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Basic knowledge and formulas

Learn the fundamental formulas and calculation methods for hospitality.

How do I recognize from my numbers that my target...

Most restaurant owners think they know their customers, but the numbers often reveal a completely different story. Your target audience can shift gradually with...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 206 📅 22 Feb 2026
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What is a realistic occupancy rate per evening?

A realistic occupancy rate helps you plan better and forecast how many guests you can expect. Many restaurant owners calculate too optimistically, which leads t...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 206 📅 22 Feb 2026
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How do you choose between a round price and a...

Menu pricing directly impacts both your profit margins and customer perception of your restaurant. Most operators face the same dilemma: round prices (€25.00) v...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 206 📅 22 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate food cost including waste percentage?

It's Monday morning and you're staring at last month's P&L wondering where your profits went. You calculated everything perfectly, yet your food costs are 8% hi...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 205 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate the impact of inflation on my menu...

A 10% ingredient price increase can destroy 3-4 percentage points of your profit margin overnight. Your suppliers quietly raise prices, but most restaurant owne...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 205 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate margin if I think excluding VAT?

Most restaurant owners make a critical error when calculating their margins - they include VAT in their numbers, creating a false sense of profitability. VAT is...

⏱️ 2 min read 👁️ 203 📅 22 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate from price excluding VAT to price...

Converting VAT-exclusive prices to VAT-inclusive is like building a bridge between your cost calculations and what customers actually pay. Restaurant owners fre...

⏱️ 2 min read 👁️ 203 📅 22 Feb 2026
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What is a good dish rotation speed for your menu?

Most restaurants get menu rotation completely backwards – they either change everything at once or never change anything at all. The sweet spot? Refreshing 20-4...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 203 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate my daily food cost percentage?

Why wait until month-end to discover you've been bleeding money on every plate? Most restaurant owners check their food costs once monthly, but that's like driv...

⏱️ 4 min read 👁️ 203 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How can I organize my menu based on profitability?

A local bistro increased their monthly profit by €3,200 simply by moving their lamb shank from the bottom of page two to the top right corner. Most restaurants...

⏱️ 2 min read 👁️ 202 📅 22 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate the margin on a dish with multiple...

Take Marco's Italian bistro, which thought their seafood risotto had a 70% margin until they discovered it was actually 52%. The culprit? They'd forgotten to ac...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 202 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I see which dishes make the most profit?

Most restaurant owners think their bestsellers are their biggest moneymakers. They're usually wrong. A dish that flies off the menu can drain your profits while...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 202 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate the margin per dish on my menu?

A pasta carbonara selling for €18.50 might seem profitable until you realize you're only keeping €2.30 after all costs. Most restaurant owners focus on revenue...

⏱️ 4 min read 👁️ 202 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate margin if I think in prices including...

Most restaurant owners work with menu prices that include VAT since that's what customers see. But your actual margin calculations must use VAT-exclusive figure...

⏱️ 2 min read 👁️ 201 📅 22 Feb 2026
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What food cost percentages are normal in hospitality?

A 6% reduction in food cost percentage equals €30,000 extra profit annually for a €500,000 restaurant. Most operators think 35-40% food cost is acceptable, but...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 201 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I know if my labor costs are eating into my margins?

Most restaurant owners think they know their labor costs — but they're usually wrong by 15-20%. You might be tracking gross wages, but forgetting employer contr...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 200 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate an average purchase price when prices...

Ingredient costs bounce around more than a pinball these days. Your beef supplier charges €8/kg one week, then €9.50 the next. You need one solid average price...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 200 📅 21 Feb 2026
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How can you decide which dishes to keep based on numbers?

Which dishes keep your business profitable and which ones cost you money? Many restaurant owners cling to popular dishes that secretly drain profits. Smart oper...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 199 📅 22 Feb 2026
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How do I calculate the impact of a higher menu price on...

A €3 price increase on your best-selling dish can add €1,100 to your annual profit. Most restaurant owners avoid raising prices because they fear customer backl...

⏱️ 3 min read 👁️ 199 📅 21 Feb 2026
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What's the difference between gross profit and net...

Every restaurant owner who's ever stared at their P&L at 2 AM knows this feeling - great food costs, terrible bottom line. You're hitting 70% gross margins on p...

⏱️ 2 min read 👁️ 199 📅 21 Feb 2026
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