Picture this: you've just wrapped up another busy lunch rush, the cash register shows €545, and you're wondering if today was actually profitable. Most food truck owners get excited about revenue numbers but forget the dozens of costs eating into their margins. Here's how you calculate what you really earned today.
Collect all daily costs
For an accurate profit calculation, you need to capture every single expense from that day. Not just your ingredients, but all the fixed costs that keep ticking even if you sell one burger or a hundred.
💡 Example daily costs food truck:
- Ingredients: €180
- Fuel: €35
- Pitch fee: €25
- Gas/electricity: €15
- Share of insurance: €8
- Share of truck depreciation: €45
Total costs: €308
Calculate your revenue excluding VAT
Your cash register revenue includes 9% VAT that you'll hand over to the tax office. For your profit calculation, you only count what actually stays in your business.
Formula: Revenue excl. VAT = Cash register revenue / 1.09
💡 Example:
Cash register revenue: €545 (incl. 9% VAT)
Revenue excl. VAT: €545 / 1.09 = €500
Subtract all costs from your net revenue
Now you can determine your actual profit by subtracting every cost from your VAT-free revenue.
Formula: Daily profit = Revenue excl. VAT - Total costs
💡 Example calculation:
- Revenue excl. VAT: €500
- Total costs: €308
- Profit: €500 - €308 = €192
Profit margin: 38.4% of your net revenue
⚠️ Important:
Don't forget to count your own salary. If you want to earn €100 per day for yourself, subtract that from your profit too.
Account for seasons and weather conditions
Food trucks face more unpredictable revenues than brick-and-mortar restaurants. A rainy Tuesday can slash your revenue by 60%, while a sunny festival weekend might triple it.
- Calculate your average profit per week, not per day
- Keep a buffer for slow days
- Balance good and bad days together
Use digital tools for precise tracking
Manually tracking costs eats up time and creates mistakes. This is a pattern we see repeatedly in restaurant financials - owners who track digitally spot profit leaks 3x faster than those using spreadsheets.
✅ Benefits of digital tracking:
- Automatic cost price calculation per dish
- Overview of most profitable products
- Trend analysis over weeks and months
- No forgotten costs anymore
How do you calculate your daily profit? (step by step)
Write down your cash register revenue for that day
Check your cash register or payment app for the total revenue including VAT. Write down this amount or save it digitally.
Calculate your revenue excluding VAT
Divide your cash register revenue by 1.09 to remove the VAT. This is your actual revenue you can make profit on.
Add up all costs for that day
Calculate ingredients, fuel, pitch fee, gas and your share of fixed costs (insurance, depreciation) together.
Subtract total costs from net revenue
Your profit = revenue excl. VAT minus all costs. This is what's really left over for you as an entrepreneur.
✨ Pro tip
Track your profit per customer every 3 weeks by dividing daily profit by the number of orders served. If you're earning less than €3.20 profit per customer, you need to either increase your average order value or streamline your cost structure.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I count my own salary in the costs?
Absolutely - calculate at least €80-120 per day for yourself. Otherwise you won't know if your food truck is genuinely profitable or if you're essentially working for free.
How do I calculate fixed costs per day?
Divide your monthly costs by 30, or your annual costs by 365. Insurance of €2,400 per year equals €6.58 per day.
What if I have a terrible day with low revenue?
Then you'll make a loss that day, and that's normal. That's why you should analyze weekly performance, not just daily. Strong days need to offset the weak ones.
How much profit margin is normal for a food truck?
A healthy food truck achieves 25-40% profit on net revenue. Anything below 20% makes it tough to sustain your business long-term.
Should I always count my full fuel expense?
Only count the fuel you actually consumed that day. If you drove 50km and spent €15 on fuel, that's your fuel cost for that specific day.
What about seasonal ingredients that cost more in winter?
Factor in seasonal price fluctuations by tracking your ingredient costs weekly. Tomatoes might cost 40% more in January, which directly impacts your daily profit calculations.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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