Restaurant Payroll & Payment Tracking

We replaced a brittle spreadsheet setup with a shared workflow that handles mixed payment types and running balances.

The Challenge

Payroll had grown messy in Excel. The team had staff with mixed arrangements, partial payments, and non-cash components that standard payroll tools didn't fit well.

Key pain points:

• Mixed payment types with no single source of truth
• Contractor balances carried across periods
• Non-cash compensation included in payout tracking
• Manual sheet duplication every cycle

The Approach

1) Shared Google Sheets foundation

We moved payroll into Google Sheets so managers and staff could work in one live system.

2) Apps Script automation

Apps Script now creates each new pay-period sheet with one click and applies the required structure automatically.

3) Balance and payment logic

Formulas reconcile cash, transfer, and in-kind amounts while maintaining running balances.

New Workflow

1. Staff enter hours and notes in shared sheets.
2. Managers generate the next period with one click.
3. Formulas calculate totals and payment splits.
4. Contractor balances roll forward automatically.

The Results

• No more version-conflict spreadsheet chaos.
• Pay-period setup moved from manual to one-click.
• Mixed payment tracking became more reliable.
• Everyone can clearly see balances and owed amounts.

Technical Highlights

• Google Sheets with protected ranges and role-based sharing
• Apps Script for sheet generation and indexing
• Formula-based reconciliation across tabs
• Automated running-balance handling for contractor payments

TL;DR

The restaurant moved from fragile Excel payroll to a shared Sheets + Apps Script setup that is faster to run, easier to audit, and better suited to their real payment model.