The numbers to check every month to grow your restaurant

Growing a restaurant business isn't only about more covers or more orders. It's about growing what you keep. A short monthly look at the right numbers shows you where to push, and where you are working hard for very little.

The monthly check

• Net sales by channel, branch and brand, compared with the month before and the same month last year.
• What each channel leaves you after the platform's commission, fees and VAT on fees.
• Food cost, as a share of net sales, by branch.
• Staff costs and premises costs against net sales.
• Profit down to EBITDA, by branch, and for the whole business once head office costs are counted.
• What's missing. A month with missing reports or costs isn't finished, and decisions made on it can be wrong.

What to act on

• A branch whose sales grow but whose profit doesn't: look at its channel mix, its food cost and its staffing.
• A brand that sells well but leaves little: check its prices on each platform and the cost of its dishes.
• A channel whose share is growing: make sure it's one that leaves you a good margin, and if not, adjust prices or promotions.
• A cost that jumped: find out whether it is a one-off or the new normal before it becomes the new normal.

Make it a habit

Pick a day each month, once the last reports are in. The routine only works if the numbers are complete and trusted, so the same figures come out the same way every time. That's what lets you see real change, not noise.