Restaurant Prime Cost Planner methodology

costOfGoodsExTax = food cost + beverage cost

labourCostExTax = wages + payroll on-costs

primeCostExTax = food and beverage cost + labour cost

primeCostRate = restaurant prime cost / net restaurant sales

targetPrimeCostExTax = net restaurant sales * target prime-cost rate

primeCostGapExTax = actual prime cost - prime cost at target

operatingHeadroomExTax = net restaurant sales - prime cost - other operating costs

operatingHeadroomRate = operating headroom / net restaurant sales

Money inputs and outputs use the currency selected in the scenario without changing the canonical methodology. Rates, margins, utilisation and buffers are entered as percentages and converted to decimal values for calculation.

• All inputs must be finite and inside the visible validation boundaries.
• Rates are retained as decimal values and shown as percentages only at the presentation boundary.
• The worked fixture must expose every declared result: costOfGoodsExTax, labourCostExTax, primeCostExTax, primeCostRate, targetPrimeCostExTax, primeCostGapExTax, operatingHeadroomExTax, operatingHeadroomRate.
• Scenario comparison changes one declared driver while holding the remaining industry records constant.

Net restaurant sales minimum

netRestaurantSalesExTax ≥ 0 currency units/review period, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Net restaurant sales maximum

netRestaurantSalesExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/review period, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Food cost of sales minimum

foodCostOfSalesExTax ≥ 0 currency units/review period, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Food cost of sales maximum

foodCostOfSalesExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/review period, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Beverage cost of sales minimum

beverageCostOfSalesExTax ≥ 0 currency units/review period, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Beverage cost of sales maximum

beverageCostOfSalesExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/review period, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Restaurant wages minimum

restaurantWagesExTax ≥ 0 currency units/review period, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Restaurant wages maximum

restaurantWagesExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/review period, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Payroll on-costs minimum

payrollOnCostsExTax ≥ 0 currency units/review period, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Payroll on-costs maximum

payrollOnCostsExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/review period, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Other restaurant operating costs minimum

otherOperatingCostsExTax ≥ 0 currency units/review period, ex tax — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Other restaurant operating costs maximum

otherOperatingCostsExTax ≤ 10,000,000 currency units/review period, ex tax — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

Target prime-cost rate minimum

targetPrimeCostRate ≥ 0 decimal fraction of net restaurant sales — A lower value is rejected before calculation.

Target prime-cost rate maximum

targetPrimeCostRate ≤ 1 decimal fraction of net restaurant sales — A higher value is rejected before calculation.

• Costs, capacity, contract terms, tax rates and targets are supplied by the user.
• No provider default, jurisdictional rule or industry benchmark is embedded.
• The shared engine retains full precision and display formatting never feeds calculation.

This planner has no current policy-data dependency. Its commercial assumptions are user supplied. Registered family-level regression suites exercise the shared business-logic engine and worked-result reconciliation.

• Results are only as reliable as the timing, scope and basis of the entered records.
• The workflow does not predict demand or establish accounting, tax, contractual or legal treatment.
• Wages, payroll on-costs and the prime-cost target are user-entered records or decisions; the visible starting target is not an industry benchmark.
• The model does not apply wage rules, payroll tax, tips, service charges or jurisdiction-specific labour obligations.

This is educational decision support, not tax, accounting, legal or financial advice. Check the treatment of your actual transactions under the rules that apply to your business and seek qualified advice where appropriate.

Registered family-level suites test formula invariants and example reconciliation; the release ledger records that coverage without claiming a separate oracle for every line of public copy. There is no official threshold or benchmark to refresh for this planner. Commercial inputs remain user-supplied because they vary by business and contract.

1. 2026-07-16: Initial public release of the Restaurant Prime Cost planner and methodology.