Beverage Cost & Pour Calculator

How are beverage cost and pour cost calculated?

Beverage cost percentage compares the cost of one serving with its selling price. For liquor, wine and draft beer, the calculator first divides bottle or keg volume by serving size to estimate full servings (also called theoretical pours), then calculates cost per serving. The servings figure includes a fractional serving equivalent and assumes every ounce is served; it is not rounded down to whole drinks. For draft beer, optional allocated gas and other nonrefundable direct keg costs are added to keg product cost first. Refundable keg deposits are excluded. Beverage cost % (also called pour cost) is direct beverage cost per serving divided by selling price, multiplied by 100. Gross profit here is selling price less direct beverage cost, before labor and overhead. Suggested price uses your own target cost percentage.

The expected yield assumes no product loss. Actual servings accounted for means all servings recorded from a fully used bottle or keg, including tracked comps (free drinks). Yield is recorded servings divided by expected servings; the serving gap compares those two counts. A 750 mL bottle contains about 25.36 US fluid ounces; a US gallon contains 128 fluid ounces. Yield variance can reflect over-pouring, spills, comps, unrecorded drinks, incorrect serving sizes, or other product loss. Draft beer may also be affected by foam and line cleaning. Targets depend on your restaurant and beverage program; there is no universal percentage.

Want to see how beverage cost affects your overall operation? Use the Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator to combine food, beverage, and fully loaded labor costs.

Results are estimates based on the figures entered and are for restaurant management and planning.