Financial Procedures for a Restaurant Kitchen
In the heat and flurry of a restaurant kitchen, it can be easy to lose track of the fact that a restaurant is a business, and it must be financially viable to survive. A financially healthy restaurant kitchen must put out a quality product and charge a price that covers costs and still feels fair to the diners who enjoy it. A financially healthy restaurant kitchen must also keep its costs under control by purchasing and staffing shrewdly, and keeping waste to a minimum.
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Labor Costs
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According to Food Service Warehouse, labor costs for a restaurant should total about 20 percent of its revenue. If your restaurant sells $10,000 worth of food each week, then its labor costs should be about $2,000 per week. The percentage of these costs dedicated to the front and the back of the house may vary, and shrewd restaurant owners often cross train employees to fill in at different jobs as needed. Regardless of how your restaurant allocates its labor costs, keep close track of how much you're paying for kitchen labor. Address high labor costs by creating more efficient systems and scheduling fewer employees for slower shifts.
Purchasing
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According to Allfoodbusiness.com, the cost of ingredients for a typical restaurant menu item should run between 30 and 35 percent of its retail price, depending on the type of restaurant you run. In other words, a $10 menu item should use $3 to $3.50 worth of ingredients. Determine the price of each menu item by tallying the cost of the ingredients that you typically use to produce it. Also, keep track of your kitchen's ingredient invoices, and ensure they add up to a viable percentage of the revenue your kitchen generates.
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Inventory
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A financially viable restaurant kitchen should develop effective procedures for purchasing and managing inventory. Track the amount of each ingredient you use in each menu item, as well as the quantity of each menu item you typically serve. Whenever possible, design menu items that use a core group of ingredients, to avoid complicated purchasing systems. Buy enough inventory to meet demand, but avoid spending too much money on ingredients you won't use anytime soon; this practice will keep your capital liquid to cover immediate financial obligations such as rent and payroll.
Waste
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Because food items are often perishable, financial systems for restaurant kitchens should closely monitor food waste and keep it to a minimum. Keep a record of ingredients you throw away, and note the reason for discarding them, such as whether they've spoiled or whether they're wasted because of employee errors.
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References
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