{
    "name": "Restaurant Break-even Covers Calculator",
    "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/restaurant-break-even-covers-calculator",
    "markdown": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/restaurant-break-even-covers-calculator.md",
    "category": "Food & hospitality",
    "description": "Find how many covers a restaurant must serve to cover fixed costs, or reach a target profit, from average spend per cover and variable cost percentage.",
    "summary": "Each cover contributes its average spend minus the variable costs it causes. Divide fixed costs by that contribution to get the covers needed to break even.",
    "also_called": [
        "Covers needed calculator",
        "Restaurant break-even point calculator"
    ],
    "applies_to": "Worldwide",
    "last_updated": "2026-10-29",
    "computation": "Results are computed in the visitor’s browser on the HTML page. This API describes the calculator; it does not compute results.",
    "inputs": [
        {
            "name": "fixed_costs",
            "label": "Fixed costs for the period",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "30000"
        },
        {
            "name": "avg_spend",
            "label": "Average spend per cover",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "25"
        },
        {
            "name": "variable_pct",
            "label": "Variable costs as % of sales",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "40",
            "unit": "%"
        },
        {
            "name": "days",
            "label": "Trading days in the period",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "30"
        },
        {
            "name": "target_profit",
            "label": "Target profit (optional)",
            "type": "number",
            "default": "",
            "optional": true
        },
        {
            "name": "currency",
            "label": "Currency",
            "type": "currency",
            "default": "USD"
        }
    ],
    "outputs": [
        {
            "key": "covers",
            "label": "Covers needed in the period",
            "format": "integer"
        },
        {
            "key": "covers_per_day",
            "label": "Covers per trading day",
            "format": "integer"
        },
        {
            "key": "sales",
            "label": "Sales at that level",
            "format": "currency"
        },
        {
            "key": "contribution",
            "label": "Contribution per cover",
            "format": "currency"
        }
    ],
    "formula": {
        "text": "Contribution per cover = Average spend × (1 − Variable% ÷ 100);  Covers = (Fixed costs + Target profit) ÷ Contribution, rounded up",
        "variables": {
            "Average spend": "net revenue per guest",
            "Variable%": "costs that rise in proportion to sales",
            "Fixed costs": "costs for the period that do not depend on covers"
        }
    },
    "worked_example": {
        "inputs": {
            "fixed_costs": "30000",
            "avg_spend": "25",
            "variable_pct": "40",
            "days": "30",
            "target_profit": "",
            "currency": "USD"
        },
        "steps": [
            "Contribution = 25 × (1 − 0.40) = 15 per cover.",
            "Covers = 30,000 ÷ 15 = 2,000 in the month.",
            "Per day = 2,000 ÷ 30 = 66.7, rounded up to 67."
        ],
        "result": "With 30,000 of fixed costs and 15 contribution per cover, the restaurant breaks even at 2,000 covers a month, about 67 a day."
    },
    "interpretation": "Compare covers per day with your realistic capacity (seats × turns). If break-even needs more than about two-thirds of capacity on average, small dips in trade will cause losses; look at spend per cover or fixed costs first.",
    "assumptions": [
        "Variable costs are a constant percentage of sales.",
        "Average spend stays the same at every volume."
    ],
    "limitations": [
        "Labour is partly fixed and partly variable in practice; split it as best you can."
    ],
    "rules": null,
    "faqs": [
        {
            "question": "What counts as a cover?",
            "answer": "One guest served a meal. Two people at a table are two covers."
        },
        {
            "question": "How do I include a profit goal?",
            "answer": "Enter it as the target profit. It is added to fixed costs, so the result is the covers needed to earn that profit."
        }
    ],
    "sources": [],
    "related": [
        {
            "name": "Break-even Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/break-even-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Restaurant Gross Margin Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/restaurant-gross-margin-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Restaurant Seat Occupancy Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/restaurant-seat-occupancy-calculator"
        },
        {
            "name": "Table Turnover Rate Calculator",
            "url": "https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/table-turnover-rate-calculator"
        }
    ],
    "disclaimer": null,
    "publisher": "GM¹X CalcVerse"
}