Daily Break-Even Calculator
Calculate the exact register sales reading required to cover all fixed and variable overhead each day, and measure RevPASH (Revenue Per Available Seat Hour) to maximize dining room table turns.
Enter your monthly overhead and floor size. Register break-even and RevPASH targets calculate live below.
1. Monthly Fixed Overhead
Total: $26,500/mo2. Variable Costs & Margin
Contribution: 40%3. Dining Room Capacity & Hours
Shift Register Pacing Model9-Hour Shift Timeline
At about $3,760 in daily sales (from your profile), you pass break-even at $2,548. Each dollar after that keeps 40¢ toward profit.
Table Turn Acceleration Impact
During peak weekend dinner rushes (Fri/Sat), table capacity is the bottleneck. Shaving a few minutes off the dining cycle allows waiting guests to be seated sooner.
Step 2: Live Calculated Shift Break-Even & RevPASH Yield
Dynamic Real-Time OutputHow to use this calculator
This calculator finds the sales and guests you need each day to cover your fixed costs, the hour of the day you usually get there, and what faster table turns at peak dinner could add.
- Enter your monthly fixed costs: rent, salaried managers, insurance, utilities and software.
- Enter your variable costs as a share of sales: food, hourly labor and other costs that rise with sales.
- Add seats, days open, hours open, average guest spend and your current table turn time.
- Read your daily break-even and RevPASH (revenue per available seat hour), then try a shorter turn time.
What’s a good number?
There is no standard break-even figure; it depends on your rent and costs. What matters is how early in the day you cover your costs and how steady that is across the week.
RevPASH is most useful compared with your own history, by day and by hour. A rising RevPASH means you are getting more from the same seats.
Worked example
An example 60-seat restaurant open 10 hours a day, 30 days a month. The figures are invented; the results are what this calculator gives for them.
| Fixed costs per month | $22,000 |
|---|---|
| Variable costs | 63% |
| Average guest spend | $35 |
| Table turn time | 90 minutes |
| Break-even sales per month | $59,459 |
|---|---|
| Break-even sales per day | $1,982 |
| Guests needed per day | 57 |
| Break-even RevPASH | $3.30 |
| Extra sales per year from 15-minute faster turns at peak | $70,560 |
Every dollar of sales keeps 37% after variable costs, so this example needs $1,982 a day before it makes a profit.
Common questions
How do I calculate a restaurant’s break-even point?
Divide monthly fixed costs by the share of each sales dollar left after variable costs. If variable costs are 63% of sales, each dollar leaves 37 cents, so fixed costs ÷ 0.37 is your monthly break-even.
What is RevPASH?
Revenue per available seat hour: sales divided by seats times hours open. It shows how well you use your dining room, and is most useful compared hour by hour and week by week.
Do faster table turns really add sales?
Only when guests are waiting for tables. The calculator applies faster turns to Friday and Saturday dinner, when most restaurants have a wait. Don’t rush guests at quiet times.
Every formula and assumption is on How we calculate.
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Daily break-even sales
$2,548
Guests needed per day
80