Image of career: F&B Controller

F&B Controller

Overview

F&B controllers track food and drink costs, stock levels, and spending controls to help food and beverage operations stay efficient and make a profit.

Description

  • Track food and beverage costs, sales, and margins to identify cost issues.
  • Monitor inventory levels, stock usage, and wastage across outlets or kitchens.
  • Analyse financial data such as cost percentages, variances, and monthly reports. Work with chefs, F&B managers, and finance teams to improve cost control practices.
  • Ensure purchasing, stock handling, and costing procedures follow company controls.

Entry requirements

  • You will need a Diploma or Bachelor's Degree in Accounting, Finance, Hospitality Management, or related field. You'll need basic accounting and costing knowledge, especially food costing and inventory control. Experience in F&B operations or finance roles is beneficial.

Salary

$2,500 – 3,500

/mo

Salary ranges are estimated based on public information found on Singaporean job portals, including MyCareersFuture, MySkillsFuture. Updated as of 2026.

Trivia

Ever wonder how a café can afford to give you a "mountain" of fries for $15? In Singapore's competitive food scene, F&B controllers use data to spot trends and suggest limited edition menu items to stay profitable without raising prices on your favourite dishes.

What to expect

You should be comfortable working with data, spreadsheets, and systems. Strong attention to detail and the confidence to investigate abnormalities are important.

Soft
skills

Professional Questioning Skills

Possess confidence and knowledge to be able to question decisions for a better outcome.

Integrity and Honesty

Able to remain honest and firm when uncovering theft issues that could hurt the business.

Clear Financial Communication

Able to share and explain financial information to all audiences.

Recipe Costing and Yield Management

Trained to calculate per-dish costs and understand how raw ingredients convert into cooked portions for accurate pricing.

Inventory Systems and Stock Control

Familiar with using backend systems like Micros, Ezi Procurement, or Material Control to track inventory and stock movement.

Excel and Cost Data Analysis

Familiar with using spreadsheets to manage large datasets such as invoices, sales mix, and detailed cost reports.

Hard
skills

Frequently asked questions

This is a behind-the-scenes role focused on numbers rather than service. While you work in hospitality, your daily tasks involve data, spreadsheets, and systems to protect business profits.

It's about having an investigative mindset rather than being suspicious. You're expected to question information, verify facts, and avoid assumptions, catching issues like waste or theft before they hurt the business.

Employers prefer Diplomas or Bachelor's Degrees in Accounting or Finance. However, having Hospitality Management background or restaurant supervisor experience is beneficial because you need to understand how food operations work to control costs effectively.

You need to master recipe costing and yield management - calculating exact costs of every dish and understanding how raw ingredients convert into cooked portions. You'll also use backend inventory systems like Micros and advanced Excel to manage large datasets.

There's clear progression toward high-level finance roles. After starting as cost control executive or f&b controller, the typical pathway leads to finance manager (hospitality) and eventually Director of Finance, overseeing entire organisational financial health.