Administration after closing costs you more than you think. Every evening after a long workday, if you still have to do an hour of administration, it feels especially exhausting. But there are also concrete costs attached to it that you might not see directly.
The real costs of evening administration
If you have to do an hour of administration every evening after a long workday, it feels especially tiring. But there are also concrete costs involved that you might not immediately see.
💡 Example:
You work 6 days a week and do 1 hour of administration at home every evening:
- Time per week: 6 hours
- Owner hourly rate: €25 (conservative)
- Costs per week: €150
- Costs per year: €7,800
That's almost €8,000 per year on your own time.
Energy costs and mental strain
After a 12-hour day in the kitchen, your concentration is not optimal. This causes you to make mistakes faster, work slower, and feel less fresh the next day.
- Calculation errors: Wrong food cost can cost you hundreds of euros per month
- Delayed decisions: Problems are only noticed later
- Less energy during the day: Impact on your performance in the kitchen
⚠️ Watch out:
Fatigue leads to wrong decisions. A 2% error in your cost price can cost you €8,000 per year at €400,000 revenue.
Missed revenue opportunities
The time you spend on administration is time you can't spend on your business. Think about:
- Menu development and new dishes
- Guest and team contact
- Purchasing optimization
- Rest and recovery for better performance
💡 Example calculation:
If you spent those 6 hours per week developing one new signature dish:
- Development time: 24 hours (4 weeks × 6 hours)
- Extra revenue per month: €2,000 (conservative)
- Extra revenue per year: €24,000
ROI: €24,000 revenue vs. €7,800 in administration time
The solution: automation and systems
The goal is not to avoid administration, but to do it more efficiently. With the right tools, you can gather the same information in a fraction of the time.
- Mobile entry: Enter data during the workday instead of afterwards
- Automatic calculations: No more manual Excel formulas
- Real-time insights: See problems immediately instead of afterwards
A system like KitchenNmbrs helps spread administration throughout the day. Instead of 1 hour in the evening, you do 5 minutes here and there during your workday.
💡 Time savings example:
From 1 hour of evening administration to 15 minutes spread throughout the day:
- Time savings: 45 minutes per day
- Savings per week: 4.5 hours
- Savings per year: 234 hours
- Monetary value: €5,850 per year
What does a system cost versus what does it deliver?
The investment in a good system often pays for itself within a few months, purely through time savings.
- KitchenNmbrs: €24.99 per month = €300 per year
- Time savings: €5,850 per year
- ROI: 1950% return on your investment
And that's not even counting the improved insights into your food cost and profitability.
How do you calculate the costs of evening administration?
Measure your current time spending
Keep track for a week of how much time you spend on administration after closing. Include both direct time (entering, calculating) and preparation time (finding papers, gathering figures).
Calculate your hourly rate as owner
Divide your desired annual salary by 2080 working hours (40 hours × 52 weeks). This is what you should pay yourself per hour. Calculate at least €25 per hour, even as an owner.
Add up the annual costs
Multiply your weekly administration time by your hourly rate and by 52 weeks. Add 20% to this for the mental strain and reduced performance the next day due to fatigue.
✨ Pro tip
Measure exactly how much time you spend on evening administration for a week. Most owners underestimate this by 30-50%. Also count the time you need to get back on track after interruptions.
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
Isn't €25 per hour too high for your own time?
€25 per hour is actually conservative for an entrepreneur. You carry all the risks and responsibilities. Calculate more realistically at €30-40 per hour for a realistic estimate of the value of your time.
Can't I just do administration during the day?
During the day you're busy with guests, team, and operations. Doing administration during the day means less attention to your business, which can mean lost revenue. The evening is often the only quiet time.
What if I enjoy doing administration?
Even then it costs you time you could spend on your business. It's not about whether you enjoy it, but about the opportunity costs - what else could you have done with that time?
How much time can a system really save me?
On average, entrepreneurs save 60-75% of their administration time with a good system. From 1 hour to 15-20 minutes per day is realistic, especially through automatic calculations and mobile entry.
What if I make mistakes due to fatigue?
Errors in cost price calculation are expensive. A 2% error in your food cost can cost you €8,000 per year at €400,000 revenue. That's more than what you spend on a system.
📚 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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