What if your hourly wage is less than your dishwasher's? Most restaurant owners work 70+ hours weekly but avoid calculating their real earnings. They're terrified of discovering they'd make more flipping burgers at McDonald's.
The painful truth you're avoiding
Restaurant owners know exactly what their chef earns per hour. Or their server. But their own hourly wage? That's forbidden territory.
⚠️ Note:
Most entrepreneurs only count their 'official' working hours. They forget evenings spent making schedules at home, Saturday morning shopping, Sunday administration.
The issue isn't that you earn too little. It's that you don't know. And what you can't measure, you can't fix.
Why we dodge this calculation
Fear of crushing disappointment
You launched your business to earn more than your old job. If you're making less than before, your entire entrepreneurial story crumbles.
No fair comparison exists
Employees get holiday pay, pension contributions, health insurance. You pay for everything yourself. How do you factor that mess in?
Income swings wildly
December's insane. January's dead. Do you use the peak or the valley as your baseline?
💡 Example:
Marco runs a bistro and works 65 hours weekly:
- Annual profit after tax: €42,000
- Working weeks per year: 50 (2 weeks vacation)
- Hours per week: 65
Hourly wage: €42,000 ÷ (50 × 65) = €12.92 per hour
Less than his server earns...
The hidden costs you forget
Entrepreneurs carry costs that employees don't:
- Pension contributions: €200-400 monthly you must save yourself
- Health insurance: Zero employer contribution
- Holiday pay: Comes from your profit
- Unemployment insurance: Doesn't exist for entrepreneurs
- Risk: Bad month = no paycheck
An employee earning €3,000 gross costs employers about €4,200 monthly. So you need €4,200 net to match that.
What the numbers really mean
💡 Realistic example:
Restaurant with €500,000 annual revenue:
- Profit before tax: €75,000
- Tax (25%): €18,750
- Net profit: €56,250
- Working hours per year: 3,200 (65h/week × 50 weeks)
Hourly wage: €56,250 ÷ 3,200 = €17.58 per hour
Sound reasonable? Think again:
- No holiday pay (deduct €4,700)
- No pension contributions (deduct €3,600)
- No health insurance contribution (deduct €1,800)
Real hourly wage: €14.45
Less than minimum wage for an experienced chef. This represents one of the most common blind spots in kitchen management - owners who obsess over every ingredient cost but ignore their own labor value.
The liberating truth
Sure, the numbers sting. But knowing where you stand opens the door to improvement.
✅ What you can do:
- Raise prices by 10% - that's €50,000 extra revenue
- Improve food cost from 33% to 30% - saves €15,000
- Work 5 hours less weekly - your hourly wage jumps by €1.80
With control over your numbers, you can steer. Without them, you're just guessing.
Taking the first step
You don't need perfect calculations. Start with a rough estimate:
Simple formula:
Annual profit ÷ (working hours per week × 50) = hourly wage
Below €20? You've got work to do. Above it? You're doing better than expected.
Tools like KitchenNmbrs help you control food costs and margins, so you can steer toward more profit per hour.
How to calculate your real hourly wage? (step by step)
Determine your net annual profit
Get your annual statement and find your profit after tax. This is what you actually take home. Don't add depreciation or other 'paper' costs.
Count your actual working hours
Track all hours you spend on the business for one week. Including home administration, shopping, making schedules. Multiply by 50 weeks (2 weeks vacation).
Calculate and adjust
Divide your net profit by your total working hours. Then deduct €3-5 per hour for pension, health insurance contribution and holiday pay that employees do get.
✨ Pro tip
Track your actual working hours for 30 days straight - including emails at home and weekend prep work. Most owners underestimate by 15-20 hours weekly, making their real hourly wage even lower.
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 private withdrawals as wages?
No, calculate with your actual profit after tax. Private withdrawals during the year are advances on that profit.
How do I account for seasonal fluctuations?
Take the average of at least 2 years. One good or bad year gives a distorted picture of your real earnings.
Is €15 per hour really that bad for an owner?
Compare it with what you'd earn as an employee, including benefits. For many owners, that's a brutal wake-up call.
What if my hourly wage is higher than expected?
Congratulations! But double-check that you've included all costs and haven't underestimated your hours.
How can I increase my hourly wage quickly?
Three options: make more profit, work fewer hours, or both. Start by controlling your food cost and margins.
Should I include equipment depreciation in my calculations?
For a rough estimate, no. But for accurate long-term planning, factor in €200-500 monthly for equipment replacement and major repairs.
What about the value of building equity in my business?
That's future potential, not current earnings. Calculate your hourly wage based on actual cash you can spend today, not theoretical business value.
📚 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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