Restaurant Operations Calculators

Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator

Compute restaurant prime cost — the monthly operating ratio of food and beverage cost-of-goods-sold plus total labor cost (hourly wages, salaried management, payroll taxes, and benefits) divided by total sales. Surfaces the National Restaurant Association industry benchmarks: under 60% healthy, 60-65% at-risk, over 65% unprofitable. Factors in FLSA tip-credit rules under 29 USC § 203(m), state-minimum-wage variation across all 50 states plus DC, and the seven no-tip-credit jurisdictions (CA, OR, WA, NV, MN, MT, AK). Reports food-cost percent, labor-cost percent, prime-cost percent, status against industry targets, and the required monthly sales lift to return to the 60% healthy target.

Food Cost Percentage Target Calculator

Compute actual food cost percentage against a target, identify the dollar variance, and see the annualized cost impact. If opening inventory, purchases, and closing inventory are all entered, the calculator derives actual COGS from the inventory build (opening + purchases − closing) rather than the direct input — the defensible method used by restaurant accountants and operators alike. Reports actual food cost %, target %, variance, dollar overspend or saving, ideal COGS at target, and annualized variance at 52 weeks.

Beverage Cost Calculator

Compute actual beverage cost percentage for liquor, beer, wine, non-alcoholic, or blended programs and compare it against the operator-set target and industry benchmarks. Category-specific benchmarks: liquor 18–24%, beer 22–28%, wine 30–40%, non-alcoholic 15–20%, blended 22–30%. Reports actual beverage cost %, benchmark range for the selected category, variance vs. target, period dollar gap, and annualized cost gap at 52 weeks.

Third-Party Delivery Margin Calculator

Shows the true margin impact of accepting orders through DoorDash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats (15–30% platform commission) versus selling the same item dine-in. Computes net margin on delivery, net margin dine-in, the dollar margin lost per order, the delivery menu premium needed to match dine-in margin, and the annual impact at 50 orders per day. The #1 source of hidden margin destruction in full-service restaurants.

Tip Pool Compliance Calculator (FLSA)

Calculates tip pool distribution and flags FLSA compliance risk under 29 U.S.C. § 203(m)(2), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. Back-of-house employees may participate in a tip pool ONLY if no tip credit is taken; managers and supervisors can NEVER receive tips from a pool regardless of tip credit. Reports per-server distribution, BOH share, barback/busser share, host share, compliance status, and a plain-English compliance note.

Average Check Target Calculator

Works backward from a monthly revenue target to determine the required average check per cover, and whether current seating capacity with existing table turns can achieve the goal. Reports required average check, check gap vs. current, projected revenue at current check, net profit margin at target (food + labor + overhead), and how many covers per month would be needed at the current check to hit the revenue target.

Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator

Compute restaurant prime cost — the monthly operating ratio of food and beverage cost-of-goods-sold plus total labor cost (hourly wages, salaried management, payroll taxes, and benefits) divided by total sales. Surfaces the National Restaurant Association industry benchmarks: under 60% healthy, 60-65% at-risk, over 65% unprofitable. Factors in FLSA tip-credit rules under 29 USC § 203(m), state-minimum-wage variation across all 50 states plus DC, and the seven no-tip-credit jurisdictions (CA, OR, WA, NV, MN, MT, AK). Reports food-cost percent, labor-cost percent, prime-cost percent, status against industry targets, and the required monthly sales lift to return to the 60% healthy target.

Menu Engineering Calculator (Stars, Plowhorses, Puzzles, Dogs)

Classify every menu item using the Kasavana and Smith menu-engineering framework. Inputs per item are food cost, sell price, and units sold during the analysis period. The calculator computes contribution margin (CM) per item, popularity index (item units divided by the mean), and profitability index (item CM divided by the mean), then classifies each item into one of four quadrants — STAR (high popularity, high margin), PLOWHORSE (high popularity, low margin), PUZZLE (low popularity, high margin), or DOG (low popularity, low margin) — using the 70% popularity benchmark and the mean CM profitability benchmark. Reports total revenue, total food cost, total CM, overall food-cost percentage, quadrant distribution, and a recommended action per quadrant.

Recipe Cost / Plate Cost Calculator

Compute per-serving plate cost from an ingredient list with AP-to-EP yield conversion. Inputs per ingredient are name, cost per AP unit (what the vendor charges), used quantity, and yield percentage (the fraction of the AP weight that ends up on the plate after trim, peel, bone, and shrinkage). The calculator converts each AP cost to an EP cost by dividing by yield, sums the contributions, divides by recipe yield in servings to produce per-serving cost, and applies a target food-cost percentage to suggest a menu price. Reports total recipe cost, cost per serving, suggested menu price, profit per cover (contribution margin), and the achieved food-cost percentage at the suggested price.

Labor Scheduling Cost Calculator (FLSA-Compliant)

Compute scheduled labor cost for a single shift with full FLSA overtime modeling under 29 USC § 207 and tip-credit handling under 29 USC § 203(m). Inputs per employee: name, hourly rate, scheduled hours, tipped flag, hours already worked in the workweek, and state. The calculator applies the state minimum-wage floor, splits scheduled hours into regular and overtime above the 40-hour weekly threshold, computes the overtime cash wage on the full state minimum (not the cash wage) for tipped employees per 29 CFR § 531.60, sums the per-employee cost, and benchmarks the result against a target labor-cost percentage (industry typical 25-30% of sales). Reports total scheduled cost, projected labor-cost percentage, overtime hours and dollars triggered, and an overstaffed / on-target / understaffed flag.

Restaurant Breakeven / Cover-Count Calculator

Compute the monthly cover count a restaurant needs to break even and to hit a target net-margin percentage. Inputs are monthly fixed costs (rent, insurance, utilities, salaried management, debt service, administration), the average guest check, food-cost percent, the variable portion of labor cost percent, and the target net-margin percent. The calculator computes the contribution margin per cover (average check minus food and variable-labor cost), the breakeven cover count (fixed costs divided by contribution margin per cover), and the cover count required to hit the target net margin. Reports breakeven covers per month and per day, sales required, contribution margin per cover, and sensitivity to a 10% average-check lift and a 10% fixed-cost reduction.

Food Cost Percentage Target Calculator

Compute actual food cost percentage against a target, identify the dollar variance, and see the annualized cost impact. If opening inventory, purchases, and closing inventory are all entered, the calculator derives actual COGS from the inventory build (opening + purchases − closing) rather than the direct input — the defensible method used by restaurant accountants and operators alike. Reports actual food cost %, target %, variance, dollar overspend or saving, ideal COGS at target, and annualized variance at 52 weeks.

Beverage Cost Calculator

Compute actual beverage cost percentage for liquor, beer, wine, non-alcoholic, or blended programs and compare it against the operator-set target and industry benchmarks. Category-specific benchmarks: liquor 18–24%, beer 22–28%, wine 30–40%, non-alcoholic 15–20%, blended 22–30%. Reports actual beverage cost %, benchmark range for the selected category, variance vs. target, period dollar gap, and annualized cost gap at 52 weeks.

Third-Party Delivery Margin Calculator

Shows the true margin impact of accepting orders through DoorDash, Grubhub, or Uber Eats (15–30% platform commission) versus selling the same item dine-in. Computes net margin on delivery, net margin dine-in, the dollar margin lost per order, the delivery menu premium needed to match dine-in margin, and the annual impact at 50 orders per day. The #1 source of hidden margin destruction in full-service restaurants.

Tip Pool Compliance Calculator (FLSA)

Calculates tip pool distribution and flags FLSA compliance risk under 29 U.S.C. § 203(m)(2), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018. Back-of-house employees may participate in a tip pool ONLY if no tip credit is taken; managers and supervisors can NEVER receive tips from a pool regardless of tip credit. Reports per-server distribution, BOH share, barback/busser share, host share, compliance status, and a plain-English compliance note.

Average Check Target Calculator

Works backward from a monthly revenue target to determine the required average check per cover, and whether current seating capacity with existing table turns can achieve the goal. Reports required average check, check gap vs. current, projected revenue at current check, net profit margin at target (food + labor + overhead), and how many covers per month would be needed at the current check to hit the revenue target.