Free restaurant financial tool

Restaurant Break-Even Sales Calculator

Find the monthly and daily sales your restaurant needs to cover fixed expenses and variable operating costs.

Enter one month of costs

Use amounts and percentages from the same month or planning period.

Fixed operating costs

Occupancy costs *

Fixed labor costs *

Insurance, licenses, and subscriptions *

Other fixed operating costs *

Variable costs as a percentage of sales

Food and beverage cost % *

Variable labor cost % *

Merchant and delivery fees % *

Other variable costs % *

Fixed costs stay fairly steady. Variable costs rise and fall with sales.

Some restaurant expenses, especially labor, contain both. Split them based on how your operation actually behaves and avoid counting the same cost twice.

Optional planning details

Current or projected sales (optional)

Target operating profit (optional)

Days open in the period (optional)

Your information is not saved or sent to TrueCount Services.

How is restaurant break-even sales calculated?

Restaurant break-even sales are calculated by dividing fixed operating costs by the contribution margin percentage expressed as a decimal. Contribution margin is what remains after variable costs are deducted from sales. At break-even, operating income is approximately zero before taxes and other excluded items. Fixed costs stay fairly steady as sales change; variable costs rise or fall with sales. If you enter a target operating profit, the calculator adds it to fixed costs before calculating the sales needed to reach that target. The result depends on how accurately costs are classified. It may not reflect loan principal, income taxes, owner draws, depreciation, or unusual expenses unless you deliberately include them. This is an educational planning tool, not accounting or tax advice.

Want to understand the biggest operating costs behind break-even? Use the Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator.