Who it’s for
Bookkeeping for Food Trucks and Caterers
Card taps and cash at the truck window, deposits and invoices for the events you cater: KeyLine turns all of it into books that match your bank, with every event showing what it made.
The books
Card Taps, Events and Everything in Between
Card Payouts and Cash
The truck’s register pays out in daily batches, minus its fees, and catering card payments batch the same way. Each deposit is matched to the sales and fees inside it, and cash is recorded the day it’s taken.
Event Deposits and Final Payments
A deposit can come in weeks before the event. The books hold it as money owed to the customer until the event is served, then count it with the final payment, so each event’s invoice, deposit and balance tie out.
Sales Tax on the Whole Bill
Texas taxes everything billed with a catered meal, not just the food: preparing, serving and delivering it, the tables, chairs and linens, and the room. At the truck, ready-to-eat food is taxed, even when it’s sold to go. The books show exactly what was collected.
Service Charges and Tips
A voluntary tip isn't taxed. A mandatory service charge is untaxed only when it’s 20 percent or less, on its own line, called a tip, gratuity or service charge, and paid out to the staff who serve, like servers and bartenders, not cooks, cashiers or dishwashers. Whatever the business keeps is taxed, and over 20 percent, all of it is. The books keep what was collected and what each server was paid.
Food, Rentals and Staff, by Event
Each event carries its own food, rentals and event-day staff, on payroll or as contractors, so each event shows what it made. A caterer pays sales tax on the tables, chairs, linens and other things it rents to serve. The truck’s own costs sit beside them: commissary, propane, supplies and repairs.
A sample
A Sample Month of a Food Truck and Caterer’s Books
How we’d record one month, with each of the five things above in its place. Made-up numbers, not a real client.
One truck, 17 service days, a wedding and an office lunch catered, and a deposit taken for an event in August.
| Entry | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1Card Payouts and Cash | |
| Truck food sales before tax, 17 service days | $15,400.00 |
| Paid by card: sales and tax, plus $640 in card tips | $15,700.00 |
| Processing fees, taken out before each payout | $412.00 |
| 15 card deposits, matched to the bank | $15,288.00 |
| Cash sales and tax, recorded each day, in 4 deposits | $1,610.50 |
| 2Event Deposits and Final Payments | |
| Wedding deposit, paid last month and held until the event | $2,000.00 |
| Wedding final payment: the invoice, its tax and the service charge, less the deposit | $4,717.13 |
| Office lunch: a $500 deposit, then $980.19 on the day | $1,480.19 |
| Deposit for an August event, held as owed to the customer | $1,500.00 |
| 3Sales Tax on the Whole Bill | |
| Sales tax at the truck, 8.25 percent as an example | $1,270.50 |
| Wedding invoice, all taxed: food $4,500, serving and setup $600, tables, linens and chafing dishes $350 | $5,450.00 |
| Wedding sales tax, 8.25 percent | $449.63 |
| Office lunch invoice, all taxed: food $1,200 and delivery $75 | $1,275.00 |
| Office lunch sales tax, 8.25 percent | $105.19 |
| 4Service Charges and Tips | |
| Card tips at the truck, passed to the crew, not taxed | $640.00 |
| Wedding service charge, 15 percent, on its own line and paid out to the four servers | $817.50 |
| Tip the office lunch client added, paid to the server | $100.00 |
| 5Food, Rentals and Staff, by Event | |
| Wedding costs: food $1,640, rented linens and chafing dishes $280 plus $23.10 tax, staff hours $640, a contract dishwasher $150 | $2,733.10 |
| Office lunch costs: food $430 and the server’s hours $120 | $550.00 |
| The truck’s month: commissary $600, propane $180, food and supplies $5,100 | $5,880.00 |
The Month as the Books Show It
- The wedding made $2,716.90: $5,450 billed before its tax and service charge, less $2,733.10 in costs, the rental’s $23.10 tax among them.
- The office lunch made $725: $1,275 billed, less $550 in costs.
- $1,500 is held for August, until that event is served.
- Sales tax collected comes to $1,825.32, held for the state: $1,270.50 at the truck, $449.63 on the wedding and $105.19 on the lunch.
One payout
One Weekend’s Card Sales, Traced to the Bank
Sample. Not a real client.
| Friday card sales | $1,400 |
|---|---|
| Saturday card sales | $1,800 |
| Processing fees | $96, taken out |
| Monday’s payout | $3,104 |
| Matched to the bank deposit | Yes |
These sales tax points come from the Texas Comptroller. This isn’t tax advice: for your own business, read the Comptroller’s pages below or ask your CPA.
- Texas Comptroller, Rule 3.293, Food; Food Products; Meals; Food Service, read October 1, 2026
- Texas Comptroller, Rule 3.337, Gratuities, read October 2, 2026
- Texas Comptroller, Publication 94-117, Restaurants and the Texas Sales Tax, read September 30, 2026
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