Enter one week of numbers and see seven key numbers against the benchmark for your concept.
By Rob Bruni, founder of OpsEdge Hospitality, twenty years running restaurants, bars, clubs and resorts. Updated November 2026.
A restaurant KPI dashboard puts the handful of numbers that decide the week on one screen, next to the range they should be in. Pick your concept, enter one week of numbers, and the scorecard below shows seven key numbers with a status for each. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
| Number | This week | Target range | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime cost | 62.8% | 60 to 65% | On target |
| Food cost (of food sales) | 31.1% | 28 to 34% | On target |
| Beverage cost (of beverage sales) | 22.0% | 18 to 24% | On target |
| Labor cost | 34.0% | 30 to 35% | On target |
| Sales per labor hour | $57.69 | $45 to $75 | On target |
| Average check per guest | $37.50 | $25 to $45 | In range |
| Comps and voids | 1.5% | Under 2% | On target |
Total sales $30,000. Every number is inside its range this week.
Target ranges come from our benchmarks by concept. They are planning ranges, not rules. Your own trend over several weeks matters more than any single week against a benchmark. Watch means within two points above the range.
| Number | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Prime cost | (Food cost + beverage cost + labor) ÷ total sales | Whether the restaurant can make money. The number to watch first. |
| Food cost | Food cost ÷ food sales | Pricing, portions, waste and purchasing |
| Beverage cost | Beverage cost ÷ beverage sales | Over pouring, giveaways and bar pricing |
| Labor cost | Total labor ÷ total sales | Whether the schedule matched the sales |
| Sales per labor hour | Total sales ÷ hourly labor hours | Productivity, independent of wage rates |
| Average check | Total sales ÷ guests | Menu mix, selling and pricing |
| Comps and voids | Comps and voids ÷ total sales | Mistakes, guest recovery and control at the register |
| If this is over | Look here first |
|---|---|
| Food cost | Portioning on the line, waste and spoilage, price increases on invoices, menu mix. See the food cost guide. |
| Beverage cost | Over pouring, unrecorded comps, draft waste, drinks not rung in. See the pour cost guide. |
| Labor cost | The schedule against the forecast, overtime, early clock ins, slow nights without cuts. See the labor cost guide. |
| Comps and voids | Who is approving them, the reasons on the manager log, and whether one server or one shift stands out. |
The scorecard above shows one week. A working dashboard shows the trend. You can build one in a spreadsheet in an hour.
The Restaurant P&L Statement and Prime Cost Dashboard shows prime cost, budget against actual, cash flow and three year trends in one workbook. Need several locations on one screen? The Custom KPI Dashboard is built around the logbook you already run.
See the P&L and Prime Cost Dashboard See the Custom KPI DashboardA one screen summary of the key numbers that show how a restaurant is performing, usually weekly: prime cost, food cost, beverage cost, labor cost, sales per labor hour, average check and comps, each shown against a target.
At a minimum, sales against forecast, prime cost, food cost, beverage cost, labor cost and sales per labor hour. Average check, comps and voids, and guest counts add useful detail.
As planning ranges: 55 to 60 percent of sales for quick service, 60 to 65 percent for full service, 50 to 55 percent for bars and 62 to 68 percent for fine dining and clubs. Above 70 percent there is little room for rent and profit.
Weekly for cost and labor numbers, on the same day each week, with sales and labor checked daily. A monthly P&L alone arrives too late to fix a problem.
Divide net sales by the hourly labor hours worked in the same period. $30,000 in sales with 520 hours is about $58 per labor hour.
Yes. Use one row per week with sales, costs, labor, hours and guests, add formulas for each KPI, set a target for each, and color the cells against the target. Add a four week average to see the trend.
