Free Operator Tool
Prime Cost Calculator
Prime cost — food, beverage and total labor as a share of sales — is the single number that tells you whether your restaurant or bar is actually working. Enter your figures for any period and see where you stand.
Your numbers
Enter one period — a week, a month, or a quarter.
Use the same period for every field. Nothing you type is saved or sent anywhere; the math runs right here in your browser.
All food and beverage revenue for the period, before tax.
Beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory.
Same calculation, kept separate from food.
Everyone on payroll, hourly and salaried, including management.
Employer taxes, insurance, workers' comp, benefits.
Your results
Enter your total sales to see your food and beverage cost percentage, labor percentage and prime cost.
These targets are general operator benchmarks, not accounting advice. Every concept, market and lease is different.
What good looks like
Healthy prime cost by concept.
Prime cost is food cost plus beverage cost plus all labor, divided by sales. It is the portion of every dollar you never get to keep — and the fastest place to find money in a restaurant.
Full-service restaurant
Prime cost at or below 65%
Food and beverage around 30–33%, labor around 30–35%. Above 70% and there is usually nothing left after rent.
Fast-casual & counter service
Prime cost at or below 60%
Lower labor is the advantage — hold food cost tight and prime cost should sit comfortably in the fifties.
Bar-forward concepts
Prime cost at or below 60%
Beverage cost runs lower, so a healthy bar should beat a kitchen-heavy operation on prime cost.
Next step
Know the number. Now change it.
Prime cost tells you whether there is a problem. Fixing it means menu pricing, portion control, purchasing and scheduling — the fundamentals covered in the free 125-page Blueprint, and the work we do with operators directly.