Free tools / Prime cost

What does it really cost to run your restaurant?

Prime cost is your food and packaging plus your labour. It’s the biggest number you control. Enter one week or month of numbers and see where you stand in about 5 minutes.

These are example numbers. Replace them with yours, or clear the form to start fresh.

1Sales

Net sales

After discounts and comps, before tax. Your POS sales report shows this.

2Food & packaging cost

Starting inventory

Value on hand at the start of the period

Purchases

Food, drinks and packaging invoices

Ending inventory

Value on hand at the end of the period

No inventory count? Enter purchases only and leave both inventory fields at 0. Cost of goods = starting inventory + purchases − ending inventory

3Labour cost

Hourly wages

Crew and shift leads, including overtime

Salaried managers

Their pay for this period

Payroll taxes & benefits

Employer payroll taxes, benefits and workers’ comp. Not sure? About 10% of wages is a common estimate.

Your targets

Prime cost

Food & packaging

Labour

Your prime cost

This week

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Enter your numbers

Food & packaging

Labour

Left for rent, other costs & profit

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Your results show here as you type.

Get this number every week, without the math.

ChopOps reads your invoices, keeps recipe costs current, and shows food cost and labour next to your daily sales.

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What is prime cost?

Your cost of goods plus your total labour cost. Together they’re usually the two biggest expenses in a QSR, and the two you can change fastest.

How it’s calculated

Prime cost % = (cost of goods + labour) ÷ net sales. Cost of goods uses your inventory counts so you see what you actually used, not just what you bought.

What’s a good number?

Many QSR operators aim to keep prime cost around 60% of sales or lower. The right target depends on your rent, menu and service style, so set your own under “Your targets”.