You're three months into running your food truck, pulling 12-hour shifts daily, but your bank account keeps shrinking. The real problem? You never figured out your actual break-even point. Most food truck owners wing it with their revenue targets, then scratch their heads wondering why profit remains elusive.
What are your fixed costs for a food truck?
Fixed costs slam you every month, regardless of sales volume. For food trucks, these expenses typically include:
- Truck rental/lease: €400-€800 per month
- Insurance: €150-€300 per month
- Permits and licenses: €50-€150 per month
- Phone and internet: €50-€100 per month
- Accounting: €100-€200 per month
- Maintenance and repairs: €200-€400 per month
- Fuel (base): €300-€600 per month
💡 Example:
Say you run a taco truck with these fixed costs:
- Truck lease: €650
- Insurance: €220
- Permits: €80
- Phone: €75
- Accounting: €150
- Maintenance: €300
- Base fuel: €450
Total fixed costs: €1,925 per month
Calculate your average gross margin
Your gross margin shows what remains after subtracting ingredient costs. Food trucks usually hit 65-75% margins, but don't guess—calculate yours precisely.
Formula: Gross margin % = (Selling price - Ingredient costs) / Selling price × 100
💡 Example:
You sell a taco for €6.50 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Selling price excl. VAT: €5.96
- Ingredient costs: €1.85
- Gross margin: €4.11
Gross margin %: (€4.11 / €5.96) × 100 = 69%
⚠️ Note:
Always calculate with prices excluding VAT for your gross margin. You'll remit the VAT to tax authorities anyway.
The break-even formula
Most kitchen managers discover this too late: your break-even isn't just fixed costs divided by items sold. You must factor in your gross margin percentage.
Minimum revenue = Fixed costs / (Gross margin % / 100)
💡 Example:
Using our taco truck numbers:
- Fixed costs: €1,925
- Gross margin: 69%
Minimum revenue: €1,925 / 0.69 = €2,790 per month
This means you need €2,790 in revenue just to break even.
Convert to daily sales
Divide your monthly target by working days to get your daily minimum. This number becomes your daily reality check.
💡 Example:
Working 5 days weekly (22 working days monthly):
- Minimum monthly revenue: €2,790
- Per working day: €2,790 / 22 = €127
At €6.50 per taco: 127 / 6.50 = 20 tacos daily to break even.
⚠️ Note:
Breaking even means zero profit. For a healthy business, target 30-50% above your break-even revenue.
Track your numbers accurately
Recording your recipes and costs precisely shows you exactly what each dish costs. This matters even more for food trucks because space constraints limit your menu.
Every dish on your menu needs to pull its weight financially, and you can quickly evaluate whether new recipes meet your profitability standards.
How do you calculate your minimum revenue? (step by step)
List all your fixed costs
Write down all costs you have every month, regardless of your sales: lease, insurance, permits, phone, accounting, maintenance, and base fuel. Add these together for your total fixed costs per month.
Calculate your average gross margin
Take your 3-5 best-selling dishes and calculate for each: (selling price excl. VAT - ingredient costs) / selling price excl. VAT × 100. Take the average of these percentages.
Apply the break-even formula
Divide your total fixed costs by your gross margin percentage (as a decimal). The result is your minimum monthly revenue to break even. For profit, you need to add 30-50% on top of this.
✨ Pro tip
Check your actual daily sales against your break-even target every single day for 4 weeks straight. You'll spot dangerous sales dips within 48 hours instead of discovering them at month-end.
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 include labor costs in my fixed costs?
Yes, if you have employees on payroll. But don't include your own salary—your compensation comes from profit after reaching break-even.
What if my gross margin differs per dish?
Use the weighted average of your best-selling items. If you mainly sell pizzas with a 70% margin, calculate with 70% instead of averaging all dishes.
How often should I recalculate my break-even point?
Every 3 months or whenever fixed costs change. Also recalculate when you add new dishes or supplier prices shift significantly.
What if I don't reach my break-even point?
You have three options: reduce fixed costs, raise prices, or improve gross margin through cheaper ingredients or better portion control. Analyze where you can make the biggest impact first.
Should I account for seasonal variations?
Absolutely—calculate using realistic averages. If winter sales drop 50%, summer months must compensate. Many food truck owners use their weakest month as the baseline.
How do I handle menu items with different profit margins?
Focus your break-even calculation on items that represent 80% of your sales volume. Don't let low-margin specialty items skew your core business math.
What about one-time startup costs versus ongoing fixed costs?
Separate these completely. Startup costs like equipment purchases are sunk costs—your monthly break-even calculation only needs ongoing fixed expenses that repeat every month.
📚 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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