Food Cost & Waste
How to measure, control, and cut food cost and waste — guides, the math behind food cost percentage, and free calculators to run your own numbers.
Free Tools
Restaurant Food Waste Calculator
Log one week of waste and project the monthly and annual cost.
Food Cost & Waste Calculator
Food cost percentage, waste, overstock, and shrinkage in one health score.
Inventory Spreadsheet Template
A free count sheet with par levels and usage built in.
Guides & Research
Best Food Cost Software for Restaurants
Compare the best food cost software for restaurants — recipe costing, actual-vs-theoretical food cost, invoice automation, and profitability tools.
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage for a Restaurant
The food cost percentage formula, a worked example, healthy benchmarks, and practical ways to lower your food cost — plus a free calculator.
The 45-Minute Prep List: How Restaurants Lose Money Before Service Even Starts
A field note on how restaurants lose money before service begins — through guesswork, over-prepping, missed long-prep items, and weak inventory routines.
Why Restaurants Should Stop Counting Inventory Once a Month
The walk-in can look full while food cost keeps climbing. A field note on why monthly counts arrive too late, and how a short weekly count of the items that move margin fastest changes the math.