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The Food Cost Calculator

Food cost is one of the two numbers that determines whether your venues are profitable. The good news is that even 1% improvements in your food cost can drop straight to your bottom line.

Enter your numbers below and you'll immediately see your food cost percentage, how it sits against the healthy benchmark for your venue type, and what trimming it by just 1–3 points would be worth over a year.

Surprised? Now take your team through the process (by copying the link and sending it to them) so they can see the bottom-line result of making these minor adjustments.

Note: your data is completely private, we can't see or keep the numbers you enter here.

Graphic with text 'Give your profit a bump' showing a plate with a green onion and text about net profit before tax and percentage increase with question marks and dollar signs.

Trim your food cost & boost your profit.

Simply enter your last week, month or year's actual numbers below, hit calculate, and we'll show you your food cost percentage — and how small reductions add up to big jumps in profit.

Swipe the table to the right to see the results.

Your data is completely private — everything is calculated in your browser, and we can’t see or keep the numbers you enter here.

Use your actual food cost for the period — opening stock plus purchases minus closing stock. Exclude GST from both figures.

Frequently asked questions

How do I calculate my food cost percentage?

Divide your total food cost for the period by your total food sales excluding GST, then multiply by 100. Use the actual food cost formula: (Opening stock + Purchases − Closing stock) ÷ Food sales × 100. So $36,000 of food cost on $120,000 of sales is 30%.

What should I include in food cost?

Everything you bought to produce food sold in the period: opening stock plus purchases, minus closing stock. Use figures excluding GST — both your cost and your sales figures should be net of tax.

What’s a good food cost percentage?

It depends on your format: cafés and QSR typically target 28–35%, casual dining and pubs 25–30%, and fine dining and nightclubs 18–24%. Australia and New Zealand benchmarks run 2–3 points higher than US figures because of full award wages — benchmarking against US guides will make your number look worse than it is.

How much can I realistically save?

A reduction in food cost percentage drops almost straight to your bottom line. A 1–2 point reduction on a venue doing $1.5m in food sales a year is worth $15,000–$30,000 annually — usually found through better supplier price checking, tighter wastage tracking, and catching recipe drift before it compounds.

Why does my food cost move week to week?

Common causes: supplier prices that have crept up without notice, stock variance from wastage or over-portioning, discounting that reduces sell price without touching ingredient cost, or stocktake timing issues. Comparing your actual food cost to your ideal food cost on a daily and weekly basis tells you which of these is driving the variance.

Keep reading

Food cost formula guideThe formula, what to include, and the three versions most operators don’t know. What’s a good food cost %?Benchmarks by venue type for Australia and New Zealand hospitality. How to reduce food costFive ways to bring food cost down without cutting portions.