Hospitality
Hospitality Payments
Streamline accounts payable for restaurants, bars, and hotel groups with automated invoice processing.
Learn moreRestaurant Payments
Pay your vendors. Track every dollar. Close your books.
Cleo Pay automates invoice processing, vendor payments, and 1099 compliance for restaurants. Scan invoices, pay distributors and contractors via ACH, and sync everything to QuickBooks.
Trusted by restaurant groups, bars, and hospitality businesses
The problem
AP is the back-office bottleneck most restaurants ignore
01
Invoices from every direction
Distributors email PDFs, photographers text receipts, marketing agencies send Google Docs. Your team re-enters everything by hand, and half of it sits in someone's inbox for weeks.
02
1099 chaos across dozens of contractors
Photographers, DJs, marketing freelancers, cleaning crews, consultants. Every one of them needs a W-9 on file and a 1099 at year end. Most restaurants scramble in January to track it all down.
03
No real-time view of what you owe
Your P&L is only as current as the last time someone updated the spreadsheet. You can't make informed purchasing decisions when your food costs, contractor spend, and distributor payments live in three different places.
How it works
From invoice to paid vendor to closed books
Three steps. No spreadsheets. No chasing vendors down.
01
Onboard every vendor with one link
Send a link to your distributors, photographers, marketing team, or any contractor. They enter their bank info via Plaid, upload their W-9, and they're payment-ready.
02
Scan, approve, and categorize invoices
Upload a photo, forward an email, or let vendors submit through their portal. AI extracts the vendor, amount, and line items, then maps each expense to your QuickBooks chart of accounts so your food costs, marketing spend, and contractor payments all land in the right categories.
Most impactful03
Pay via ACH and sync to QuickBooks
Approved invoices go out as ACH transfers (1-2 day settlement). Every payment syncs to QuickBooks automatically. 1099 totals update in real time so year-end filing is already done.
Features
The AP stack built for restaurant operations.
AI invoice scanning
Snap a photo of a distributor invoice or forward it from email. AI extracts vendor, amount, line items, and due date.
Pay distributors and contractors via ACH
Pay food distributors, beverage suppliers, photographers, marketing teams, and cleaning crews from one dashboard. Standard ACH (3-5 days) or fast ACH (1-2 days).
Automated 1099 compliance
Collect W-9s during vendor onboarding. Cleo tracks cumulative payments against the $600 IRS threshold per vendor. 1099-NEC forms are ready to file at year end.
Food cost categorization via QuickBooks
Every invoice line item maps to your QuickBooks chart of accounts. Separate food, beverage, labor, marketing, and contractor spend automatically so your food cost percentage stays current.
Approval workflows for your team
Set up approval chains by dollar amount or category. GMs approve under $500, owners review anything above.
Shareable vendor invite links
Text or email a branded link to any vendor. They connect their bank via Plaid, enter their tax ID, and sign their W-9. Self-service onboarding in about 15 minutes.
How we compare
Focused AP automation vs. full restaurant ERP
Restaurant365 is a full ERP ($249-$459/location/month) that bundles accounting, inventory, recipe costing, and workforce management alongside AP. If you need all of that, it is a strong choice. But if you need fast, affordable AP automation without buying into an entire ERP, Cleo Pay gives you invoice scanning, vendor payments, 1099 compliance, and QuickBooks sync at a fraction of the cost with a 15-minute setup.
Setup
Cleo Pay15 minutes
R3652+ weeks
ACH fees
Cleo Pay$0 per payment
R365Fees not publicly listed
ACH speed
Cleo PaySame-day processing
R3653-4 business days
Vendor onboarding
Cleo PaySelf-service portal
R3655-7 day FIS enrollment
See It in Action for Your Restaurant
Book a 20-minute walkthrough. We'll show you how Cleo Pay handles your distributor invoices, contractor payments, and QuickBooks sync.
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Learn moreFAQ
Common questions about restaurant AP automation
Not legal or tax advice. Consult a CPA for guidance specific to your business.
Ready to Automate Your Restaurant's AP?
Join restaurant groups using Cleo Pay to pay vendors, stay compliant, and keep food cost data current.
Book a Demo