Free restaurant calculators
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Key takeaway: Seven free calculators for the numbers that decide whether a restaurant makes money: food cost, variance, plate cost, recipe cost, yield, menu price and prime cost. No signup, nothing leaves your browser, and every page shows the formula in plain text so you can check the math.
Which calculator do I need?
| Question you're asking | Calculator |
|---|---|
| What's my food cost %, and how far is it from where it should be? | Food cost calculator |
| Which items are losing me money between counts? | Food cost variance calculator |
| What does this dish cost as served? | Plate cost calculator |
| What does this recipe cost, with trim and sub-recipes? | Recipe cost calculator |
| What's the true cost of what's left after trimming? | Yield calculator |
| What should I charge for this dish? | Menu pricing calculator |
| What are food plus labor costing me, as a share of sales? | Prime cost calculator |
Want a whole menu costed at once? Upload it on See your menu.
How do the calculators fit together?
Yield feeds recipe cost. Recipe costs build plate cost. Plate cost sets menu price. Plate costs × items sold give theoretical food cost, which you compare with actual food cost to find variance. Food cost plus labor is prime cost. Varastiq brings that chain together from your counts, invoices, supported sales data and recorded wages. Use your own records to keep these numbers current in Varastiq for $149/mo.
Frequently asked questions
Are these calculators free?
Yes. All seven calculators are free, need no signup and run entirely in your browser.
Do the calculators save my data?
No. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere. Varastiq, the product, saves and updates these numbers for you.
Which calculator should I start with?
Start with the food cost calculator to see where you stand, then use the variance calculator to find which items are behind the gap.