Many restaurant owners think external staffing costs are separate from labor expenses. That's wrong. These planning costs directly impact your personnel budget and need proper tracking. Otherwise, you'll never know your true cost per hour worked.
What counts toward external staffing planning?
External staffing planners bring multiple cost layers that affect your bottom line:
- Monthly subscription to the planning software
- Hourly rate of the external planner (if you hire someone)
- Implementation costs for setting up the system
- Training costs for your team to learn the system
💡 Example:
Restaurant with 12 employees uses external staffing planner:
- Software subscription: €89/month
- External planner: 4 hours/month × €45 = €180
- Implementation: €500 (one-time, depreciated over 24 months = €21/month)
Total monthly costs: €290
Calculate the impact on your labor cost percentage
Include planning expenses in your personnel calculations to get real numbers:
Formula:
Total labor cost % = (Wages + Social contributions + External planning costs) / Revenue × 100
💡 Example calculation:
Restaurant with €40,000 monthly revenue:
- Wages: €12,000
- Social contributions: €2,400
- External planning: €290
- Total personnel costs: €14,690
Labor cost: €14,690 / €40,000 × 100 = 36.7%
Is external staffing planning worthwhile?
After managing kitchen operations for nearly a decade, I've seen the real value comes from measuring costs against actual savings:
- Time savings: How many hours per week do you save by not scheduling yourself?
- Less overtime: Better planning prevents expensive overtime
- Fewer no-shows: Professional planning reduces staff absences
- Optimal staffing: Not too many or too few employees scheduled
⚠️ Note:
Always include external planning costs in your break-even calculation. These costs are just as fixed as your rent or insurance.
Alternative: in-house scheduling
Compare external planning costs with the time you'd spend doing it yourself:
💡 Calculation example:
If you as a business owner spend 6 hours/week on scheduling:
- 6 hours × €25 (your hourly rate) = €150/week
- Per month: €150 × 4.3 = €645
- External planning: €290/month
Savings: €355/month with external planning
Tax registration
External staffing planning costs are fully deductible as business expenses. Keep all invoices and subscription receipts. These costs fall under 'external services' in your accounting, not under labor costs.
A food cost calculator can help you track all expenses (including external services) and see their impact on your total cost per dish.
How do you account for external staffing planning costs? (step by step)
Gather all costs
Note the monthly software subscription, hourly rates of external planners, and any implementation costs. Convert one-time costs to monthly costs by depreciating them over 24 months.
Add to total personnel costs
Add the external planning costs to your wages and social contributions. This gives you the actual total labor cost per month.
Calculate new labor cost percentage
Divide your total personnel costs (including external planning) by your monthly revenue and multiply by 100. This shows you the impact on your labor cost percentage.
✨ Pro tip
Track your current scheduling time for 3 weeks before switching to external planning. If you're spending more than 4 hours weekly on schedules, outsourcing typically pays for itself within 60 days.
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
Are external staffing planning costs deductible?
Yes, these costs are fully deductible as business expenses. They fall under 'external services' in your accounting, not under labor costs.
How do I convert one-time implementation costs?
Divide one-time costs by 24 months to get a monthly amount. €500 implementation becomes €500 / 24 = €21 per month.
Should I include these costs in my break-even?
Yes, external planning costs are fixed costs just like rent. They must be included in your break-even calculation to know how much revenue you need at minimum.
📚 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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