Cost KPIs
- Food cost % — cost of ingredients as a share of food sales. The core margin lever.
- Labor cost % — wages as a share of sales. Watch it live, not just at month-end.
- Prime cost — food plus labor combined. Many operators manage to this single number.
Sales & guest KPIs
- Average check — average spend per guest or table. Loyalty and upsells move it.
- Covers — number of guests served, by day and shift, for staffing and prep.
- Table turnover — how many times a table is used per service. More turns, more revenue.
Putting them to work
A KPI only matters if it changes a decision. Pick the few above, review them on a regular rhythm, and tie each to an action: high labor % means adjusting the schedule; falling average check means revisiting upsells and menu design; slow turnover means rethinking service flow.
The easiest way to stay on top of them is a system that calculates these automatically from your real sales, labor, and inventory data — so the numbers are always current and trustworthy.