Guides
Straight answers to the numbers that run a restaurant
Prime cost, food cost, labor cost, pour cost, delivery commissions: what each one means, what's healthy for your kind of restaurant, and what to do about a number that's off.
- Costs5 min read
Why is my restaurant busy but not making money?
Why a busy restaurant can still lose money, the six places the money usually goes, and the order to check your numbers in. - Costs8 min read
How do I know if my restaurant is profitable?
A 15-minute test with last month's numbers: profit against cash, your own pay, prime cost and rent against targets, margin and break-even, with an example. - Costs10 min read
What is prime cost in a restaurant? Formula and targets
What restaurant prime cost is, the formula, what counts in it, why rent doesn't, targets by restaurant type (bars included), and a weekly routine. - Kitchen7 min read
Food cost percentage: formula and targets by restaurant type
How to calculate food cost percentage and plate cost, how to compare it with the targets for your format, and how to lower a high one. - Labor10 min read
Restaurant labor cost percentage: what's good + formula
What labor cost percentage a restaurant should aim for by type, how to calculate it, what counts as labor, payroll percentage, and an SPLH cut line. - Labor6 min read
Sales per labor hour (SPLH): formula and your target
What sales per labor hour means, how to work it out, and the cut line that tells a manager when to send someone home. - Labor10 min read
Tipped minimum wage by state: 2026 rates and 2027 changes
Today's tipped cash wage and tip credit in every state, the 2027 changes from each state's own page, and a calculator for what a raise costs. - Labor6 min read
What is a restaurant service charge, and should you add one?
What a service charge is, the IRS's tests that tell it from a tip, what it changes for payroll tax and the FICA tip credit, what to show guests, and the trade-offs. - Bar6 min read
Bar pour cost: how to calculate and fix it
How to calculate bar pour cost for a period or a single drink, and the fixes to try when it runs high. - Delivery8 min read
Delivery app commission: what it takes and how to cover it
What a delivery app commission does to the profit on one order, how to price a delivery menu to cover it, and how to move regulars to direct ordering. - Costs5 min read
How much rent can a restaurant afford?
How to work out occupancy cost as a share of sales, the targets by restaurant type, and how much you need to sell to carry your rent. - Costs6 min read
How many covers a night do I need to break even?
The covers a night that pay every bill: the formula, a worked example from the break-even calculator's math, what your own pay adds, and a check against your seats. - Costs7 min read
Restaurant formulas: food cost, labor, prime cost and more
Every formula a restaurant owner uses, as plain text you can copy, with what each tells you, what to aim for and the free calculator or guide for it. - Costs6 min read
Can I check restaurant numbers without POS or bank access?
How to get a first read of your restaurant's costs with no POS or bank login, what such a check can't see, when connecting a tool is worth it, and five safety questions to ask first. - Menu11 min read
Do restaurants have to list calories on the menu?
Which restaurants have to put calories on the menu in the US, the UK, Canada and the EU, what the menu must show, and a free counter that works out a dish's calories. - Kitchen10 min read
How to donate your restaurant's surplus food safely
How to give surplus food to people who need it: cut over-prep first, follow the safety rules, and find a food rescue group that picks up near you. - Kitchen13 min read
What does a restaurant have to post and keep?
The federal labor posters, what a restaurant displays for guests, and the pay, hiring, tip and food safety records it keeps, each from its free official source.
