Margin Sheets

Restaurant Break-Even Calculator

The sales line your restaurant has to cross every month before it makes a dollar — in dollars per month, dollars per day, and covers per day.

Rent ($/mo)

Fixed payroll ($/mo)

Salaried staff and guaranteed hours — not hourly flex labor (that's below)

Other fixed costs ($/mo)

Insurance, utilities base, licenses, software, loan payments

Food & beverage cost (%)

Your COGS as a share of sales

Other variable costs (%)

Hourly flex labor, supplies, card fees — as a share of sales

Days open per month

Average check ($)

Per cover (guest), not per table

Current monthly sales ($, optional)

See where you stand against break-even

Break-even sales per month

Line	Amount
Total fixed costs per month
Contribution margin (what each sales dollar keeps after variable costs)
Break-even sales per day open
Break-even covers per day
At your current sales: monthly profit / (loss)

How to use the number

Break-even is a floor, not a goal. If your break-even needs 60 covers a day and you're seating 45, the gap closes three ways: raise the average check (menu pricing, attach rates), cut variable cost (food cost is usually the biggest lever a kitchen controls), or cut fixed cost (the hardest, and slowest). Re-run this calculator with the change you're considering and see how far the floor moves before you commit to it.

Fixed vs variable is a simplification — some costs (labor especially) sit in both camps; put each cost where it behaves. For estimation only — not accounting or financial advice. Last updated November 2026.