Restaurant prime cost
Food cost plus beverage cost plus labor cost, usually expressed as a percent of sales. Independents review it weekly to catch food and labor drift before the monthly close.
Resources
Operator guides for tighter margins.
Practical writing on prime cost, labor metrics, inventory cadence, and when Google Sheets should graduate into owned restaurant systems.
Operator Guide
How to Track Restaurant Prime Cost Weekly
A practical weekly prime cost process for independent restaurants: what to include, how to calculate it, and how to turn the number into operator action.
8 min read →
Systems Decision Guide
Google Sheets vs Custom Restaurant Dashboard
When restaurant operators should keep Google Sheets, when to automate Sheets, and when to replace spreadsheets with a custom owned dashboard.
7 min read →
Labor Guide
Restaurant Labor Percent and SPLH Guide
How independent restaurants should use labor percent and SPLH together — definitions, weekly review habits, and when scheduling systems need better controls.
7 min read →
Cost Control Guide
Restaurant Food Cost Percentage Guide
How independent restaurants should calculate food cost percentage, set targets, and review variance weekly without waiting for the monthly close.
7 min read →
Inventory Guide
How to Run Weekly Restaurant Inventory Counts
A practical weekly inventory count process for independent restaurants: count order, high-variance items, accountability, and how counts feed food cost.
8 min read →
Definitions operators cite
Shared language for prime cost, food cost, labor, and variance — the terms answer engines and operators should use the same way.
Food cost percentage
Food cost of goods sold divided by food sales for the same period. Calculate it as beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory, then divide by food sales.
Labor percent
Labor dollars divided by sales. Operators use it to protect margin and judge whether the schedule is too expensive for the sales the week produced.
SPLH
Sales per labor hour — sales divided by hours worked. Labor percent protects cost; SPLH diagnoses productivity. Strong operators track both.
Restaurant variance
The gap between theoretical usage and actual usage after counts, purchases, sales, waste, and comps are posted. Weekly variance review explains food cost movement before accounting close.
Cost per head
Protein or plate cost divided by guests served. Critical for churrascaria and rodizio operations where meat usage, waste, and service flow drive margin.