Topic
Economics.
Economics guides and answers for independent restaurants.
- · Restaurant economics
Restaurant Recipe Costing: Yield Loss, Trim and the Cost You Actually Serve
Learn how to cost restaurant recipes using purchased versus usable yield, portion cost, trim loss, waste allowance and recipe discipline so menu margins are based on what reaches the plate.
- · Free tools
Restaurant Profit Margin Calculator: P&L, Prime Cost & Break-Even Context
Calculate restaurant operating profit, pre-tax margin, prime cost and the annual value of a one-point improvement using your own monthly P&L numbers.
- · Restaurant profitability
Restaurant Prime Cost: The Number Food and Labour Create Together
Understand restaurant prime cost, how to calculate it, why food and labour should be read together, how service model changes the ratio, and how to diagnose movement without chasing one universal target.
- · Restaurant economics
Restaurant Menu Pricing Formula: Price for Margin, Not Just a Percentage
Use plate cost, target food cost percentage, contribution dollars, demand and channel economics together to price restaurant menu items without treating one ratio as the answer.
- · Restaurant profitability
Restaurant Labour Cost Percentage: Calculate It, Then Find the Cause
A restaurant labour cost percentage guide covering wages and benefits, the correct sales denominator, 2024 industry context, scheduling diagnostics, productivity and why a ratio should not be managed in isolation.
- · Restaurant economics
Restaurant Food Cost Percentage: What It Means and How to Use It
Learn how restaurant food cost percentage is calculated, why plate cost and period food cost differ, how to diagnose movement, and why an industry median is context rather than a target.
- · Free tools
Restaurant Food Cost Calculator: Plate Cost, COGS & Menu Price
Calculate restaurant food cost by menu item or accounting period, see contribution dollars, estimate a price from a target ratio, and compare your actual numbers with current industry survey data.
- · Free tools
DoorDash & Uber Eats Commission Calculator for Restaurants
Calculate the real monthly and annual cost of DoorDash, Uber Eats or another marketplace using your actual merchant rates, order volume and fees. Includes current Canada and U.S. public list-rate presets.
- · Restaurant profitability
Restaurant Break-Even Point: How Much Sales Do You Actually Need?
Calculate a restaurant break-even point using fixed costs and contribution margin, understand why food and delivery fees are variable, test daypart economics, and avoid confusing break-even with cash flow.
- · Restaurant economics
How to Calculate Restaurant COGS Without Lying to Yourself
A practical restaurant COGS guide covering beginning inventory, purchases, ending inventory, matching sales periods, count discipline, common mistakes and what to investigate after the number moves.
- · Restaurant profitability
Average Restaurant Profit Margin by Format: Use the Median Carefully
See current 2024 U.S. restaurant pre-tax income medians for full-service and limited-service restaurants, understand what the numbers do and do not mean, and compare margin with food, labour, occupancy and sales volume.