Restaurant Invoicing in Ghana: A Step-by-Step Guide
Running a restaurant or catering business in Ghana? Corporate clients, suppliers, GRA VAT — invoicing gets complicated fast. Here's how to systematise it.
Restaurant and catering businesses in Ghana face an invoicing puzzle most small businesses don't. You're selling to walk-ins (no invoice needed), corporate clients (formal invoices required), and managing dozens of supplier bills (food, beverages, packaging, gas). Plus GRA VAT, NHIL, and GETFund Levy on top.
Here's a system that works, refined from working with restaurants in Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi.
The three invoice types you'll handle
1. Walk-in receipts
Most restaurants use a POS for these. No formal invoice needed unless requested. Make sure your POS receipt shows GRA TIN, VAT, NHIL, and GETFL — required for any patron who wants to claim it as a business expense.
2. Corporate catering invoices
Companies booking lunches, conferences, weddings. These need formal invoices with:
- Restaurant business name + GRA TIN.
- Client business name + their TIN.
- Itemised line items: "Lunch service for 50 staff @ GHS 80 = GHS 4,000".
- Subtotal, then VAT 15% + NHIL 2.5% + GETFL 2.5% as separate lines.
- Payment terms (Net 7 / Net 14 / Net 30) and Mobile Money/bank details.
3. Recurring corporate retainers
Daily lunch contracts with offices, weekly catering for hospitals, monthly office snack deliveries. These should be set up as recurring invoices — issued automatically on the same date each period.
Tracking supplier costs
A typical restaurant in Ghana has 15–40 active suppliers: food markets, meat suppliers, beverage distributors, gas suppliers, cleaning suppliers, packaging vendors. Each sends invoices on different schedules — daily for fresh food, weekly for beverages, monthly for fixed costs.
Use ereQa's Bills feature to record every supplier invoice the moment it arrives. You'll instantly see:
- Total accounts payable today (everything you owe suppliers).
- What's due this week vs this month.
- Which suppliers' bills are growing fastest (the early sign of a margin leak).
The food cost math
Healthy restaurants run a food cost ratio (cost of ingredients ÷ revenue) of 28–35%. Above 40% and you're bleeding. Track it monthly:
- Total food + beverage supplier bills for the month: GHS X.
- Total food + beverage revenue for the month: GHS Y.
- Food cost ratio = X ÷ Y.
ereQa's monthly AI report flags this ratio for you and shows the trend.
Mobile Money payment integration
For corporate clients, most Ghanaian restaurants accept bank transfer or Mobile Money (MTN MoMo, Vodafone Cash). Include both options on your invoice. ereQa generates a payment link clients can share to their finance team — no chasing required.
Putting it together
The restaurants we work with in Ghana save 6–10 hours per week by:
- Setting up recurring invoices for corporate retainers.
- Using ereQa Bills for every supplier invoice.
- Reviewing the monthly AI report to catch food cost creep early.
- Sending invoices via WhatsApp directly to corporate procurement contacts.
See more on the restaurants industry page or ereQa for Ghana.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do restaurants in Ghana need to charge VAT?
If your annual taxable turnover exceeds GHS 200,000, yes — you must register with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and charge 15% VAT plus 2.5% NHIL/GETFL on standard-rated supplies. Many restaurants are above this threshold.
How do I invoice a corporate catering client in Ghana?
For corporate caterings, send a formal invoice with your business name, GRA TIN, the client's details, an itemised list (per-head pricing × headcount), VAT/levies as separate lines, payment terms (typically Net 14 or Net 30), and bank/Mobile Money payment options.
Can I track multiple supplier invoices in ereQa?
Yes. ereQa's Bills feature lets you record every supplier invoice (food suppliers, beverage distributors, packaging vendors), track due dates, and see your total accounts payable in one place.
Amara writes about invoicing, taxation, and cash-flow management for SMBs across West Africa. ACCA-certified.
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