Lecture Food and beverage cost control (5th Edition): Chapter 11 - Dopson, Hayes, Miller 

Chapter 11 - Maintaining and improving the revenue control system. This chapter presents the following content: Revenue security, external threats to revenue security, internal threats to revenue security, developing the revenue security system, the complete revenue security system, technology tools.

Maintaining and Improving 

the Revenue Control 

System

Chapter 11    1 

Figure 11.1 Sales Record

Item # Sold Selling Price Total Sales

 A guest said to have walked, or skipped a check 

when he or she has consumed a product but has left the foodservice operation without paying the bill. 

Figure 11.2 Steps to Reduce Guest Walks, or Skips

1 If the custom of your restaurant is that guests order and consume their food prior to your

receiving payment, instruct servers to present the bill for the food promptly when the guests have finished

2 If your facility has a cashier in a central location in the dining area, have that cashier

available and visible at all times

3 If your facility operates in such a manner that each server collects for his or her own guest’s

charges, instruct the servers to return to the table promptly after presenting the guest’s bill to secure a form of payment

4 Train employees to be observant of exit doors near restrooms or other areas of the facility

that may provide an unscrupulous guest the opportunity to exit the dining area without being easily seen

5 If an employee sees a guest leave without paying the bill, management should be notified

immediately

6 Upon approaching a guest who has left without paying the bill, the manager should ask if the

guest has inadvertently “forgotten” to pay In most cases, the guest will then pay the bill

7 Should a guest still refuse to pay or flee the scene, the manager should note the following on

an incident report:

a Number of guests involved

b Amount of the bill

c Physical description of the guest(s)

d Vehicle description if the guests flee in a car, as well as the license plate number if

possible

e Time and date of the incident

f Name of the server(s) who actually served the guest

8 If the guest is successful in fleeing the scene, the police should be notified In no case should

This includes passing counterfeit money, bad checks, or most  commonly, the use of invalid credit or debit cards.

Figure 11.3 Credit and Debit Card Verification

1 Confirm that the name on the card is the same as that of the individual presenting the card for payment Driver’s licenses or other acceptable forms of identification can be used

2 Examine the card for any obvious signs of alteration

3 Confirm that the card is indeed valid, that is, that the card has not expired

or is not yet in effect

4 Compare the signature on the back of the card with the one produced by the guest paying with the card

5 The employee processing the charge should initial the credit card receipt

6 Carbon paper, if used, should be destroyed

7 Credit card charges that have not yet been processed should be kept in a secure place to limit the possibility that they could be stolen

8 Do not issue cash in exchange for credit card charges

9 Do not write in tip amounts for the guest These should be supplied by the guest only unless the "tip" is, in truth, a mandatory service charge and that fact has been communicated in advance to the guest

10 Tally credit card charges on a daily basis, making sure to check that the

 A restaurant accepting payment cards does not 

actually receive immediate cash from its card sales, but rather it will be credited via electronic funds transfer (EFT) the money it is due after all fees 

have been paid

 If you agree to accept checks, you will experience 

some loss

 Service personnel can use a variety of techniques to 

cheat an operation of small amounts of money at a time

 Complete revenue control is a matter of developing 

the checks and balances necessary to ensure that the value of products sold and the amount of revenue received do indeed equal each other

 Another method of service personnel fraud is one in 

which the server gives the proper guest check to the guest, collects payment, and destroys the guest 

check but keeps the money

 For this reason, many operators implement a 

precheck/postcheck system for guest checks

fraud.

 Open checks are those that have been used to 

authorize product issues from the kitchen or bar, but that have not been added to the operation’s sales 

total

 In addition to theft of your own business financial 

assets, the hospitality industry affords some 

employees the opportunity to defraud guests as well. Some techniques include:

overcharge.

has left, or entering additional credit card charges and  pocketing the cash difference.

appropriate total, with the intent of keeping the  overcharge.  

with the intent of keeping the extra change.

services, recording the proper price, then keeping the 

 Consistent cash shortages may be an indication of 

employee theft or carelessness

 If the POS system has a void key, a dishonest 

cashier could enter a sales amount, collect for it, and then void, or erase, the sale after the guest has 

company. 

Require a written guest check recording each sale  Assign unique numbers to each guest check created  Use a precheck/postcheck system 

Do not allow employees to share POS passwords  Close out open checks 

Monitor overs/shorts  Perform voids by supervisor only  Deny cashiers access to unredeemed cash value coupons  Require special authorization from management to “comp” guest checks  Develop a system of checks and balances 

Bond employees (insurance policy against employee theft) 

 Product issues must equal guest charges.

 Each guest check must be accounted for, and 

employees must know that they will be held 

responsible for each check they are issued. 

Figure 11.6 Sample Guest Check

Figure 11.7 Sample Guest Check Control Form

Faris’

Checks Accounted

Unaccounted Checks:

Verification of sales receipts

 Sales receipts refer to actual revenue received by the 

cashier or other designated personnel, in payment for products served. 

 Both cashier and a supervisor must verify sales 

receipts.

 Sales receipts refer to all forms of revenue, such as 

Total Charges = Sales Receipts

Figure 11.8 Sales Receipt Report

Figure 11.9 Banquet Event Order/Invoice

Banquet Event Order/Invoice

Organization Hosting Event:

Organization Contact Person:

Organization Address:

Linen

 Embezzlement is the term used to describe 

employee theft where the embezzler takes company funds he or she was entrusted to keep and diverts them to personal use

7 Employ an outside auditor to examine the accuracy of 

 In a revenue system that is working properly, the 

following formula should be in effect:

Sales Deposits = Funds Available for Accounts Payable

 You can protect your revenue from vendors who 

would attempt to defraud you. Here are steps you can take:

upgradability, expandability and long life. By using energy  efficient POS equipment for longer periods of time, 

operating costs are reduced and landfill waste lessened. 

energy than a standard 100­watt light bulb! Such efficiency  advancements help operators save money from high energy  costs, while also helping to relieve the stress of excess 

energy consumption on the environment.

 Protecting sales revenue from external and internal 

threats of theft requires diligence and attention to detail