School canteens are small food businesses, and as such must implement best practice financial management to be viable. Best practice means having appropriate record keeping procedures. The person responsible for using these records will vary e.g. the canteen supervisor or the person responsible for financial management and paying bills (such as the Treasurer of the Parent Body/Canteen Committee).
Many calls to the Association ask “What are we doing wrong, why are we running at a loss?” Seldom is one single factor the reason. It is more likely to be a combination of things. In some cases it has been shown that the canteen is in fact trading profitably. However, due to a lack of stocktaking, the end-of-year picture does not reflect this. The best place to start is right here with our fact sheet “Why aren’t we making a profit”
Still need more assistance to get your financial processes in order? See the Training page for information about CORE Finances Training. This comprehensive course is designed to help you and the team at your school manage the canteen as an effective small business. The course is recommended for the Canteen Supervisor, Canteen Committee Chairperson, P&C/parent body Treasurer and any other members of the school community involved in financial management of the canteen.