How to use this calculator
- Enter or choose fixed costs for the period.
- Enter or choose average spend per cover.
- Enter or choose variable costs as % of sales.
- Enter or choose trading days in the period.
- Enter or choose target profit (optional).
- The covers needed in the period updates as you type. Use Copy result or Share to keep it.
Method
Contribution per cover = Average spend × (1 − Variable% ÷ 100); Covers = (Fixed costs + Target profit) ÷ Contribution, rounded up
- 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
- 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.
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.
What the result means
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 and limits
- Variable costs are a constant percentage of sales.
- Average spend stays the same at every volume.
- Labour is partly fixed and partly variable in practice; split it as best you can.
Questions
What counts as a cover?
One guest served a meal. Two people at a table are two covers.
How do I include a profit goal?
Enter it as the target profit. It is added to fixed costs, so the result is the covers needed to earn that profit.