A clear view of costs & profit

Use one time period throughout

Record sales and costs for the same day or service period. Multiplying a per-serving cost by servings while entering a weekly wage as if it were daily makes the comparison misleading. Our tools use a generic accounting model and display the formula.

• Revenue = price per serving × servings sold.
• Operating costs = ingredient usage + wages + rent + other overhead.
• Net profit = revenue − operating costs.
• Margin = net profit ÷ revenue, when revenue is positive.

Separate inventory spending from usage

Buying a large batch can reduce cash today even when some ingredients remain for future service. The profit calculator expects the ingredient cost of servings sold; a cash-flow log should instead record the actual purchase. These answer different questions.

Prices can be observations, not constants

The January 2025 blog describes market changes linked to events and the newspaper. The March 2026 Q&A also mentions vendor relationships affecting prices. Store the vendor, date and build with any observed price; do not turn one purchase into a timeless global value.

• Record purchase quantity and unit cost.
• Note any displayed relationship or event context.
• Recheck the observation after patches.