Restaurant Accounting Basics Every Owner Should Know

You don't need a CA degree to run a profitable restaurant — you need to understand 5 numbers. This guide walks through each.

The 5 numbers that decide your P&L

1. Food cost % — Ingredient cost ÷ food sales. Target: 28–35%
2. Beverage cost % — Beverage cost ÷ beverage sales. Target: 18–24%
3. Labour cost % — Wages ÷ total sales. Target: 20–30%
4. Prime cost — Food + beverage + labour. Target: <60% of sales
5. Contribution margin per dish — Selling price − ingredient cost

The 3 reports to run every week

• Sales by day-part × item category
• Theoretical vs actual food cost (variance report)
• Aggregator payout reconciliation

Restaurant accounting software built for F&B generates all of these automatically. Also try our free Food Cost Calculator.

Related: Reduce food cost in your restaurant · GST billing guide