If you’re a restaurateur or bar and nightclub owner, you may already know all the benefits of a 4/4/5 or 13 x 4 week period calendar for financial reporting purposes. If not, you can check out our article titled Is A 4-week Reporting Cycle Ideal For Your Restaurant or Bar to learn how a 52/53-week fiscal year works, its advantages and challenges, and how to implement it. A 52/53-week fiscal year may not be the right fit for every restaurant, bar, nightclub, or hospitality group. However, it is often a more strategic and effective way of reporting your financials.
To illustrate how widely used and adopted variations of a 52/53 week fiscal year calendar are in the restaurant industry, our team researched and analyzed the financial statements of the nation’s largest restaurant franchises and national chains. We have presented our findings below!
Reporting Calendars Used by the Nation’s Largest Restaurant Groups
To understand the meaning of the variations (4/4/5, 5/5/6, etc.) in this table, please refer our article detailing the 4-week reporting cycle. It’s also important to note that publicly traded companies must report their financials quarterly to their shareholders and the SEC. Therefore, they are required to divide their calendar year into quarters. Many privately owned restaurants and restaurant groups prefer to look at their financials on a rolling 3, 6, or 13 basis, allowing them to do a 13 x 4-week period calendar. This is preferable because every period contains the same number of weeks, and you can compare any rolling 3, 6, or 13 periods with each other.
If you want to work with an accountant who can provide 13 x 4-week period reporting using Quickbooks Online (QBO) or Restaurant365, please feel free to schedule a discovery call with us.
