Your restaurant's financial result is the profit or loss you make per quarter. Many restaurant owners reach the end of each quarter without knowing if they've actually made money or taken a loss. You'll discover step-by-step how to calculate your quarterly result and avoid common pitfalls.
What is financial result?
Financial result is straightforward: Revenue minus all costs = profit or loss. But here's where it gets tricky - correctly recording all costs and properly allocating them to the quarter.
The main cost categories
For an accurate quarterly result, you need to map out all costs:
- Food cost: All ingredients and beverages
- Personnel costs: Wages, social contributions, holiday pay
- Housing: Rent, gas, water, electricity
- Other costs: Insurance, accountant, repairs
💡 Example quarterly calculation:
Restaurant with €180,000 quarterly revenue:
- Revenue: €180,000
- Food cost (30%): €54,000
- Personnel costs: €63,000
- Rent and energy: €18,000
- Other costs: €12,000
Result: €180,000 - €147,000 = €33,000 profit
Handling VAT correctly
Be careful with VAT in your calculation. Your till revenue includes VAT, but for your result you calculate excluding VAT:
- Till revenue food: includes 9% VAT
- Till revenue alcoholic drinks: includes 21% VAT
- For result: divide by 1.09 or 1.21
⚠️ Watch out:
Many entrepreneurs calculate with till revenue including VAT. Then your result looks higher than it actually is. Always calculate excluding VAT for an honest picture.
Include all personnel costs
Personnel costs are more than just the paid wage. Also include:
- Employer social contributions (approximately 25% of gross wage)
- Holiday pay (8% of annual salary, distributed over quarters)
- Sick leave allowance
- Any bonuses or 13th month
💡 Example personnel costs:
Chef with €3,000 gross per month:
- Gross wage per quarter: €9,000
- Employer social contributions: €2,250
- Holiday pay (8%): €720
- Total per quarter: €11,970
Depreciation and large expenses
Large purchases like kitchen equipment aren't counted all at once, but depreciated over several years. An oven costing €12,000 with 5-year depreciation costs you €600 per quarter.
Inventory adjustment
For an accurate result, you need to compare your inventory value at the beginning and end of the quarter. From analyzing actual purchasing data across different restaurant types, this step often reveals the biggest discrepancies in financial calculations:
- Inventory start of quarter: €8,000
- Purchases during quarter: €45,000
- Inventory end of quarter: €7,000
- Actual food cost: €45,000 + €8,000 - €7,000 = €46,000
💡 Why inventory adjustment?
If you only look at purchases, you miss the difference in inventory. If you've bought more than you've sold, your actual food cost is lower than your purchases.
Benchmarks for a healthy result
A healthy profit margin for restaurants is between 8% and 15% of revenue. With €180,000 quarterly revenue, this means €14,400 to €27,000 profit per quarter.
⚠️ Watch out:
These are guidelines, not absolute truths. Your result depends on your concept, location, and operations. Use these percentages as a starting point for analysis.
How do you calculate your quarterly result? (step by step)
Gather your revenue figures
Get your till revenue from the past 3 months. Divide this by 1.09 (food) or 1.21 (alcohol) to get revenue excluding VAT. This is your actual revenue for the result calculation.
Add up all costs
Make a list of all expenses: purchases, wages, rent, energy, insurance, repairs, accountant. Don't forget social contributions and holiday pay. Also include depreciation from large purchases.
Adjust for inventory change
Add your inventory value at the start of the quarter to your purchases, and subtract your inventory value at the end of the quarter. This gives you the actual food cost for the quarter.
Calculate the result
Subtract all costs from your revenue excluding VAT. Is the number positive? Then you've made a profit. Is it negative? Then you've made a loss. Divide the result by your revenue for your profit percentage.
✨ Pro tip
Run your quarterly calculations within 2 weeks of each quarter's end to catch seasonal trends early. Missing this 14-day window means you're already halfway through the next quarter before spotting problems.
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 VAT in my result calculation?
No, always calculate excluding VAT. The VAT you collect isn't yours, but must be paid to the tax authorities. For an honest picture of your profit, calculate excluding VAT.
What if my result is negative?
Then you're making a loss. Analyze where the biggest cost items are: food cost above 35%, personnel costs above 40%, or too high fixed costs can be causes.
Should I include depreciation?
Yes, large purchases like kitchen equipment are depreciated over several years. An oven costing €10,000 with 5-year depreciation costs you €500 per quarter in your result calculation.
📚 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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