Restaurant Overhead Calculator

Restaurant Overhead Calculator

Restaurant Overhead Calculator

Use this free Restaurant Overhead Calculator to understand your fixed costs and how they impact your profitability. From rent to staff salaries and software subscriptions, it gives you a clear view of what you’re spending—and what you need to earn to break even.

What This Overhead Calculator Does

Running a restaurant is expensive, and overhead costs can eat into your profits faster than you think. This tool helps you calculate your total overhead so you can:

  • Set realistic sales targets

  • Identify cost-cutting opportunities

  • Benchmark against industry standards

  • Understand your true break-even point

Use it monthly, quarterly, or annually—just keep your inputs consistent.

Overhead Red Flags That Could Be Costing You Big

Red Flag

What It Means

What You Should Do

Overhead > 35% of revenue

Your cost structure may be unsustainable

Reevaluate rent, utilities, admin salaries, or unused subscriptions

Unrealistic profit margins

You may have left out important costs

Check for hidden or recurring expenses like benefits, fees, or tech tools

Labor costs seem too low

You might be underestimating your team size or hours

Ensure you’ve included all salaried and admin staff

Inflated revenue estimates

Can lead to false confidence

Base projections on real data or conservative forecasts

Fixed costs are too high

Limits your flexibility during slow seasons

Shift where possible to variable or performance-based costs

Break-even point feels too low

Likely due to missing expenses

Cross-check with your actual P&L or past financials

Mixed time units

Skews results and comparison

Stick to monthly, quarterly, or yearly inputs consistently

Doesn’t match your actuals

May be due to skipped categories or bad data

Revisit inputs and validate against financial records

No buffer for emergencies

Leaves you vulnerable to surprise costs

Add a safety net of 5–10% for unexpected maintenance, price hikes, or legal issues

Missing small recurring expenses

These add up and quietly hurt your margins

Include all licenses, software, marketing fees, and service charges

Pro Tip: What Gets Measured, Gets Managed

With KNOW, you can digitize daily tasks, reduce inefficiencies, and empower your teams—so your overhead doesn’t control your growth. From maintenance logs to training, audits, and staff scheduling, KNOW keeps you lean and focused.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is restaurant overhead?

Overhead includes all non-food, non-variable costs needed to run your restaurant—like rent, salaries, insurance, tech tools, and marketing.

2. What is a healthy overhead percentage for restaurants?

Most restaurants aim to keep overhead at 30–35% of total revenue. Higher than that can strain profit margins.

3. Why is it important to calculate overhead?

Knowing your overhead helps you set smarter sales targets, prevent overspending, and avoid surprise shortfalls. It also helps in setting your menu prices strategically.

4. How often should I use this calculator?

Review your overhead at least quarterly or whenever you make major changes (like hiring, expansion, or cost increases).

5. Can this calculator work for chains or multi-unit restaurants?

Yes! Just make sure you consolidate costs per outlet or use the calculator per location to get accurate comparisons.