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Restaurant finance

The numbers that decide whether a restaurant survives — prime cost, profit and loss, cash flow, break-even, pricing and budgeting. Plain-English guides to reading your own books and making decisions before the bank statement makes them for you.

16 guides

FinanceAug 18, 2026· 6 min read

Opening a Second Restaurant Location: Is It Time?

A calm, honest guide to opening a second restaurant location: the readiness test, the money reality, and how not to break the first restaurant you built.

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Finance6 min

Negotiating a Restaurant Lease: Terms That Make or Break You

A restaurant lease can quietly decide whether your business survives. Here are the terms to understand and negotiate before you ever sign.

Aug 18, 2026
Finance6 min

Building a Restaurant Budget for the Year Ahead

A calm, practical guide to building a restaurant budget from your own history, budgeting by percent of sales, and using it to steer the year.

Aug 18, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Cash Handling: Register Controls That Protect You

A fair, practical guide to restaurant cash handling and register controls that protect your money and your honest staff from small daily leaks.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Insurance Basics: Coverage That Protects You

A calm, practical guide to restaurant insurance: the common coverage types, how to read a policy honestly, and how to match protection to your real risks.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

The Restaurant Metrics Actually Worth Watching Weekly

Stop drowning in data. The handful of restaurant metrics worth watching every week, why each one matters, and the cadence that turns numbers into decisions.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Bookkeeping Basics: Clean Books, No Degree

A practical guide to restaurant bookkeeping for owners without a finance background: build the habit, separate accounts, and keep clean books.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Financing: Understand Your Options First

A calm, honest guide to restaurant financing options, what lenders look for, and how to read the true cost of a loan before you borrow.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Menu Pricing: From Food Cost to Real Prices

A practical guide to restaurant menu pricing: use the food-cost method with a worked example, then adjust for value, labour, and margin.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Break Even: How Many Covers You Actually Need

Restaurant break even, explained simply: fixed vs variable costs, contribution margin per cover, the formula, and a worked example you can copy.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Startup Costs: Budgeting Honestly

The honest guide to restaurant startup costs: the one-time categories, the cash cushion most people forget, and how to build a padded budget from real quotes.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Building a Restaurant Cash Reserve That Survives Bad Months

A restaurant cash reserve buys calm and options when a slow season, surprise repair, or forced closure hits. Here's how to build one gradually.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Reading a Restaurant Profit and Loss Without an Accountant

How to read a restaurant profit and loss top to bottom: the five lines that decide the month, the ratios to watch, and the traps that mislead you.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance7 min

Restaurant Cash Flow: Getting Through a Slow Season

A calm, practical guide to restaurant cash flow in a slow season: forecast the trough, pull revenue forward, time bills, and build a buffer.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance7 min

Restaurant Credit Card Fees: What You Can Actually Lower

A calm, practical guide to restaurant credit card fees: the three fee layers, the one markup you can negotiate, and the fixes that backfire.

Aug 17, 2026
Finance6 min

Restaurant Prime Cost: The One Number to Run By

Restaurant prime cost combines food and labour as a share of sales. Learn the target band, how to calculate it weekly, and the levers to pull.

Aug 17, 2026
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