Ask most restaurant owners how business is going, and you’ll hear things like, “We’ve been slammed,” or “Slower than usual.”
But volume isn’t the same as profit. And busy doesn’t always mean sustainable.
If you want to run your restaurant instead of letting it run you, you need to be tracking key performance indicators (KPIs)—and doing it weekly, not monthly or quarterly.
Here are five critical numbers smart operators track every single week. Most don’t—and it shows in their margins.
1. Prime Cost (Labor + COGS)
Your prime cost is the total of cost of goods sold (COGS) + labor costs, expressed as a percentage of sales. This is the single most important number in your business.
Formula:
Prime Cost % = (COGS + Labor) ÷ Total Sales
Target Range:
Typically 55%–65% for full-service restaurants (lower for quick service).
Why it matters:
Prime cost tells you how efficiently you're turning sales into profit. If it’s too high, your margins are being squeezed—fast.
Track it weekly so you can make immediate adjustments to schedules, menu pricing, or inventory orders before the problem compounds.
2. Weekly Break-Even Sales
This is the amount of revenue you must generate just to cover your fixed and variable costs—without turning a profit.
Formula (simplified):
Break-Even Sales = Fixed Costs ÷ Gross Margin %
Why it matters:
If you don’t know this number, you’re flying blind. Knowing your weekly break-even tells you if you’re making money—or just surviving.
Pro tip: Use this to guide your marketing and staffing efforts. If you’re pacing behind break-even midweek, it’s time to drive traffic, not coast.
3. Net Promoter Score (NPS) or Guest Satisfaction Feedback
Yes, this is a “soft” number—but it drives hard results. Whether through a survey, comment card, or automated feedback request, tracking customer satisfaction tells you what your POS report can’t.
Why it matters:
A drop in food cost doesn’t help if your guests aren’t coming back. Weekly feedback reveals service gaps, kitchen mistakes, or ambiance issues in real time.
Tip: Automate a post-dining survey (via Toast, Tattle, Ovation) and review the data weekly with your team.
4. Table Turn Time (and Sales per Seat Hour)
If you’re a dine-in operation, efficiency = profitability. Tracking average table turn time or sales per seat per hour helps you understand:
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Are we seating fast enough?
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Are guests lingering too long?
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Are we maximizing capacity during peak hours?
Why it matters:
Improving this number by even a few minutes can lead to more covers per night and higher total sales—without changing your staffing or square footage.
5. Top 5 and Bottom 5 Menu Items by Sales
Every week, you should know what’s moving and what’s collecting dust.
Why it matters:
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Your top sellers might be killing your margins—check cost vs. price.
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Your slow movers might be clogging the kitchen, confusing guests, or tying up inventory.
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This data helps you decide what to promote, 86, or highlight in specials.
Tip: Use your POS system to pull this report every Monday morning. Over time, you’ll spot patterns that can guide smart menu engineering.
Conclusion: Weekly Visibility = Long-Term Control
Restaurant success isn’t just about great food or full dining rooms—it’s about consistently managing the numbers that move the needle.
By tracking these five metrics every week:
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You’ll catch problems early
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Make smarter, faster decisions
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And build a more profitable, sustainable operation
Don’t wait for your accountant to tell you how you did last month. Know how you’re doing—this week.
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