Most restaurant owners know their revenue precisely and their profit only approximately. Revenue is one number that appears at the end of the day; margin has to be worked out item by item, and that is tedious enough that everyone postpones it. This guide shortens it.
Step one: ingredient cost
Take a single item and write down everything that goes into it by actual weight, not estimate. Chicken in grams, oil in millilitres, bread by the piece, sauce by the spoon. Then multiply each by its purchase price per unit.
Step two: waste
Not everything you buy reaches the plate. Peeling, trimming, fat removed, and stock that expires. Add a realistic waste rate per ingredient — typically 5% to 20% for fresh produce, close to zero for tinned goods.
Chicken breast
Bread
Vegetables
Sauce and spices
Packaging (delivery)
| Ingredient | In the dish | After waste | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken breast | 180 g | 200 g (10% waste) | ₪7.00 |
| Bread | 1 piece | 1.05 pieces | ₪1.05 |
| Vegetables | 70 g | 85 g (18% waste) | ₪1.30 |
| Sauce and spices | 40 g | 42 g | ₪1.15 |
| Packaging (delivery) | 1 | 1 | ₪1.20 |
Step three: the margin
Margin = (selling price − ingredient cost) ÷ selling price. In the example above the cost is ₪11.70. Sell the dish at ₪32 and the margin is 63%. Sell the same dish through a delivery app taking 25% commission and you actually receive ₪24, so the margin falls to 51%.
Step four: classify the menu
Plot your items on two axes — order volume and margin — and they fall into four groups, each with a different decision attached.
Star
Driver
Workhorse
Hidden
| Category | Description | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Star | High volume, high margin | Put it at the top of the menu and push it |
| Driver | High volume, low margin | Raise the price slightly or cut the cost |
| Workhorse | Low volume, high margin | Promote it — it is your biggest missed opportunity |
| Hidden | Low volume, low margin | Remove it; it occupies your kitchen for nothing |
Why nobody does this monthly
Because prices move. Today's calculation is wrong once chicken goes up 8%. A manual costing is correct once and starts ageing immediately — which is exactly what Noqta automates: it ties your costs to current prices and recalculates the margin on every item for you.