A full dining room doesn’t mean you’re making money. Profit is what’s left after every cost, not just sales.
Net profit = Sales minus all costs (COGS, labor, rent, utilities, and everything else)
The numbers that tell the story
- Prime cost %: COGS plus labor as a share of sales. Your biggest lever.
- Net margin: net profit divided by sales. For independent restaurants this is often thin, just a few percent.
- Trend: one good month isn’t a pattern. Watch the direction over several months.
Hidden costs that quietly eat profit
- Delivery app fees.
- Payroll taxes and benefits on top of wages.
- Waste and comps.
- Software subscriptions.
The habit that matters
Check your real numbers regularly, not just the sales at the end of the night. Seeing profit, not revenue, is what keeps a restaurant alive.
Casacabe puts your sales, expenses, labor, and profit in one place, so you can see at a glance whether the month actually paid off.