MenuInformaticsMenu Intelligence Platform
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Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator

Calculate restaurant prime cost before food, labor, price, staffing, or menu actions move.

MenuInformatics helps finance, operations, culinary, labor, procurement, franchise, and analytics teams calculate food cost, loaded labor cost, prime-cost ratio, target gap, contribution after prime cost, and occupancy-adjusted pressure before operating decisions become disconnected spreadsheets.

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Calculator Inputs

Estimate prime-cost ratio, target gap, and contribution from buyer-owned finance inputs.

Net sales for the review period.
COGS, ingredients, recipes, or menu item cost for the period.
Wages and scheduled labor cost before burden.
%
Taxes, benefits, insurance, or burden added to labor.
Rent, CAM, utilities, or occupancy context.
%
Target food plus loaded labor as a share of revenue.
59.9%
Prime cost calculator result: food cost plus loaded labor as a share of revenue.
$251,440
Current prime cost after payroll burden is applied to labor.
-$8,960
Cost gap between current prime cost and target prime cost.
-2.1%
Prime-cost ratio gap between current and target assumptions.
$168,560
Contribution after current food cost and loaded labor cost.
$134,560
Contribution after prime cost and occupancy context.
Start prime cost calculator planReview prime cost analyticsReview labor calculatorReview break even calculatorReview labor analyticsReview food cost analysisReview cost control
MenuInformatics restaurant prime cost calculator workflow
Calculator Handoff

A prime cost calculator is useful only if food, labor, and market context become one review.

The calculator keeps food and loaded labor pressure visible, then carries the current prime-cost ratio, target gap, cost reduction, contribution, occupancy context, and owner assumptions into a subscription handoff for the first subscription review.

Buyer question: Which prime-cost action should this calculator result support: food cost reduction, staffing review, wage model change, menu price change, vendor review, menu mix shift, or reporting cadence?
Calculator outcome: A calculated prime-cost ratio, target gap, food/labor split, buyer-owned assumptions, caveats, and MICT follow-up path attached.
Calculator Inputs

Start with revenue, food cost, labor cost, payroll burden, occupancy, and target prime cost.

A restaurant prime cost calculator should keep finance-owned assumptions separate from market evidence before teams decide whether COGS, labor, price, mix, or channel action is required.

  • Monthly revenue, food cost, labor cost, payroll burden, occupancy cost, and target prime-cost ratio are named before review.
  • Buyer-owned COGS and labor assumptions stay separate from market, menu, competitor, and channel evidence.
  • Calculator output can move into prime cost analytics, food cost analysis, labor cost analytics, profit margin analytics, or cost control software.
Scope prime cost resultReview prime cost analyticsPlan reporting
Current Prime Cost

Calculate current prime cost, prime-cost ratio, contribution after prime cost, and occupancy-adjusted pressure.

The current prime-cost view should show whether food and labor together are crowding out contribution before occupancy or other operating costs are discussed.

  • Current food cost, loaded labor, prime cost, prime-cost ratio, and revenue contribution are visible before action is selected.
  • Finance, operations, culinary, and labor owners can adjust assumptions before the evidence is shared.
  • Current prime-cost signals can route into cost control, labor analytics, food cost software, menu pricing, and reporting workflows.
Scope prime cost resultReview prime cost analyticsPlan reporting
Target Prime Cost

Solve the cost gap required to hit the target prime-cost ratio.

Target prime-cost math should expose the dollar gap and ratio-point gap so operators can decide whether food cost, labor, mix, pricing, vendor, staffing, or channel action is realistic.

  • Target prime cost, current cost gap, ratio-point gap, and required cost reduction are visible in one review.
  • The calculator distinguishes food-cost pressure from loaded-labor pressure before a menu or staffing action is approved.
  • Candidate actions route into prime cost analytics, revenue management, menu pricing strategy, cost control, and reports.
Scope prime cost resultReview prime cost analyticsPlan reporting
Calculator Handoff

Turn the prime-cost result into a governed COGS and labor review.

MenuInformatics carries calculated prime cost, buyer assumptions, target gap, caveats, reporting needs, and MICT follow-up path into the checkout signup.

  • Finance, labor, culinary, procurement, operations, franchise, and analytics owners know which assumptions they own.
  • Calculated prime cost, target gap, COGS and labor assumptions, review cadence, exports, API needs, and support handoff are retained.
  • MICT first-touch plan, proof path, opening question, follow-up owner, and next action are prepared from the subscription signup.
Scope prime cost resultReview prime cost analyticsPlan reporting
Prime Cost Calculator Review

Use the calculated prime-cost gap to choose the right subscription proof path.

30.0%
Food cost as a share of monthly revenue.
$125,440
Loaded labor cost after payroll burden.
29.9%
Loaded labor as a share of monthly revenue.
$260,400
Target prime cost at the selected ratio.
$34,000
Occupancy cost kept separate from prime cost.
8.1%
Occupancy cost as a share of monthly revenue.
Scope prime cost handoffReview prime cost analyticsReview margin calculatorReview food cost calculatorReview menu price calculatorReview labor cost calculatorReview break even calculatorReview labor analyticsReview COGS analysisReview cost controlReview revenue managementReview dashboard softwareReview reporting softwareStart subscription