A 70 percent GP dish can still lose you money.
CostReady prices your menu on what a plate actually costs, not just the food, so the gross profit on the board matches the money in the till.
The problem
Gross profit is the number every cafe runs on, and it is calculated on food alone. That is the problem. A sandwich at 70 percent GP looks healthy until you add the packaging, the three minutes of staff time to build it, and the eight percent you throw away at close. Menus get costed once at opening and then never again, while every supplier invoice quietly moves underneath them.
How you sell, per portion
You sell per portion and think in GP, so CostReady does both. Cost a prep batch once, say how many portions it yields, and you get a cost per portion with the batch beside it. GP is shown against food cost the way your accountant expects, and the true margin is shown next to it with packaging, labour and waste counted.
Two numbers, not one
Cost the batch
Price a prep batch as you actually make it, including the trim, then say how many portions it truly yields.
Check the GP
Food over price, the number your accountant and your supplier will ask about. It tells you whether the price is plausible.
Then check the truth
Add packaging, build time and waste. That is the margin the dish actually earns, and it is the one that pays wages.
What gross profit does not see
The costs outside GP
- Packaging: cup, lid, box, cutlery, on every takeaway sale.
- Build time: three minutes of a paid hour, on every plate.
- Waste: what you bought, prepped and binned at close.
- Portion drift: the spoon that is slightly too generous, on every cover.
| A sandwich at £4.50 | On the board | In reality |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | £1.35 | £1.35 |
| Packaging | Not counted | £0.28 |
| Build time | Not counted | £0.60 |
| Waste at 8% | Not counted | £0.11 |
| Margin | 70.0% GP | 48.0% |
Calculators for cafes
Free, no signup. Pick what you sell for tailored guidance and a FAQ for that product.
Guides for cafes
Cornerstone cafe guide. Pricing a menu on GP, then checking what the plate actually earns once packaging, labour and waste are counted.
What Food Cost Percentage Should a Cafe Target? (UK)The benchmark numbers, why drinks and food differ so much, and what the percentage does not tell you.
Portion Control and Waste in a Cafe (UK)How portion drift and end-of-day waste quietly rewrite a costed menu.
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Start freeFrequently asked questions
What GP should a cafe target?
Sixty eight to seventy five percent on food is the usual UK benchmark, with drinks considerably higher. Treat it as a check on whether a price is plausible rather than proof that a dish is profitable.
Why does a 70 percent GP dish still lose money?
Because gross profit counts food only. Packaging, the staff minutes to build the dish and the waste at close all sit outside it. Together they routinely take a 70 percent GP down to a true margin near 48.
Should takeaway be priced differently from eat-in?
They carry different costs, since takeaway adds a cup, lid and bag, and in the UK the VAT treatment can differ. Costing them as separate tiers is more honest than averaging the two.
How much does portion drift cost?
More than most cafes expect. Thirty grams of extra filling on a £4.50 dish is 29p a plate, which is six and a half points of GP and roughly £4,200 a year on forty covers a day.
How often should I re-cost the menu?
Whenever a supplier price moves materially, and at minimum each season. A menu costed at opening and never revisited is the most common reason a busy cafe makes no money.