Use this free restaurant break-even calculator to estimate monthly break-even sales, daily sales targets, guest counts, fixed costs, variable costs, and sales needed to reach a target profit.
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Restaurant Break-Even Calculator
Estimate the monthly sales, daily sales, and guest counts needed to break even or hit a target profit.
Calculator results are estimates. Check your invoices, payroll reports, POS reports, and accountant before making financial decisions.
How to use this restaurant break-even calculator
Enter your fixed costs, variable cost percentage, average ticket, operating days, and target profit. The calculator helps estimate how much sales you need to cover costs, how much you need per day, and how many guests or orders you need based on average ticket.
Restaurant break-even formula
Break-even sales are calculated by dividing fixed costs by contribution margin percentage. Contribution margin is the portion of sales left after variable costs.
Contribution margin percentage = 100% − variable cost percentage
Break-even sales = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin percentage
If you want to include target profit, add the target profit to fixed costs before dividing by contribution margin percentage.
Sales needed for target profit = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution margin percentage
Example break-even calculation
If monthly fixed costs are $38,000 and variable costs are 62% of sales, contribution margin is 38%. The monthly break-even point is about $100,000 in sales. If the restaurant is open 30 days per month, that means it needs about $3,333 in sales per day to break even.
Why break-even sales matter
Break-even sales show the minimum revenue needed before the restaurant starts producing profit. This helps owners set realistic daily sales goals, evaluate rent, control labor, plan menu pricing, and decide whether catering, delivery, events, or marketing campaigns are actually helping the business.
Common restaurant break-even mistakes
- Underestimating fixed costs like rent, insurance, software, repairs, licenses, and loan payments.
- Using food cost only instead of total variable costs.
- Forgetting delivery fees, merchant fees, packaging, discounts, and waste.
- Using average ticket numbers that do not match the current menu or customer mix.
- Using monthly break-even sales without converting it to a daily target.
- Ignoring seasonal swings, slow weekdays, weather, and local events.
When should restaurants review break-even sales?
Review break-even sales whenever rent, labor, menu prices, food costs, delivery fees, operating days, or sales patterns change. A new lease, new manager schedule, price increase, or major vendor change can all affect the daily sales needed to break even.
Restaurant break-even calculator FAQ
What is restaurant break-even sales?
Restaurant break-even sales are the sales needed to cover fixed costs and variable costs before profit. Once sales pass break-even, the remaining contribution margin can start producing profit.
What costs should be included in fixed costs?
Fixed costs may include rent, insurance, software, licenses, salaries, loan payments, equipment leases, utilities, accounting, repairs, and other costs that do not move directly with each sale.
What are variable costs in a restaurant?
Variable costs are costs that generally rise as sales rise. These may include food, beverage, paper, packaging, hourly labor, merchant fees, delivery commissions, discounts, and waste.
How do I calculate daily break-even sales?
Divide monthly break-even sales by the number of operating days in the month. For example, if monthly break-even sales are $100,000 and the restaurant is open 30 days, daily break-even sales are about $3,333.
Can this calculator help with target profit?
Yes. Add your target profit to fixed costs before dividing by contribution margin percentage. That estimates the sales needed to cover costs and reach the profit goal.