There is nothing better than a great Australian bbq, not your sausage sizzle, but a high quality bbq using top quality ingredients and prepared by professional bbq catering Sydney chefs. As we approach the end of the business year, many caterers are wondering how their company’s profitability compares to that of other caterers, and other types of businesses. Catering can be among the most gainful hospitality industry sectors, but having a clear understanding of the industry standards for profit is very important for the long-term success of any catering business.

What is the range of expected annual percentage profit for all caterers?

Having managed and consulted for caterers of all different types and sizes, the CCU has seen a wide range of financial results. At the high end, there are caterers that have consistently shown pretax profit of over 25%, an impressive percentage in any industry. We also know of caterers that have barely been able to eke out any profit in the entire life of their companies. But the average pretax profit of all of the caterers we have worked with over the years has been 7% to 8%. For purposes of comparison, the average pretax profit in the full service restaurant industry is 3% to 4%.

What are some shared characteristics of highly profitable caterers?

One common trait of most of the extremely profitable caterers we have worked with—those consistently showing pretax profits of 15% or more—is that they tend to be single market focused caterers. Some examples might be an on premises caterer that just does weddings, or a corporate caterer that only does deliveries, or a full service caterer that solely does venue based events. Multi-market caterers have some of their own advantages—they tend to get larger quicker, and they can more easily survive a cyclical downturn in the economy. But the tradeoff is that broadline caterers are often not as profitable on a percentage basis as their single market peers.

Are higher end caterers more profitable than mid-market caterers?

Based on industry surveys of restaurants, the best menu price point to maximize profits for restaurants is in the middle of the market. This means a price point above fast casual and quick serve restaurants, but below very high-end restaurants. There has never been a similar price point versus profitability survey done of the catering industry. However, based on an informal review of caterer profitability by price point, we believe that midrange caterers are generally more profitable than either boutique caterers or budget caterers.

This many seem somewhat counterintuitive, since boutique caterers often capture the very high-end events, which generate much higher per guest revenue. But boutique caterers generally have a smaller base of revenue over which to spread their fixed costs, while at the same time are required to purchase the most expensive products and employ the most skilled staff. Most of the highly profitable single market caterers as described above are mid-market operators.

Does the legal and tax structure of my business impact my expected profit?

Yes. Since Subchapter C corporations pay taxes through the corporations rather than through the owners (as is the case with Subchapter S corporations), a C corporation will often show higher unadjusted profits. Another example—a company that is organized as an LLC is required to pay its members (effectively partners) through distributions of profit rather than through payroll, which also may artificially inflate profits in comparison to other non-LLC caterers.

What are the most effective tools to use in order to improve the profitability of a catering company?

As is the case with any type of business, having a clear understanding of how your catering company is performing financially on a timely and ongoing basis is crucial. There are a number of tools that should be part of the financial management system for every caterer. Here’s a look:

A bookkeeping system with a properly organized chart of accounts. Virtually all caterers, even the smallest mom and pop companies, can afford to use a modern computerized bookkeeping system. But without a well thought-out chart of accounts, these systems may not provide as much useful information on their various reports as they should. As an example, we see many caterers who lump all of their revenue into a single income account. However, it is clearly advantageous to have revenue accounts reflecting the different line items that most caterers charge—food, beverage, labor, rentals, venue fees, outside services, etc.

On the other side of the coin, there are catering companies that have too much detail in their financial reports. If you find your income statements/profit and loss reports hard to understand, then the odds are you have too many accounts.

A practical way to analyze the profitability of individual events. The profitability of any catering company is the aggregate of the profit and loss of each of its individual events. It is crucial that every caterer has the tools available to analyze individual events. Most of the catering software systems on the market today have this functionality built into the system, though some caterers use a basic spreadsheet system to do this as well.

Regular reviews of key performance indicators/metrics. There are a number of KPIs that are specific to different types of caterers—a few examples are food cost, event labor cost, kitchen labor cost, gross profit, cost of occupancy, break even, and receivables turnover, to name a few. These metrics are usually extracted from monthly profit and loss reports, using a spreadsheet. Once the spreadsheet is set up, it should only take a short amount of time to extract and review these numbers on each month.

Experienced and knowledgeable professional support. CPAs and consultants each perform a different but necessary role in providing expert advice to help caterers grow their businesses. The key to a successful relationship with professional services providers is to make sure that you work with those with experience and expertise in the catering/events industry.

These and other systems can help every caterer achieve a level of profitability, which makes the catering industry a highly desirable business. Go here to have a successful catering business.

Electrician Brisbane Southside do an excellent job as they always aim to be on time and arrive on site by the agreed upon time. An electrical circuit breaker is a switching device that can be operated automatically or manually for controlling and protecting the electrical power system, and the electrical devices connected to it. The circuit breaker trips when too much electricity flows through it or when it cannot handle the excess current load. This means that the flow of electricity is cut off to keep your circuits from overheating or causing more damage.

If there were no circuit breaker trips, then house fires would have been quite a common issue. When a circuit breaker trips, then you have to go outside or down the basement, wherever the circuit breaker is located, and get the power back on again. It is important that spacial attention is given when the circuit breaker is designed so that safe interruption of arc is produced during the operation of circuit breaker. Even though the tripping of circuit breakers ensures safety, it can get quite frustrating to constantly experience them and getting the power back on repeatedly. If you know the reason behind the constant tripping, you can do something about it. Let us look at the three main reasons that cause circuit breakers to trip.

Three Reasons Why Circuit Breaker Keep Tripping

1. Circuit OverloadsA circuit overload is one of the main reasons why circuit breakers trip constantly. This occurs when you want a particular circuit to provide more electricity than its actual capacity. This will lead to the overheating of the circuit which puts all the electrical appliances connected to the circuit at risk. For example, if your television is connected to the circuit which actually needs 15 amps but is now using 20 amps, then the circuit of the television system will get fried and damaged. The circuit breaker trips to prevent this from happening, potentially even preventing a major fire.You can address this issue by trying to redistribute your electrical devices and keeping them off of the same circuits. You can even turn off some devices to reduce the electrical load on the circuit breaker.
2. Short CircuitsAnother common reason why circuit breakers trip is a short circuit, which is more dangerous than an overloaded circuit. A short circuit is caused when a “hot” wire comes into contact with a “neutral wire” in one of your electrical outlets. Whenever this happens, a large amount of current will flow through the circuit, creating more heat than what the circuit can handle. When this happens the breaker will trip, shutting off the circuit to prevent dangerous events such as a fire.Short circuits could occur for a number of reasons such as faulty wiring or a loose connection You can identify a short circuit by a burning smell that is usually left around the breaker. Additionally, you may also notice a brown or black discoloration around it.
3. Ground Fault SurgesGround fault surges are similar to short circuits. They occur when a hot wire touches a ground wire that is made of bare copper or the side of a metal outlet box which is connected to the ground wire. This will cause more electricity to pass through it which the circuit cannot handle. The breaker trips in order to protect the circuit and appliances from overheating or from potential fires. If ground fault surges occur, you can identify them through a discoloration around your outlet.If you avoid or overlook any of these problems, you are putting the safety of your home and loved ones at great risk. If you experience tripping of the circuit breakers quite frequently, it is time to call in the professionals to investigate the problem. Do not try to handle this issue on your own.

If you are looking for electric cables, different types of cables, or cable sizes to get this issue fixed, call us at D&F Liquidators. We have a wide range of high quality electrical supplies at competitive prices.

Ceramic paint protection never lies because I have applied it in my own car. Two-tone paint jobs, last seen hanging out at drive-ins across the U.S. in the 1950s, are back, this time with a distinct European flair.

In the past several years, about 20 models with the feature, largely with bodies and roofs in different colors, have hit showrooms across Europe, with more poised to come. So far, the look is largely confined to compact hatchbacks and the surging SUV and crossover market.

Automakers say they are simply trying to give customers more choices, though the options typically appear as part of higher content (and higher priced) trim levels. Designers say it lets them play with color as a styling element and break up visual mass as safety regulations mandate thicker pillars and higher beltlines.

“Designers are cooking with the ingredients they have,” said J Mays, retired head of design at Ford who oversaw the Ford Flex, one of the few U.S. nameplates with a contrasting roof option. “You can get a lot of bang for the buck out of two-tone paint.”

Buyers of Citroen’s new C3 Aircross SUV, for example, can mix and match three roof colors and eight body colors.

‘Different personalities’

“It’s incredible how people react to the bitone colors,” said Alexandre Malval, head of design at Citroen, which offers two-tone options on four models. “If you give them two colors to assemble, immediately the car has different personalities. Red with a white roof is a little bit sporty; cream with a black roof is a little more solid and tough. One in pastel with a white roof could be a little more feminine.”

The trend is not exclusive to Europe. In the U.S., two-tone versions of the Toyota Camry and C-HR have turned up this year. Also, several Land Rover Range Rover models and Kia’s Soul are available as two-tone models, as will be Hyundai’s upcoming Kona.

Today’s two-tone palette can be traced to the 1920s and ’30s, when custom coachmakers employed bold colors on Rolls-Royces or Bugattis to announce the wealth and taste of their owners.

In the 1950s, American design studios, led by Harley Earl at General Motors, adopted bold swaths of color divided by chrome trim lines to emphasize dynamic jet-age styling.

The current trend was kicked off by the neo-retro Mini that debuted in 2001, which picked up its white roof from the original Alec Issigonis design. One of its successors was the white-roofed Ford Fairlane concept of 2005, which went into production as the Flex.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t influenced by the first-generation New Mini, which had beautiful wraparound glass and this lovely little skullcap in white and later in black,” Mays said. The Flex’s white roof “added a little bit of panache to the car and made it feel a bit like a modern-day woody, which is what we were trying to do,” he added.

“I think it influenced a lot of other manufacturers,” Mays said. “Some of them are quite successful, and some are really terrible, but everyone seems to have jumped on that bandwagon.”

Two-tone designs can serve several goals. From a utilitarian standpoint, a white roof can reduce interior temperatures, as on the original Land Rover. Visually, a contrasting roof color can reduce the bulk of a crossover or SUV.

“What we did on the Flex, and what Gerry McGovern has done on the Land Rover Velar, with a dark roof and dark tinted glass, is to effectively chop the car in half and eliminate the extra mass on the top,” Mays said.

Color’s new role

Sally Erickson Wilson, an associate professor in design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, said colors have started to play a new role in automotive design.

“We are in the midst of a shift to material-led design, where the choice of the color can emphasize craftsmanship and the perceived quality of an area of the vehicle,” she said.

“It’s all about paying attention to detail,” Erickson Wilson added. “Color can make something seem more luxurious or more functional.”

In today’s automated and hyperefficient factories, painting a car two colors can add cost and complexity, automotive coatings suppliers said.

“Bitone paint finishes are always more labor intensive because of the masking they require,” a spokeswoman from Axalta Coating Systems in Switzerland said. “That means the need for more people, which in turn can mean the potential for mistakes.”

Mark Gutjahr, BASF’s head of automotive color design for Europe, said the process generally involves painting the entire shell in body color and clear coat, then masking off with foil any parts that will remain in that color. A second color is applied, flashed off and clear coated, then the foil is removed.

The second color is applied either in a second line, which means additional investment or on a second run in the main line, which reduces capacity, Gutjahr said. Those are tradeoffs that automakers are willing to accept as they seek to improve pricing across their range. Two-tone designs are often part of a higher-trim package that can boost the price of a car by thousands of euros or dollars.

“The demand is much higher than we thought,” said Matthew Harrison, vice president of sales and marketing at Toyota Motors Europe, which offers two-tone options on the Aygo, Yaris, Auris and C-HR. “One of our headaches is keeping up with the bitone trend. We’re having to constantly argue with manufacturing to raise the production capacity levels.”

Robin Page, senior vice president of design at Volvo Cars, said the new XC40 crossover, which goes on sale next year, was designed from the start to have different roof colors.

“If you look back at vintage cars, they used to play with two tones, but this is done in a really modern way and it does change the character,” Page said. “The XC40 was definitely a car where we said, ‘OK, we’d love to have the R-Design versions with a black roof and the Momentum trim line with a white roof.’ “

The European champions for customization might be the Opel Adam supermini, which offers at least seven roof colors and 19 body colors, and the Renault Captur subcompact crossover, with four roof colors and 11 body colors.

“When you’ve got so many combinations of roofs and paint tones, it’s pretty involving to the customer,” said Stewart Reed, chairman of the Transportation Design Department at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. “It’s like going into a home furnishing store and picking out textiles and materials for floor coverings and countertops. People love choices.”