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Playbook · Measured October 4, 2026 · Washington public records

When to call a new restaurant about bookkeeping: the Washington timeline

Washington restaurants look for a bookkeeper around opening, when the first sales tax return comes due.

When the bookkeeping decision happens, against the public steps of a Washington restaurant opening
Bookkeeping decision: 32 days before to 90 days after openingBookkeeping decision36027018090Open+90Days before opening (+ means after)Building permit filed: median 164 days before opening; middle half 345 to 81 days before opening; 20 openingsBuilding permit filed*164 daysBuilding permit issued: median 142 days before opening; middle half 284 to 108 days before opening; 14 openingsBuilding permit issued*142 daysLiquor license application: median 55 days before opening; middle half 75 to 34 days before opening; 8 openingsLiquor license application*55 daysBuilding permit finaled: median 49 days before opening; middle half 56 to 39 days before opening; 4 openingsBuilding permit finaled*49 daysHealth plan review filed: median 41 days before opening; middle half 50 to 33 days before opening; 2 openingsHealth plan review filed*41 daysBusiness license filed: median 9 days before opening; middle half 32 to 4 days before opening; 65 openingsBusiness license filed9 daysFirst health inspection: median 76 days after opening; middle half 43 to 107 days after opening; 60 openingsFirst health inspection76 days after Bookkeeping decision: 32 days before to 90 days after openingBookkeeping decision36027018090Open+90Days before opening (+ means after)Building permit filed: median 164 days before opening; middle half 345 to 81 days before opening; 20 openingsPermit filed*164 daysBuilding permit issued: median 142 days before opening; middle half 284 to 108 days before opening; 14 openingsPermit issued*142 daysLiquor license application: median 55 days before opening; middle half 75 to 34 days before opening; 8 openingsLiquor applied*55 daysBuilding permit finaled: median 49 days before opening; middle half 56 to 39 days before opening; 4 openingsPermit finaled*49 daysHealth plan review filed: median 41 days before opening; middle half 50 to 33 days before opening; 2 openingsHealth review*41 daysBusiness license filed: median 9 days before opening; middle half 32 to 4 days before opening; 65 openingsLicense filed9 daysFirst health inspection: median 76 days after opening; middle half 43 to 107 days after opening; 60 openingsFirst inspection76 days after

Median Middle half of openings Bookkeeping decision window

* fewer than 30 openings; treat as a rough guide.

When the decision happens

The owner sets up sales tax with the business license, which shows up within about five weeks of opening. The first excise tax return comes due after the first filing period.

Call between the license and the end of the first quarter open. The owner has real numbers and real deadlines then.

Business license filed: how many days before opening
024480 openings: business license filed 360 or more days before opening360+0 openings: business license filed 330 to 359 days before opening3300 openings: business license filed 300 to 329 days before opening3000 openings: business license filed 270 to 299 days before opening2700 openings: business license filed 240 to 269 days before opening2400 openings: business license filed 210 to 239 days before opening2100 openings: business license filed 180 to 209 days before opening1800 openings: business license filed 150 to 179 days before opening1500 openings: business license filed 120 to 149 days before opening1200 openings: business license filed 90 to 119 days before opening903 openings: business license filed 60 to 89 days before opening6016 openings: business license filed 30 to 59 days before opening3046 openings: business license filed 0 to 29 days before opening0Days before opening, 30-day buckets (left is earlier)Median: 9 days before opening 024480 openings: business license filed 360 or more days before opening360+0 openings: business license filed 330 to 359 days before opening0 openings: business license filed 300 to 329 days before opening3000 openings: business license filed 270 to 299 days before opening0 openings: business license filed 240 to 269 days before opening2400 openings: business license filed 210 to 239 days before opening0 openings: business license filed 180 to 209 days before opening1800 openings: business license filed 150 to 179 days before opening0 openings: business license filed 120 to 149 days before opening1200 openings: business license filed 90 to 119 days before opening3 openings: business license filed 60 to 89 days before opening6016 openings: business license filed 30 to 59 days before opening46 openings: business license filed 0 to 29 days before opening0Days before opening, 30-day buckets (left is earlier)Median 9 days

Each bar counts openings, in 30-day steps.

What the owner is dealing with

Sales tax from the first sale

Every sale collects sales tax at the local rate, and the return is due whether or not the month made money.

B&O tax on gross receipts

Washington taxes gross receipts through the B&O tax, so a restaurant owes it even in a losing month. First-time owners rarely plan for it.

Tips, payroll and food cost in one set of books

Card tips pass through, payroll runs every two weeks and food cost moves weekly. Owners who opened with a spreadsheet hit a wall in the first quarter.

Questions reps ask

When should I call a new restaurant about bookkeeping? Around opening. The business license shows up within about five weeks of opening, and the first tax returns come due in the months after.

What taxes does a new Washington restaurant file? Sales tax and B&O tax on the combined excise tax return to the Department of Revenue, plus payroll reports to Employment Security and Labor and Industries once it has staff. Seattle adds its own business license and B&O tax.

Is it too late after the restaurant opens? No. For bookkeeping, the first months open are the best time to call: the owner has real numbers and real deadlines.

How we measured this

Measured from 402 Washington restaurant openings, January 2024 to October 2026 (339 King, 42 Pierce, 21 Snohomish): every restaurant in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties whose city business license gave an open date in that range. Opening day is the open date on the license. For each step we took the first matching public record on the same business in the two years before opening (for the first inspection, the 180 days after) and counted the days between.

A step counts only when the record is tied to the business itself. Permits filed under a bare address are left out, because a hand check found earlier tenants' permits among them. That leaves the permit steps with 4 to 20 openings each, so they carry an asterisk. Three steps only see records since we started reading them (dates below), so their numbers are bounded: the business license can show at most a few months of lead, and the first inspection leaves out recent openings not yet inspected. Measured October 4, 2026. We re-measure as more permits are tied to their businesses.

Days from each step to opening day
StepOpeningsShare of 402Middle half (days)Median (days)
Building permit filed*205.0%345 to 81164
Building permit issued*143.5%284 to 108142
Liquor license application*82.0%75 to 3455
Building permit finaled*41.0%56 to 3949
Health plan review filed*20.5%50 to 3341
Business license filed6516.2%32 to 49
First health inspection6014.9%43 after to 107 after76 after
  • Building permit filed. Building, alteration or trade permit application at the city or county (Seattle, Tacoma, Everett, Bellevue, Kirkland, Burien, Pierce County and others).
  • Building permit issued. The same permits on the day the city issued them.
  • Liquor license application. Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board new-license application notices. We have these from March 2026, so this step only sees recent openings.
  • Building permit finaled. The building permit marked final or complete by the city.
  • Health plan review filed. Snohomish County Health Department food plan review, the one county whose plan review dates we read today.
  • Business license filed. A city business license filed ahead of its stated open date, dated the day it first appeared in the city record. Seen from June 2026.
  • First health inspection. The first King County routine food inspection on or after opening day. Inspection records start in December 2025.
Cite this page. The Morning Sheet, "When to call a new restaurant about bookkeeping: the Washington timeline," measured October 4, 2026. https://themorningsheet.com/playbooks/bookkeeping/

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