Accounting & Tax Services for Food Trucks & Mobile Food
Multi-city permits, event-based sales tax, and cash-heavy sales tracking for mobile food businesses.
What Makes the Books Different in Food Trucks & Mobile Food
Every city and county you park in can have its own permit, health inspection, and sometimes its own tax registration. Keeping track of what's current and what's about to expire is its own ongoing task, separate from the accounting itself.
Sales tax often follows the event location, not your home base - a weekend at a festival two counties over can mean a different tax rate and sometimes a different filing than your regular route. We track where you sold, not just what you sold.
Commissary agreements - the commercial kitchen you're required to use for prep and storage in most jurisdictions - come with their own fees and terms that need to be tracked as a real operating cost, not lost in miscellaneous expenses.
Cash sales are still common at trucks and festivals, and cash-heavy businesses draw more IRS scrutiny by default. Clean daily reconciliation between your POS or cash log and what actually gets deposited matters more here than in most businesses.
Revenue is seasonal and event-driven - a good festival weekend can outearn a slow month of regular route days - so cash flow planning has to account for that lumpiness instead of assuming steady monthly income.
How We Help
Compliance & Licensing
We track permit and health inspection renewals across every city and county you operate in, and register you for sales tax correctly, including event-based filings when they apply.
Bookkeeping & Clean-Up
Cash and card sales reconciled daily against your POS, commissary fees tracked as a real cost, and event revenue separated from regular route income so you can see what's actually working.
Tax Planning
We plan around Section 179 for your truck and kitchen equipment, and help you set aside for the sales tax swings that come with working multiple jurisdictions.
Tax Return Preparation & Filing
Returns prepared with your multi-jurisdiction sales tax filings reconciled first, and cash sales properly documented and supported.
Payroll
Payroll for a small, often seasonal crew, set up to handle irregular hours and event-based shifts without becoming a compliance risk.
CFO Advisory & Consulting
Route and event profitability comparisons, seasonal cash flow planning, and truck and equipment purchase-vs-lease decisions.
Choosing the Right Entity
An LLC is the standard starting point for a food truck, both for liability protection and because it's straightforward to register across the multiple cities you may operate in. If you're adding a second truck or a commissary-based prep business, we'll help you decide whether that should sit under the same LLC or a separate one.
Explore LLC FormationFrequently Asked Questions
Do I pay sales tax based on where my truck is registered, or where I sell?
Generally where you sell - the event or route location - which means your tax rate and sometimes your filing requirement can change from weekend to weekend. We track this so you're not guessing at year-end.
How do I account for cash sales at festivals and events?
With a daily reconciliation between your cash log or POS and what actually gets deposited. Cash-heavy businesses get more IRS attention by default, so clean, consistent records matter more here than for a typical storefront.
Is the commissary kitchen fee a deductible business expense?
Yes, and it should be tracked as its own line item, not buried in general expenses, since it's usually one of your larger fixed costs.
How do I plan for months with no festivals or events booked?
By building a cash flow plan around your actual seasonal pattern instead of a flat monthly average - we'll help you see the lumpiness coming instead of getting surprised by it.
Ready to Talk About Your Books?
Tell us where things stand and we'll tell you honestly what needs attention first.