# How does invoice processing work for restaurants and food service?
Restaurant invoice processing handles unique challenges: (1) High Volume - restaurants process 20-100+ invoices weekly from multiple food suppliers; (2) Multiple Suppliers - managing invoices from Sysco, US Foods, produce vendors, beverage distributors, etc.; (3) Varied Formats - each supplier has different invoice layouts; (4) Time Pressure - need quick processing for accurate food cost calculations; (5) Inventory Integration - invoice data must update inventory systems immediately. Modern solutions: automatically capture invoices from supplier emails, extract line items with product names, quantities, and prices, match products to inventory SKUs, update ingredient costs for recipe costing, integrate with POS and inventory systems (Toast, Square, MarketMan), track supplier pricing trends, and generate food cost reports. Benefits include accurate food cost percentage, faster monthly close, better vendor negotiations with spending data, and staff time savings (4-5 hours daily to 30 minutes).
## Key Takeaways
- Restaurant invoice processing handles unique challenges: (1) High Volume - restaurants process 20-100+ invoices weekly from multiple food suppliers; (2) Multiple Suppliers - managing invoices from Sysco, US Foods, produce vendors, beverage distributors, etc.; (3) Varied Formats - each supplier has different invoice layouts; (4) Time Pressure - need quick processing for accurate food cost calculations; (5) Inventory Integration - invoice data must update inventory systems immediately.
- Modern solutions: automatically capture invoices from supplier emails, extract line items with product names, quantities, and prices, match products to inventory SKUs, update ingredient costs for recipe costing, integrate with POS and inventory systems (Toast, Square, MarketMan), track supplier pricing trends, and generate food cost reports.
- Benefits include accurate food cost percentage, faster monthly close, better vendor negotiations with spending data, and staff time savings (4-5 hours daily to 30 minutes).
## Related Topics
- restaurant invoice processing
- food service invoices
- restaurant AP
- supplier invoice management