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Enter your food cost and labor cost percentages. Get your prime cost grade and targeted recommendations in seconds.
Use your last 30-day actuals if you have them. Estimates are fine to start.
Cost of ingredients ÷ food revenue × 100. Industry benchmark: 28–32%.
Total labor (wages + benefits) ÷ total revenue × 100. Benchmark: 25–30%.
Prime cost is your two largest controllable expenses combined: food cost + labor cost. In most restaurants, these two line items account for 55–65% of revenue. Everything else — rent, utilities, supplies — comes out of what's left.
Prime cost is the single best predictor of restaurant profitability. High-performing restaurants keep prime cost below 60%. At 65%+ you're fighting for survival on every cover. At 70%+ the math doesn't work without major changes.
Food cost moves through purchasing, portioning, waste reduction, and menu engineering. Labor cost moves through scheduling discipline, server efficiency, and cross-training. Both require systems — not just effort.