Liquor and convenience stores. We keep lottery money and sales tax apart, and show margin and inventory every month.
Reconciling and closing are the same everywhere. This is where these books differ.
Only the commission is yours. We record sales, prizes, commission and sweeps separately.
Items in the same cooler can be taxed differently, by state rules. We start with the POS settings.
Only a month-end count shows theft and breakage, and makes margin by category real.
These go in your close report every month. Figures are illustrative.
Gross margin
28.6%Example
(Sales − cost of goods) ÷ sales
Inventory change, incl. shrink
(1,240.00)Example
Month-end count vs. book inventory
Lottery settlement gap
0.00Example
Weekly settlement vs. the bank sweep
August 2026 books · Example
Convenience store
illustrative example (beer, wine, lottery)
| Account | Memo | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Sales (excl. tax) | ||
| Taxable sales Beer, wine, tobacco, soda, snacks, sundries | Beer, wine, tobacco, soda, snacks, sundries | 71,380.00 |
| Exempt groceries 1 Milk, bread, eggs… | Milk, bread, eggs… | 9,640.00 |
| Total sales | 81,020.00 | |
| Cost of goods | ||
| Merchandise purchases Wholesale & route invoices | Wholesale & route invoices | (57,800.00) |
| Vendor rebates Tobacco & beverage programs | Tobacco & beverage programs | 1,180.00 |
| Change in inventory 2 Per month-end count | Per month-end count | (1,240.00) |
| Total cost of goods | (57,860.00) | |
| Lottery & other income | ||
| Lottery commission 3 Texas Lottery sales 18,600.00 × 5% | Texas Lottery sales 18,600.00 × 5% | 930.00 |
| ATM fee income | 126.00 | |
| Total | 1,056.00 | |
| Operating expenses | ||
| Wages 5 staff | 5 staff | (9,840.00) |
| Employer payroll taxes | (980.00) | |
| Card processing fees | (1,620.40) | |
| Rent | (5,200.00) | |
| Other operating Utilities, insurance, permits… | Utilities, insurance, permits… | (3,560.00) |
| Total operating | (21,200.40) | |
| Net income | 3,015.60 | |
| Gross margin | 28.6% | |
| Owed at month-end | ||
| Lottery payable Sales − prizes paid 6,240 − commission − sweeps 11,160 | Sales − prizes paid 6,240 − commission − sweeps 11,160 | 270.00 |
| Sales tax payable On taxable sales, filed on the state’s schedule | On taxable sales, filed on the state’s schedule | 5,888.85 |
Sales tax, lottery settlements and month-end counts make Growth the fit. Sales tax for one state and quarterly income-tax planning are included.
Growth
One- or two-location businesses that want monthly numbers and income tax planned every quarter
from$650/mo
Usually added for this industry
Starting prices. Your final number comes as a written quote after we talk.
We set the scope and the price before anything starts. Then the books are ours.
No commitment. Nothing to prepare.
972-242-2100