Free restaurant financial tool

Restaurant Labor Cost Calculator

See the full cost of restaurant labor, including wages, employer payroll taxes, benefits, and other employer-paid labor expenses.

Enter your numbers

Use sales and labor costs from the same week, month, or accounting period.

Sales

Total net sales *

Target labor cost % (optional)

Wages

Front-of-house (FOH) wages *

Back-of-house (BOH) wages *

Management wages *

Employer-paid labor costs

Employer payroll taxes *

Benefits & workers’ compensation *

Other labor costs *

Wages + employer payroll taxes + benefits + other direct labor costs = fully loaded labor

Your information is not saved or sent to TrueCount Services.

Your fully loaded labor cost percentage

—$0

Enter sales and labor costs from the same period to see your result.

Compare this result with your own budget and prior periods. Staffing needs vary by concept and service model.

Total wages

Costs beyond wages (payroll burden)

Employer payroll taxes, benefits, workers’ compensation and other labor costs entered above.

Wages as % of sales

—

Extra labor costs as % of wages

—

Payroll burden divided by total wages, not by sales.

Target labor cost ($)

—

Difference from target ($)

—

Actual cost minus target cost in dollars. Over means higher cost; under means lower cost.

The percentage tells you how much. The schedule and records tell you why.

TrueCount helps independent restaurants connect sales, staffing, and bookkeeping so labor-cost changes are easier to understand.

Explore Prime Cost Reporting Setup

What is fully loaded labor cost in a restaurant?

Fully loaded restaurant labor cost includes wages and management salaries plus employer-paid payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, benefits, bonuses, and other direct employer-paid labor expenses. Payroll burden means the costs beyond wages, including the taxes, benefits and other labor costs entered here. Use costs and sales from the same period, and apply the same method each time so changes are meaningful. This calculator is an educational tool, not accounting or tax advice.

Want more context for your labor numbers? Compare labor with food and beverage costs using the Restaurant Prime Cost Calculator, or measure productivity with the Sales Per Labor Hour Calculator.