Resource Hub
Restaurant Financial
Management UK
Most restaurants fail financially not because they don’t make enough money — but because they don’t track the right numbers weekly. GP%, food cost%, prime cost, and weekly P&L are the four metrics that determine whether you’re actually profitable. This hub covers all of them.
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GP% Calculator
Food GP%, drinks GP%, combined — with RAG status vs UK benchmarks.
Calculate GP% →
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Menu Pricing Calculator
Enter ingredient cost, get recommended selling price and GP per dish.
Price Your Menu →
What Restaurant Financial Management Actually Means
Financial management for a restaurant isn’t accountancy. It’s not quarterly reports or year-end filings — those are for your accountant. Financial management is the weekly discipline of knowing your GP%, your food cost%, your labour%, and your net profit before anything else demands your attention.
The most profitable restaurants track these numbers every single week, without exception. The ones that struggle check them monthly, quarterly, or “when something feels wrong” — by which point the damage is already done. A weekly P&L takes 20 minutes to run. The information it gives you is worth far more than that.
Food revenue£8,000
Drinks revenue£10,000
Food cost (32%)−£2,560
Drinks cost (33%)−£3,300
Gross profit£12,140
Labour (28%)−£5,040
Overheads (rent, utilities, etc)−£3,600
Net weekly profit£3,500
The Three Numbers That Matter Most
Food GP% — target 63–68%. Below this and your menu is priced too low or your food cost is out of control. Above it sustainably means your pricing and purchasing are working. Prime cost — food cost + labour combined, target below 60%. This is the number most restaurants ignore and most accountants don’t flag until it’s too late. Weekly net profit — everything else is vanity, this is what you’re actually building towards.
Financial Management Deep Dives
Ten articles covering GP%, food cost, menu engineering, P&L and more.
Restaurant Console — Financials Module
GP Tracker + Weekly P&L in One Place
The Financials module inside the Restaurant Console runs your weekly P&L automatically once you enter revenue and cost figures. It calculates food GP%, drinks GP%, combined GP%, prime cost, and net profit — all with RAG status against UK benchmarks. No accountancy knowledge required.
Weekly P&L generator
Food GP% tracker
Drinks GP% tracker
Prime cost dashboard
Menu pricing tool
Annual projection
Part of the 25-module Restaurant Console — £97 one-time, runs in Google Sheets you own permanently.
Common Financial Questions
What is a good gross profit margin for a UK restaurant?
63–68% on food and 65–70% on drinks is the UK benchmark. Combined GP% target is 64–68%. Below 60% combined usually means either food cost is too high, drinks margins are being eroded by waste, or menu pricing hasn’t kept pace with ingredient cost inflation.
How often should I run a restaurant P&L?
Weekly. Monthly P&Ls tell you what happened 4 weeks ago — too late to act. A weekly P&L takes 20 minutes and gives you information you can actually use. The Restaurant Console automates this once you enter weekly figures.
What is a good food cost percentage for a UK restaurant?
Below 32% on food. Below 33% on drinks. Combined below 35%. If your food cost is running at 38–40%, the problem is usually over-portioning, supplier pricing that hasn’t been reviewed recently, or menu items priced at cost levels from 18 months ago.
What is prime cost in a restaurant and why does it matter?
Prime cost = food cost + labour cost. It’s the most important single number in your P&L because it covers your two biggest variable costs together. UK target is below 60% of revenue. Above 65% and most sites are barely breaking even after fixed costs.
How do I improve restaurant GP%?
Three levers: increase selling prices (fastest), reduce food cost through portion control and supplier negotiation (most sustainable), or remove low-margin menu items and replace with higher-margin alternatives. Menu engineering — identifying your Stars vs Plowhorses — is the place to start.
Run Your Weekly P&L in 20 Minutes
GP tracker, weekly P&L, food cost dashboard, menu pricing tool and 21 more modules. £97 one-time.
Get the Console — £97
See All 25 Modules
Built at Teal Farm Pub — £916k revenue, 5-star EHO, #1 TripAdvisor Washington.
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