The Restaurant Community » Forums » Restaurant Business

[Justin G]

I am putting the final touches on my business plan and I am now in the real cost/ profit part, does anyone out there have any advise on the best way to find this out. I am contacting vendors this week, just wondering if there is some other way as well.. Thanks

[RestaurantDoctors]

Hi Justin -

If you could give us more details I think we might be able to help you more. What sort of industry are you? Do you know your expected labor costs? Overhead costs? etc?

I am assuming you are doing the busines splan for a restaurant? How much detail do you want? I can tell you percentage wise, where your costs should be compared to sales? Sales of course will be driven by # of seats, type of food, etc.....

Diana

There are two basic schools of thought: percent food cost vs gross profit. Most owners use percent for lower ticket items and gross profit for higher end. Bottom line: it is all about volume and turns. Location, service, quality, and your marketing targets, are all big factors. Larger broadliners have people in house who can help out with these answers.