How to manage a small coffee shop business

Coffee shops are great places to meet friends, read books, or get work done. It’s no surprise that coffee shops are such popular places. Many coffee lovers dream of opening up a coffee shop of their own. But how will you manage that small business?

This guide will show you how to manage your small coffee shop business, including:  

• Starting your coffee shop 
• Keeping up with daily operations 
• Organising your finances 

Before you can learn how to manage a small coffee business, you need to know how to open one. To start any small business, you’ll first want to make a business plan. You’ll also want to look into the steps that go into starting a small business. 

Start by registering your business and using the government’s license finder tool to see if you’ll need one. 

Then you’ll need to find a location, figure out start-up costs, and find suppliers. In this case, you’ll want a shop that caters to food and beverage. You’ll likely want a space with a kitchen and room for tables and chairs. 

You’ll also need to calculate the start-up costs and regular expenses of the shop. This includes renting costs, equipment, furniture, and decor. You’ll need an espresso machine as well as a steady stream of supplies. You may want to look into a small business loan in order to cover some of the starting costs. 

Once you’ve successfully opened your coffee shop, it’s important to stay on top of things to manage your business effectively.

When opening the coffee shop, you’ll need to find suppliers you can trust to bring your goods. The first priority in learning how to manage a coffee shop business is to find a steady coffee vendor. You may also want a supplier for pastries and a wholesale supplier for anything else you may need. This may include paper goods like takeaway cups, lids, and napkins.

Some places to find vendors for coffee shop supplies include ShopCoffee, NextDayCoffee, Wholesale Coffee Co, or Limini Coffee. You could also look at local coffee companies willing to supply their freshly roasted beans to small businesses. 

Depending on your coffee needs, you may choose to source coffee farms and buy beans directly to roast yourself. If this is the case, you will also need a bean roasting machine and the necessary knowledge. Once you’ve established relationships with suppliers, you can set up regular deliveries to maintain a consistent supply to your shop. 

You’ll also want to make sure you’re attracting a steady stream of customers to your coffee shop. You can start by marketing your small business through social media. By engaging with these platforms regularly, you can establish a consistent brand and attract potential customers to your shop. 

There are some things to consider when marketing a small business on social media. To attract customers to your shop, you can add location tags to your posts to target local customers. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram can also help find coffee lovers in your area. 

You can use these platforms to establish a business profile, add contact information, your address, and shop hours. You can also add links to your small business website. Instagram is also a great way to establish a brand with nice photos of your shop and drink options. 

Managing your coffee shop will be much easier with the use of small business management tools. Platforms like Trello or Asana can help you keep track of day-to-day operations, including necessary tasks or projects. Tools like G Suite or Microsoft Teams can streamline contacts, calendars, and important documents.  

A large part of how to manage your small coffee shop business includes maintaining the finances of your shop. You’ll need to create and maintain a budget so that you can begin earning a profit at your coffee shop. 

You’ll need to keep track of your expenses and earnings. Make sure you separate your personal expenses from your business expenses. This will help with your taxes as a small business owner. Using your business management tools will help you to keep track of these expenses. 

To organise the daily finances of your coffee shop, you may want to open a business current account. A business current account is like a personal bank account except it’s specifically for your business. Putting the finances of your small coffee shop in one place can help you manage your cash flow. 

Though you aren’t required to open a business current account unless you register your business as a limited company, doing so can benefit your business management. Not only will a current business account provide clarity, but it will also help you to build credit, look professional, as well as streamline and simplify your finances. 

The Countingup business account and app lets you easily organise your business account. It automatically categorises business expenses and reminds you to take a picture of your receipts. This eliminates the burden of organising any paper receipts and updating spreadsheets manually.

Financial management can be stressful and time-consuming when you’re self-employed. Thousands of business owners use the Countingup app to make their financial admin easier. 

Countingup is the business current account with built-in accounting software that allows you to manage all your financial data in one place. With features like automatic expense categorisation, invoicing on the go, receipt capture tools, tax estimates, and cash flow insights, you can confidently keep on top of your business finances wherever you are. 

You can also share your bookkeeping with your accountant instantly without worrying about duplication errors, data lags or inaccuracies. Seamless, simple, and straightforward! 

Find out more here.