Menu/Recipe Costing

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jwood97

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wanted to know what software are you using to cost out your menu. In the process of writing my business plan and need to get the selling price of the bbq meats, sides etc. If you're not using a software, what formula are you using to get the selling price of your bbq, and how do you factor in the labor cost.

Thanks
 
The baseline seems to be 3x the food cost. But I'll let the more seasoned veterans give you better guidance.
 
You can use excel to build it out.... Just build your ingredient list, buying cost and quantity, and convert it to cost per recipe unit. Then build your menu on another page... Just remember to include overhead items like charcoal, rub, etc. You should be able to get those details close and fine tune later.

Labor costs are interesting. Pretty solid mix of fixed and variable costs to account for. Should be able to bang that out in excel as well.

Are you in a market where you can realistically set your price or is there already pretty standard pricing you'll have to meet and see if you can actually pull off?
 
highergr0und its going to be the san diego market, so the price is somewhat has a standard pricing. I was told about the excel, just not good at using excel as of yet. Was hoping someone had one already done so all i have to do is put in the amounts, weights etc. Or a formula to get the selling price of the meats, sides etc. Rockinar I'll check that out also
 
No mater what the Excel results are you have to consider the market more than anything. If local prices for what you want to serve are too low for you to make the profit you want find a different cuisine that will.
 
Yeah, a market with relatively set prices will demand an extra good business plan.

I put together a basic sheet for building recipes. It allows you to enter raw products, build prep items, and build recipes to see costs. Give it a whirl and let me know how it works. I could probably tweak it a bit here or there to make it a bit more user friendly, but I just did what I could do in 20 minutes.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xl4ibqjttlz4nw2/Basic Recipe Building Worksheet.xlsx?dl=0
 
I wouldn't mind trying to build something more advanced that really got into capturing all the aspects of the business for folks.... Just would need some input. I like doing business models but haven't had much of a chance to do so in a while
 
ok highergr0und I'll look this over. I think you should build one. The kind that all you have to do is put in the price per pound, weights, yield etc and it will give you the price per ounce, pound etc. Plus give you the selling price. I found this on youtube, but don't know if it can work for bbq https://youtu.be/F5TQ8lD_s-c?list=PL4TGljNPWjnJ-VKGhrNEfPiZD1w7JJzDN
 
I Have tried the 3x the cost of the food, there are times it works and then there are times when it comes in too high for the competition and I loose business. There are those who say " if I cant make money, then I wont do the job", thats all well and good, and I cant disagree, but there are also times when getting a job is also important. I wonk work for free, but I will be competitive in the market place, and in order to survive, I will do whatever it takes. If its 2x the cost, then thats what it is.
 
sunrise said:
I Have tried the 3x the cost of the food, there are times it works and then there are times when it comes in too high for the competition and I loose business. There are those who say " if I cant make money, then I wont do the job", thats all well and good, and I cant disagree, but there are also times when getting a job is also important. I wonk work for free, but I will be competitive in the market place, and in order to survive, I will do whatever it takes. If its 2x the cost, then thats what it is.
Click to expand...

That is fine if you know all your costs before you bid. The OP has too many variables to do that. The company that you are losing business to, will not be around long because they are not covering their costs. Just as in anything else you get what you pay for. Your competitor is cutting somewhere to make it up.
 
3x cost has never been meant as a means of setting cost for menu items, it was an approximate check equation developed by one of the many restaurant owners industry groups out there as a means to do a quick back check on an existing menu. It really is intended to provide a quick review of both food costs and operation costs.

The only true way to really determine your menu costs is to take a very hard look at overhead costs, desired profit, equipment and consumable costs, and food costs. It's also important to understand that some items will not bring as much coverage for overhead and profit as others. It isn't a uniform equation. Beverages, especially alcohol will always carry a larger load of the profit compared to, say, salad. Appetizers are another place to find higher profits, while something like pulled chicken is almost always a place holder.
 
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