Demonstrated experience overseeing or heavily using an ERP system tailored to restaurant or multi-unit retail businesses (e.g., Restaurant365, similar platforms).
• Experience adding new stores or entities into an ERP environment, including configuration, testing, and go-live support.
• Proven track record of designing, implementing, and improving processes around daily sales recording, deposit and cash reconciliation, and POS-to-GL integration.
• Prior responsibility for preparing or managing store-level and consolidated KPIs and dashboard reporting for executive and operations teams.
• Experience managing financial operations across multiple states, including multi-state sales tax, payroll tax, and tip reporting compliance.
• Hands-on experience with new restaurant /unit opening and expansion, including financial support, pre-opening budgets, build-out cost tracking, and initial P&L setup.
• Technical Skills
• Strong proficiency with restaurant ERP systems; specific knowledge of Restaurant365 is a plus.
• High proficiency with Microsoft Excel and comfort working with data extracts, pivot tables, and lookups.
• Familiarity with POS systems, bank portals, and payroll platforms commonly used in the restaurant industry.
• Experience with business intelligence or data visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau, or built-in ERP reporting) to create dashboards and ad hoc analyses.
• Familiarity with third-party delivery platform portals and reporting (e.g., DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub) and their financial reconciliation requirements.
• Working knowledge of lease accounting standards (ASC 842) and multi-state sales and payroll tax requirements.
• Competencies and Attributes
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate data into clear, action-oriented insights for non-financial leaders.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy and integrity in all financial reporting.
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a primarily remote environment while maintaining strong relationships with on-site restaurant and support teams.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate across departments and interact confidently with owners, executives, external accountants, brokers, and lenders.
• Hands-on, proactive, and process-improvement mindset, comfortable working in a growing, multi-unit family-owned restaurant business.
• Ability to manage competing deadlines across multiple locations and entities while maintaining accuracy during high-volume close periods.
• Working understanding of restaurant unit economics, including prime cost analysis, four-wall profitability, and labor productivity metrics.

• This role is part-time, non-exempt.
• Weekly hour expectation will be 20-25.
• This role is eligible to be fully remote; however, candidates residing in Buffalo, NY or Phoenix, AZ are preferred

Rate: 85,000.00 – 95,000.00 DOE

Periodic travel to restaurants and the support office may be required to maintain relationships, understand operations firsthand, assist with openings of new locations, and support implementation and monitoring of financial systems and controls.

Job Advertisement:

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee the month-end and year-end close process, ensuring accurate and timely financial statements for all entities and locations.
• Prepare and analyze consolidated and store-level P&Ls, balance sheets, and cash flow information, highlighting trends, variances, and opportunities for improvement.
• Develop and maintain dashboards and regular KPIs that are meaningful to executive and operations management (e.g., sales by daypart, labor and food cost metrics, prime cost, check average, guest count, waste and void trends).
• Provide ad hoc financial and operational analysis to support pricing decisions, promotions, new product introductions, and capital investments.

• Lead the annual budgeting process, including store-level and consolidated budgets for sales, labor, food and paper, controllables, and capital expenditures.
• Develop rolling forecasts and cash flow projections to support growth plans and capital allocation.
• Partner with operations leadership to set targets, track performance versus budget, and drive accountability for results at each restaurant.

• Serve as the primary owner of the restaurant enterprise resource planning (ERP) environment, including general ledger, AP, AR, fixed assets, and operational modules.
• Add new restaurants and related entities to the ERP, ensuring proper configuration of chart of accounts, store/location structure, tax settings, and integrations with POS and banking platforms.
• Design, implement, and continuously improve systems and controls around daily sales reporting, deposits, and cash management, including reconciliation of POS sales to bank deposits and ERP.
• Work to streamline and automate the flow of information between POS, Restaurant365 (or other ERP), payroll providers, and banking systems to reduce manual work and error risk.
• Manage reconciliation of third-party delivery platform revenue (e.g., DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub), including commission tracking, payment verification, and proper revenue recognition across locations.
• Oversee accounting for gift card programs, including liability tracking, breakage recognition, and escheatment compliance across applicable jurisdictions.

• Oversee daily cash positioning, cash flow forecasting, and banking relationships.
• Monitor and manage AR, AP, and inventory levels to optimize working capital while supporting operational needs.
• Ensure appropriate controls over cash handling at each restaurant, including safe counts, over/short procedures, and deposit verification.

• Maintain and improve internal control systems across the restaurant network, including segregation of duties, approval hierarchies, and documented procedures.
• Coordinate the preparation of sales tax, payroll tax, and other regulatory filings, working with external accountants as appropriate.
• Ensure compliance with applicable federal, state, and local regulations affecting the restaurant business.
• Monitor and ensure compliance with multi-state sales tax obligations, including varying food and beverage tax rates and exemptions.

• Maintain proper insurance coverage on all company assets, including property, general liability, auto, workers compensation, and other appropriate policies.
• Work with insurance brokers to evaluate coverage levels, manage renewals, and coordinate claims.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for external accountants, providing schedules, analyses, and support for year-end reviewed/audited financial statements and tax filings.
• Support and manage relationships with bankers and other lenders, including covenant compliance, information requests, and periodic review meetings.
• Serve as primary point of contact for landlords and ensure timely payments of rent, and follow through of any landlord requests.

• Oversee inventory and costing processes, including periodic counts, cost updates, and margin analysis by item and location.
• Partner with operations to monitor and improve food, paper, labor, and controllable expenses, using store-level metrics and KPIs to identify issues.
• Support menu engineering and supplier negotiations with accurate cost and margin data.
• Track and analyze third-party delivery commissions, packaging costs, and net profitability by delivery channel to inform partnership decisions.
• Monitor waste, spoilage, and shrinkage trends by location, implementing controls and reporting to reduce loss.

• Lead and develop a small, high-performing accounting and finance team, including internal and external resources as appropriate.
• Collaborate closely with operations, HR, and executive leadership to align finance processes with restaurant needs.
• Champion a culture of accountability, continuous improvement, and service to internal stakeholders.

• Manage lease accounting and ensure compliance with ASC 842 for all restaurant and office locations, including right-of-use asset and lease liability calculations.
• Track and analyze occupancy costs (rent, CAM, property taxes, utilities) by location to support site-level profitability analysis and lease renewal decisions.
• Provide financial modeling and analysis for new location openings, including build-out cost tracking, pre-opening expense budgets, and break-even projections.

Qualifications

• Education and Credentials
• Bachelors degree in accounting, finance, or a related field required.
• CPA designation is preferred but not required.