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Free Restaurant Food Cost Calculator
Work out your cost of goods sold and food cost percentage for any period, and see how it compares with your target. Use the same period for inventory, purchases and sales.
Cost of goods sold = beginning inventory + purchases − ending inventory. Food cost % = cost of goods sold ÷ food sales × 100. Results update as you type.
Food cost percentage tells you that a problem exists. It does not tell you which ingredient caused it.
Restaurant cost control starts with the percentage, but food costing and control means finding the cause. To reduce restaurant food cost, you have to compare:
- Purchases
- Inventory
- Vendor prices
- Sales
- Expected recipe usage
- Actual ingredient usage
When those numbers live in different places, the percentage moves and nobody can say why. A restaurant inventory system that keeps them together turns the percentage into a list of ingredients to look at.
What that looked like in our restaurant
One restaurant's numbers, once they were connected
These results come from one restaurant's operating data and are not a guarantee of results for other businesses.
Read the $22,000 case study →Try the recipe cost calculator →
Restaurant food cost FAQ
How do you calculate restaurant food cost percentage?
Calculate cost of goods sold as beginning inventory plus purchases minus ending inventory. Divide that amount by food sales and multiply by 100.
What period should I use?
Restaurants commonly review food cost weekly, monthly, or for another consistent accounting period. Use inventory and sales from the same period.
Does this include labor cost?
No. This calculator estimates food cost from inventory and purchases. Labor and operating overhead are separate costs.
Why can food cost increase even when sales are strong?
Vendor price increases, waste, portion changes, inventory errors, purchasing patterns and sales mix can all increase food cost even when revenue rises.
Want this calculated for you every week?
The Invoice Capture + Inventory Price Tracking system logs invoice prices from a phone photo, tracks restaurant inventory and usage, and flags price increases and unusual usage. $450 setup + $85/month, no contract.