Methodology

How we calculate

Every number in RestoGrowth Advisor comes from a formula you can check. Results are worked out from the figures you enter, using the assumptions listed for each tool. Benchmarks are ranges from public industry sources, not guarantees. Where we don't have a public source, we say the figure is an estimate.

Principles

  • All results are calculated in code from your inputs. Nothing is made up by an AI model.
  • Formulas are plain arithmetic and are covered by automated tests with hand-worked answers.
  • Any figure the tool assumes for you (for example rent as a share of sales) is listed below, next to the tool that uses it.
  • Dividing by zero gives 0, not an error, and losses are shown as losses rather than rounded up to zero.

Benchmarks

Public sources publish industry-wide ranges, not figures for each type of restaurant. The value we show for each segment (fine dining, quick service and so on) is our estimate inside the published range, and an automated test fails if one drifts outside it. Sources were last reviewed in September 2026, and we re-check them every year. See them applied on Industry Benchmarks.

MetricPublished rangeSource
Prime cost (food + labor)60% or less is the usual target; about 60–65% full-service, 55–60% quick-serviceRestaurant365, How to Calculate Restaurant Prime Cost (2026)
Food costTypically 28–35% of food salesRestaurant365 / industry accounting guides (2026)
Labor costMedian 36.5% full-service and 31.7% limited-service (2024); common targets 25–30% quick-service, 30–35% full-serviceNational Restaurant Association operations data, as summarized by Restaurant Inventory Tools (2024 data)
Card processing ratesPublished flat rates: Square 2.6% + 15¢, Toast 2.49–3.09% + 15¢, Clover 2.3% + 10¢ (in person)Square fees; Toast payment processing fees (2026)
Delivery app commissions15%, 25% or 30% per order depending on plan (DoorDash Basic / Plus / Premier; Uber Eats has similar tiers)Rezku, Third-Party Delivery Fees in 2026 (2026)
TipsAverage card tip 19.3% at full-service and 15.8% at quick-service restaurants (share of the check, tipped transactions only)Toast, Restaurant Tipping Trends (Q1 2026) (Q1 2026)

Estimates with no public per-segment source: Average ticket, Chargeback rate, Target and high-risk card rates by segment, Tips as a share of gross sales.

Formulas by tool

Statement Fee Auditor

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Effective rate
total fees on the statement ÷ card sales on the statement
Fair rate and rate savings
the card fee calculator, run on the statement’s card sales and effective rate
Fees you could cut (per year)
(rate savings ÷ 12, counted once if any rate problem is ticked + the monthly amounts you enter for ticked fees) × 12
Assumptions:
  • Tiered pricing, bundled POS processing and keyed-in downgrades all raise the effective rate, so they share one rate estimate instead of being added separately.
  • PCI, batch and statement fees count only the amount you type from your statement; we do not assume a typical amount.
  • Nothing is ticked until you tick it, except tiered pricing when your restaurant profile says your pricing is tiered.

Profitability & Fee Overview

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Card fee rate
Good at or below a good rate for your type of restaurant; High at or above the high rate for your type; Watch in between
Food, labor and prime cost
Good at or below typical for your type; Watch up to 3 points above (food, labor) or 5 points above (prime cost); High beyond that
Delivery app commission
Good at 15% or less; Watch up to 25%; High above 25%
Prime cost opportunity
(your prime cost % − typical prime cost %) × monthly card sales × 12
Card fee opportunity
possible savings per year from the card fee calculator, shown when your rate is above a good rate for your type
Delivery opportunity
yearly savings from the delivery app calculator with its starting values (some app orders moved to your own online ordering)
Assumptions:
  • Dollar figures use monthly card sales as the sales base, so they are on the low side if you also take cash.
  • The Watch bands (3, 3 and 5 points) are rules of thumb, not measured data. Prime cost uses 5 points because the public guidance gives ranges about that wide.
  • Delivery commission edges follow the common app plans (15%, 25% and 30%).
  • A measure marked "Typical, add yours" still uses the typical starting value for your type, so its rating says nothing about your restaurant yet.
  • The plan lists actions from the biggest yearly dollar value down; a cash price has no dollar figure because it depends on state rules and your guests, so it comes last.

Processing Fee Calculator

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Current monthly fees
monthly card sales × your effective rate
Fair rate estimate
interchange (1.70% when every card is tapped, dipped or swiped, rising to 2.10% as keyed-in and online payments grow) + 0.14% card-brand fees + 0.20% processor markup + $0.07 per transaction
Possible savings per year
(current fees − fees at the fair rate) × 12
Dishes needed to earn the same
annual savings ÷ (average ticket × 68%)
Chart: flat-rate bar
card sales × 2.89% + 15¢ per transaction (an example flat rate)
Chart: dual pricing bar
card fees still paid + program fees, from the dual pricing calculator with its starting values (3.5% card price difference, 12% of card sales moving to cash)
Assumptions:
  • The fair rate is never set below the typical target rate for your type of restaurant.
  • If your rate is already close to fair, the tool still assumes you could negotiate about 0.15 percentage points off it.
  • Transactions are estimated as card sales ÷ average ticket when you have not entered them.

Cash Discount & Dual Pricing Calculator

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Card sales after the change
annual card sales × (1 − share of guests switching to cash)
Card fees after
card sales after × (1 + card price adjustment) × your effective rate
Fees still paid by you
card fees after − adjustment collected (never below $0)
Net gain per year
card fees you no longer pay − program fees − profit on sales lost to guests who leave
Assumptions:
  • Program fees: $1,200 a year plus 0.1% of card sales.
  • Lost sales cost you 68% of their value in profit (a typical contribution margin).
  • Adjustment collected above your actual card fees is not counted as profit.

Prime Cost & Margin Advisor

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Prime cost
food cost % + labor cost %
Estimated net margin
100% − prime cost − 9% occupancy − 8.5% utilities and operations − card fee rate
Extra sales worth the same as fee savings
annual fee savings ÷ net margin
Assumptions:
  • Occupancy (rent, common-area charges, property tax) is assumed at 9% of sales, and utilities, POS, linen, repairs and insurance at 8.5%.
  • A negative net margin is shown as a loss, not rounded up to zero.

Delivery App Profit Calculator

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Profit per delivery order
order value − app commission − food cost − packaging (food cost is on the dine-in price, since the food is the same)
Same order eaten in
order value ÷ (1 + delivery price markup), minus food cost and card fees
Profit lost to delivery
orders that would have dined in × (dine-in profit − delivery profit)
Markup that matches dine-in profit
delivery price where (price × (1 − commission %)) − food cost − packaging = dine-in profit, compared with the dine-in price
Assumptions:
  • Orders moved to your own ordering site pay 2.9% card processing plus $99 a month instead of commission.
  • Neither the delivery nor the dine-in profit includes labor or rent, so compare them with each other, not with your bottom line.

Daily Break-Even Calculator

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Monthly break-even sales
fixed costs ÷ (1 − variable cost %)
Daily covers to break even
daily break-even sales ÷ average guest spend
RevPASH
sales ÷ (seats × hours open)
Faster table turns
seats × seat use × extra turns per peak shift × guest spend × peak shifts per month
Assumptions:
  • Total sales are estimated as card sales × 1.15, to allow for cash.
  • Sales are assumed to arrive evenly across opening hours when finding the hour you break even.
  • Peak service: Friday and Saturday dinner, 8 shifts a month, 3.5 hours each, 75% of seats used. Turn time never drops below 40 minutes.

Bar Pour Cost Calculator

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Pours per bottle
bottle size in ml ÷ 29.5735 ÷ pour size in oz (whole pours only)
Cocktail pour cost
(bottle cost ÷ pours + mixer and garnish) ÷ drink price
Draft beer pour cost
keg cost ÷ pints sold (124 per half-barrel, minus foam loss) ÷ pint price
Wine by the glass
bottle cost ÷ (750 ml bottle ÷ pour size) ÷ glass price
Assumptions:
  • A half-barrel keg is 15.5 gallons, or 124 sixteen-ounce pints.

Food Cost Gap Calculator

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Actual food used
opening inventory + purchases − closing inventory
Actual food cost %
actual food used ÷ food sales
Waste gap
actual food used − (food sales × recipe food cost %)
Portion creep per year
plates per week × extra ounces × (price per lb ÷ 16) × 52
Assumptions:
  • A month is counted as 4.33 weeks.

Staffing & Labor Cost Calculator

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Labor cost per hour
staff on shift × hourly wage (1.5× for anyone on overtime)
Labor cost %
labor cost per hour ÷ sales per hour
Sales per labor hour (SPLH)
sales per hour ÷ staff on shift
Staff that hits your target
target labor % × sales per hour ÷ hourly wage
Assumptions:
  • The hourly wage you enter should include payroll taxes.
  • The tool never suggests fewer than 2 people on shift.

Tip Credit & Service Fee Calculator

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Extra payroll per week
tipped hours × (new minimum wage − current tipped wage) × (1 + payroll tax %)
Menu price increase to cover it
extra payroll per week ÷ weekly sales
Service fee to cover it
the same share, rounded up to the next 0.1%
Assumptions:
  • The service fee is never suggested below 3%.
  • The tip-pool option pays everyone $2.50 an hour above the new minimum wage.
  • Wage rates are the ones you enter; the tool does not look up your state or city law.

Private Dining Minimum Calculator

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Sales given up
room seats × usual occupancy × table turns in the event slot × guest spend
Food and drink minimum
sales given up × (1 + buyout premium) + event staff + setup and cleaning, rounded up to the next $100
Packages per guest
90%, 125% and 170% of the minimum per guest
Assumptions:
  • The suggested deposit is 50% of the minimum.

Research we cite

Tips and checklists quote a figure only when we could check its source. Everything else is worded as general advice.

  • A one-star increase in Yelp rating led to a 5–9% revenue increase for independent restaurants.Luca, “Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com”, Harvard Business School working paper, 2011 · Used in: Marketing checklist
  • Guests spent less when menu prices showed “$” signs or the word “dollars”.Yang, Kimes & Sessarego, Cornell Center for Hospitality Research, 2009 · Used in: Menu Review
  • Replacing a front-line hospitality employee costs about $5,864.Tracey & Hinkin, Cornell Center for Hospitality Research · Used in: Employee retention checklist
  • No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food; cooling time and temperature rules.FDA Food Code (section 3-301.11 and cooling rules) · Used in: Food safety checklist
  • Safety Data Sheets for workplace chemicals must be readily accessible to staff.OSHA Hazard Communication Standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200 · Used in: Food safety checklist
  • Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Employers taking a tip credit must pay tipped staff at least $2.13 an hour in cash, a tip credit of up to $5.12.U.S. Department of Labor, Minimum Wages for Tipped Employees (table effective July 1, 2026) · Used in: Tip credit simulator
  • Visa caps credit card surcharges at 3%.Visa surcharging rules (cap lowered to 3% in April 2023) · Used in: Dual pricing calculator

Limits

  • Results are estimates for planning. They are not financial, legal or tax advice.
  • The Menu Review report and the Statement Auditor currently show illustrative example findings. Reading your own menu and statement files is still being built.
  • Card rates, delivery commissions and wage laws change. Check current figures before acting on a result.

Found a mistake in a formula or a source? Tell us and we will fix it. See also our Terms of use.