Restaurant break-even calculator

Break-even is rarely a single number on a napkin — it is the relationship between covers, average spend, fixed costs, and the gross profit you can hold on food. Still, before you build a full seasonal model, it helps to see whether monthly sales and costs even share the same postcode.

The calculator below uses the same public logic as our Reality Check modeler: six trading days per week, even flow through the year, and VAT excluded. Slide in rent, any finance repayments, staffing, and your target gross profit. When you are ready for timing, sensitivity tables, and menu-level margin work, continue in the full Clove modeler.

Read more about margin drift and pricing on our blog.

Revenue

How busy is a typical trading day, and what do guests spend?

Covers or paying guests on a typical open day.

Average ticket excluding VAT.

Fixed costs

Rent and any finance repayments that show up every month.

Base rent for the site.

Optional. Leave blank if none.

Staffing & food

Monthly staff cost and the gross profit % you expect to hold on food.

Payroll for the month (ex employer extras if you prefer).

Typical hospitality food GP is often in the mid-60s to mid-70s. Higher means leaner ingredient cost relative to sales.

70%

Ingredients ≈ 30% of sales at this GP.

Snapshot

Compare monthly revenue to costs to see how tight the gap is — a practical lens before you model full break-even timing.

Fill the basics, then show the snapshot when you are ready.

Enter clients per day and spend per head to unlock the snapshot.

Assumptions
  • Six trading days per week
  • Even demand through the month
  • VAT excluded from spend and prices
  • Ingredient cost implied by your target GP%

Indicative only — not a forecast or financial advice.

Ready for the full picture?

Lock an operating model, cost the menu, and bring sales in — then weekly Signals show whether reality still matches the plan.

Begin free setup

Public Quick Model figures are indicative. They do not replace professional advice or your own due diligence.

Go deeper in Clove

This page is a quick, public sanity check. When you are ready for line-level dishes, menu lists, and sales benchmarks, move into the product with a free account.