Restaurant Finance Guides
Food Cost
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage (With Examples)
Step-by-step guide to calculating food cost %, what a good number looks like, and the five most common reasons it creeps up.
Labor Cost
Restaurant Labor Cost Formula — What to Include and How to Track It
The complete labor cost formula including taxes and benefits, plus how to separate fixed vs variable labor for better scheduling decisions.
Profitability
What Is Prime Cost in a Restaurant? (And Why It's the Only Number That Matters)
Why prime cost beats food cost and labor cost as a standalone metric, with benchmarks by restaurant type.
Menu Engineering
How to Price a Menu Item — The Cost-Plus Method Explained
Turn plate cost into a menu price that protects your margin without pricing yourself out of the market.
Inventory
Restaurant Inventory Management — Par Levels, Waste Tracking & Turnover
How to set par levels, track food waste cost, and calculate inventory turnover to keep COGS in check.
Financial Planning
Restaurant Break-Even Analysis — How to Find Your Magic Number
Calculate the exact sales figure where your restaurant stops losing money and starts making it.