Turn an inventory count and a stack of invoices into your food cost percent, the gap to target in dollars, and a plate cost check on any menu item.
Net food sales for the period, after comps and discounts, before tax and tips.
Count the walk-in, dry storage and the line at the start and end of the period. Purchases are every food invoice received in between.
Cost one item from its recipe card and see where it lands against your target.
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It turns an inventory count and a stack of invoices into the one number that tells you whether the kitchen is making money: food cost as a percent of food sales. It shows your usage in dollars, how far you are from your target, what each point is worth over a year, and, if you cost a plate, whether that item is priced right. Nothing is stored and no email is required to see results.
Count inventory at the start and end of the period, in dollars at purchase cost. Add up every food invoice received in between. Pull net food sales from the POS for the same dates.
Pick your concept so the benchmark bands fit, and set the target you want to run at. Most full service kitchens target 28 to 32 percent.
Read the gap. If you are two points over target on $125,000 of monthly food sales, that is $2,500 a month and $30,000 a year. Then cost one of your top sellers in the plate check to see where the first point is hiding.
Cost of goods sold equals beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory. Food cost percentage equals cost of goods sold divided by food sales, times 100. If you track comps and staff meals, credit them out of cost of goods so the percent reflects what guests actually paid for.
Example: $12,000 beginning inventory, $38,000 of purchases, $11,500 ending inventory and $125,000 of food sales. Usage is $38,500, food cost is 30.8 percent. At a 29 percent target the gap is $2,250 a month, about $27,000 a year.
| Concept | Typical food cost |
|---|---|
| Quick service / fast casual | 28 to 32 percent |
| Full service restaurant | 28 to 34 percent |
| Bar or beverage-led (small kitchen) | 28 to 34 percent |
| Fine dining / private club | 30 to 36 percent |
| Steakhouse / seafood | 34 to 40 percent |
Ranges vary by market, menu and purchasing. Use them to orient, then manage to your own weekly trend. The full method is in the food cost guide.
Re-cost your top 20 sellers against this month's invoices. Prices creep and menu prices do not. See the recipe costing guide.
Put a scale on the line for every protein and weigh portions for a week. One ounce of drift on one entrée is 2 to 3 points on that item.
Count weekly and run variance by product. Theoretical usage from recipes and sales mix versus actual usage from the count shows exactly where the dollars go. See the inventory guide.
Food cost percentage equals cost of goods sold divided by food sales, times 100. Cost of goods sold is beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory for the same period. A restaurant with $12,000 of opening inventory, $38,000 of purchases, $11,500 of closing inventory and $125,000 of food sales has a food cost of $38,500, or 30.8 percent.
Most full service restaurants run 28 to 34 percent. Quick service and fast casual often land 28 to 32 percent, fine dining and clubs 30 to 36 percent, and bar-led concepts with a small kitchen 28 to 34 percent. Steakhouses and seafood concepts run higher by design and make it up on check average. Your own trend week to week matters more than the industry number.
Purchases alone tell you what you bought, not what you used. If you bought heavy this week for a party next week, purchases overstate the cost. Counting inventory at the start and end of the period turns purchases into actual usage, which is the number that matches your sales.
Plate cost is the dollar cost of the ingredients on one menu item at today's prices. Item food cost percent is plate cost divided by the menu price. Food cost percentage for the whole operation is the blend of every item's cost weighted by how many of each you sold, plus waste, comps, staff meals and theft.
It depends on the margin in dollars, not just the percent. A $34 steak at 38 percent food cost contributes $21; a $14 pasta at 22 percent contributes $10.92. Aim for the item's percent to sit near your target, then check that the contribution margin in dollars earns its place on the menu.
Weekly, from a weekly inventory count. Monthly is too slow: by the time the P&L shows a problem the month is gone. A weekly number catches price creep, portion drift and waste while there is still time to fix the week.
Food cost is one third of the picture. The free prime cost calculator puts it next to beverage and labor, and the Recipe Cost Card System keeps every plate costed as prices move.
Run your prime cost Read the food cost guideRules of thumb only. Results are estimates and not financial advice.
