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Food Cost Calculator

Track your food cost percentage with the COGS formula.

Period

Sales

Inventory & purchases

COGS formula: Beginning Inventory + Purchases − Ending Inventory.

Food Cost Report

Untitled

Food sales$0.00
Beginning inventory$0.00
+ Purchases$0.00
− Ending inventory$0.00
COGS (cost of goods sold)$0.00
Food Cost %
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Industry benchmarks: 28-32% full service · 25-30% QSR · 18-24% bars · 35-40% upscale where labor is the smaller line.

FAQ

What's the food cost percentage formula?

Food Cost % = COGS ÷ Total Food Sales. COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) = Beginning Inventory + Purchases − Ending Inventory. The tool runs both calculations as you type.

What's a healthy food cost percentage?

Industry rough guide: 28-32% for full-service, 25-30% for QSR / fast casual, 18-24% for bars and beverages, 35-40% acceptable for upscale or chef-driven concepts. The right target depends on your labor and rent — total prime cost is the more important number.

Why is my food cost different from what I expected?

Common culprits: forgotten waste and comp meals, theft, portioning drift, vendor price increases that didn't get passed to menu prices, recipe ratios off-spec. The food cost % flags the problem; finding the cause needs a recipe-by-recipe check.

Is this saved anywhere?

No. Pure projection — type the numbers, see the percentage, print the report. For period-over-period tracking with recipe-level detail, that's TacOS.

    TacOS - Restaurant Operations Platform