Category: Expenses & Cost Management
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How to Read a Restaurant P&L: Every Line Explained
The profit and loss statement is the single most important document in restaurant management. It is a financial snapshot — typically produced weekly, monthly, and annually — that tells you whether the business is working. And yet, for many operators, the P&L remains an uncomfortable document: something reviewed briefly at…
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The Real Math on Third-Party Delivery: What It Actually Costs You
Third-party delivery has reshaped the restaurant industry in ways that are still being fully understood. The platforms — DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and others — have made restaurant food more accessible to more customers than at any prior point in history. They have also, for many operators, created a channel…
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Prime Cost: The One Number That Tells You If Your Restaurant Is Profitable
In the restaurant industry, there is no shortage of metrics to track — food cost percentage, labor percentage, gross profit, net profit, occupancy ratio, and on down the list. Each of these tells part of the story. But if you could only track one number to understand the fundamental health…
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Ideal Food Cost vs. Actual Food Cost: How Waste Is Quietly Killing Your Margins
The gap between your ideal and actual food cost is money you’re losing every week. Learn how to calculate waste percentage, identify the most common sources of variance, and close the gap without changing your menu or raising prices.
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Sales Per Labor Hour (SPLH): The One Labor Metric Every Restaurant Operator Needs
Labor percentage alone only tells half the story. Sales Per Labor Hour (SPLH) connects your staffing decisions directly to revenue outcomes — and it’s one of the most actionable metrics in restaurant management.
PROTECTING THE BOTTOM LINE 