Percy Plate is a web-based food cost calculator for food trucks, caterers, cottage food producers, and small restaurant owners. It lets you enter your ingredients and what you pay for them, build recipes, and instantly see the cost per serving and recommended sell price based on your target food cost percentage.

Yes. Percy Plate has a free plan that lets you create up to 10 ingredients and 5 recipes to calculate food cost. A paid subscription ($14.99/month or $119.99/year) unlocks unlimited ingredients and recipes plus inventory tracking, revenue reporting, menu engineering, Prime Cost, AI invoice scanning, FDA nutrition facts labels, FDA ingredient labels, and label printing.

How does Percy Plate calculate food cost?

You enter each ingredient, the unit you buy it in (lb, oz, gallon, etc.), and what you pay per unit. When you build a recipe, Percy Plate converts the recipe quantities to your purchase units, calculates the cost of each ingredient used, and divides by the number of servings to give you a cost per serving. It also shows the food cost percentage and a suggested sell price.

Can Percy Plate generate nutrition facts labels?

Yes. Percy Plate can look up nutrition data from the USDA FoodData Central database for each ingredient, then automatically calculate the per-serving nutrition for a recipe. It generates an FDA-format Nutrition Facts panel that can be printed directly to thermal labels (Brother, Dymo, Zebra) or Avery sheet labels in sizes 2x4 inch and 3.33x4 inch.

Can Percy Plate generate an ingredient list label?

Yes. Percy Plate generates an FDA-compliant ingredient label that lists ingredients by weight (heaviest first), automatically detects the top 9 FDA allergens, and includes your business name and net weight. Labels can be printed to thermal printers or Avery sheet labels.

What label printers work with Percy Plate?

Percy Plate supports thermal label printers including Brother QL series (DK-1202 2x4 inch labels), Dymo LabelWriter (30334 and similar), and Zebra desktop printers. It also supports Avery 5163 (2x4 inch) and Avery 5164 (3.33x4 inch) sheet labels for standard desktop printers.

Who is Percy Plate designed for?

Percy Plate is designed for small food business owners including food truck operators, cottage food producers, caterers, small restaurant owners, and anyone who sells homemade or prepared food and needs to track ingredient costs, price their menu, and produce product labels.

Does Percy Plate work on mobile?

Yes. Percy Plate is a web application that works on any device with a modern browser, including phones and tablets. You can look up ingredient costs, update recipe quantities, and check your food cost percentage from anywhere.

How do you calculate food cost percentage?

Food cost percentage = (ingredient cost per serving ÷ menu price) × 100. For example, if your ingredients cost $3.50 and you sell the dish for $12.00, your food cost percentage is 29.2%. Most food businesses target 28–35%. To set a price from a target, divide ingredient cost by your target: $3.50 ÷ 0.30 = $11.67 suggested price at 30% food cost.

What is a good food cost percentage for a small food business or bakery?

Most food businesses target a food cost percentage between 28% and 35%. Bakeries and cottage food producers often achieve lower food cost percentages (20–28%) because flour, sugar, and butter are inexpensive relative to retail prices. Full-service restaurants tend to run 30–35%. The right target depends on your labor costs, overhead, and pricing power in your market.

How do I calculate the cost per serving of a recipe?

Add up the ingredient cost for the full batch, then divide by the number of servings. For each ingredient, multiply the quantity used by the cost per unit (converting units as needed). For example: 8 oz flour at $0.89/lb = $0.89 ÷ 16 × 8 = $0.44. Sum all ingredient costs, then divide by servings. Percy Plate does this calculation automatically once you enter your ingredient prices and recipe quantities.

How does yield percentage affect recipe costing?

Yield percentage accounts for trim loss, cooking shrinkage, and waste. If you buy 1 lb of chicken but only 0.75 lb is usable after trimming, your yield is 75%. To get accurate food costs, divide the as-purchased cost by the yield percentage: $4.00/lb ÷ 0.75 = $5.33 per usable pound. Percy Plate lets you set a yield percentage (AP to EP) on any ingredient so your recipe costs reflect what you actually use.

What is the best recipe costing software for a small food business?

The best recipe costing software for a small food business depends on your needs. Percy Plate ($14.99/month) is built specifically for cottage food producers, food trucks, caterers, and small restaurants — it includes recipe costing, menu pricing, FDA ingredient labels, nutrition facts labels, inventory tracking, and revenue reporting. Competitors like meez start at $24/month and scale to $199/month. Square and Toast do not include recipe costing natively.

Is there free recipe costing software for home bakers or cottage food businesses?

Yes. Percy Plate has a free plan that includes recipe food cost calculation and menu pricing suggestions. The free plan lets you create up to 10 ingredients and 5 recipes. For unlimited recipes, FDA labels, nutrition facts, and inventory tracking, the paid plan is $14.99/month or $119.99/year. No credit card is required to start.

How do I price homemade baked goods to make a profit?

Start with your ingredient cost per batch, then divide by the number of units to get ingredient cost per item. Add packaging (boxes, bags, labels) as a per-unit cost. Then set a target food cost percentage — most cottage food bakers aim for 25–35% — and divide your total ingredient cost by that percentage to get a minimum price. For example: $0.85 ingredient cost per cookie ÷ 0.30 = $2.83 minimum price at 30% food cost. Factor in your time and overhead to ensure you are actually profitable, not just covering ingredients.

What are the labeling requirements for cottage food products?

Most states require cottage food labels to include: (1) the product name, (2) your name and home address, (3) a list of ingredients in descending order by weight, (4) a disclosure statement such as 'Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state or local health department,' and (5) allergen declarations for any of the 9 major FDA allergens present. Some states also require net weight. Requirements vary by state — check your state's cottage food law for specifics. Nutrition Facts panels are generally not required for cottage food operations below a certain revenue threshold.

Do I need a nutrition facts label on my cottage food products?

Most cottage food producers are exempt from FDA Nutrition Facts label requirements under the small business exemption (fewer than 100 full-time employees and fewer than 100,000 units sold annually). However, you must still list ingredients in descending order by weight and declare all major allergens. Some states impose additional requirements. When in doubt, check your state's cottage food law and the FDA's small business labeling exemptions.

What allergens must I disclose on a homemade food label?

FDA requires disclosure of 9 major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame. These must be declared on all food labels, including cottage food products — even if a full Nutrition Facts panel is not required. The standard format is a 'Contains:' statement after the ingredient list, for example: 'Contains: Wheat, Eggs, Milk.' Percy Plate detects all 9 allergens automatically from your ingredient names.

How do I create a nutrition facts label for homemade food?

To create a Nutrition Facts label for homemade food: (1) look up the nutrition data for each ingredient using the USDA FoodData Central database, (2) calculate the per-serving amounts for calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, and other nutrients, (3) format the panel according to FDA guidelines with serving size, servings per container, and daily value percentages. Percy Plate automates this — it looks up USDA nutrition data for your ingredients, calculates per-serving totals, and generates a print-ready FDA-format Nutrition Facts label for thermal or sheet labels.

How do I list ingredients in the correct order on a food label?

FDA regulations require ingredients to be listed in descending order by weight — the ingredient present in the greatest amount by weight must appear first. For example, if your muffin contains more flour than sugar, flour must be listed first. Sub-ingredients (like those in a chocolate chip) must be listed in parentheses immediately after the component. Percy Plate sorts ingredients automatically by weight when generating your label.

What information is required on a homemade food product label?

A complete homemade food label generally requires: (1) the name of the food, (2) the net quantity (weight or count), (3) an ingredient list in descending order by weight, (4) allergen declarations for all 9 major FDA allergens, (5) your business name and address, and (6) for cottage food specifically, a state-required disclosure statement such as 'Made in a home kitchen not inspected by the state health department.' Nutrition Facts panels are usually optional for small cottage food producers below certain revenue thresholds.

Food Cost vs. Total Cost: What's the Difference?

By Heidi Macomber · June 27, 2026 (updated July 31, 2026)

Most operators are well-versed in food cost, but total cost is what truly shows whether your business is sailing ahead or simply staying afloat.

Knowing when to focus on food cost and when total cost deserves the spotlight is essential for a thriving food business. Many operators fixate on food cost alone, only to be puzzled when healthy sales still lead to thin profits at the end of the month.

What Food Cost Covers

Food cost, or ingredient cost, is the total price of the ingredients needed for a dish or recipe. It’s usually shown as a percentage of the selling price. For example, if a menu item uses $3.00 in ingredients and sells for $10.00, the food cost is 30%.

Food cost matters because it’s something you can control. You can experiment with recipes, negotiate better supplier deals, fine-tune portions, or update menu prices. Food cost is the backbone of menu pricing, and tools like Percy Plate help you keep it firmly in check. But it’s only one piece of the puzzle.

But food cost is just one piece of the puzzle.

What Food Cost Doesn't Include

Every food business faces costs beyond ingredient costs. These additional expenses fall into two main categories:

Labor costs cover the time spent prepping, cooking, and serving each item. Whether you’re paying yourself or a whole team, labor is a real expense that never appears on your ingredient list.

Overhead costs includerent or commissary fees, utilities, packaging, equipment maintenance, insurance, permits, credit card fees, and marketing. These are the fixed or semi-fixed expenses you pay regardless of how many items you sell.

Total cost, or true cost, combines all these expenses. In other words, it uncovers the actual price of putting a single item into your customer’s hands.

To calculate the total cost per item, start with the dish's food cost. Then divide your total labor and overhead costs by the total number of items sold in a given period, such as a week or month, to get labor and overhead costs per item. Add that amount to the food cost for each sale. For example:

Food cost (ingredients): $3.00
Labor (time spent prepping and cooking, divided across servings): $2.00
Overhead (rent, utilities, etc., divided per item): $1.00

Your total cost per item would be $6.00. In short, this shows the real cost of producing and selling a menu item, not just what goes into the recipe.

Food cost vs. total cost at a glanceFood cost: ingredients onlyTotal cost: ingredients + labor + overhead + packagingA $10 menu item with a 30% food cost ($3.00 in ingredients) might have a total cost of $6.50–$7.50 once labor and overhead are factored in: leaving a real margin of $2.50–$3.50, not $7.00.

Why the Distinction Matters

Operators who focus only on food cost might hit their 30% target yet still struggle as labor and overhead quietly nibble away at their profits. This is especially true for businesses with high labor demands, such as bakeries making everything from scratch or catering companies that require extra attention to every dish.

On the other hand, coffee shops and drink-focused businesses often keep food costs low (18–25%) because they need extra margin to cover higher labor costs per sale.

The smartest approach is to let food cost guide your daily decisions since it’s precise and easy to track. For labor and overhead, a simple spreadsheet can help you record weekly or monthly totals for things like hours worked, rent, and utilities. Even a quick monthly review helps keep your total costs visible. For best results, schedule a monthly time to update and review your labor, overhead, and total cost data. Some operators may also find it helpful to do a deeper analysis each quarter. Setting a regular review routine will help you spot trends early and make smarter decisions as your business grows.

Start With Food Cost, Then Broaden Your Perspective

For most independent food businesses, getting your food costs right should be your top priority. That means knowing the exact ingredient cost per portion for every menu item. With that in place, you’ll be ahead of most operators who still rely on guesswork to set their prices.

Once you have that foundation, adding in labor and overhead gives you the full picture of your true cost per item. From there, you can set prices that keep your business thriving.

Get your food cost right first, then move on to the total cost.

Percy Plate calculates your exact ingredient cost per portion for every recipe, tracks changes as supplier prices rise or fall, and suggests menu prices based on your target food cost percentage. With that foundation, you can truly understand what it costs to make your menu.

Learn more and start at percyplate.com.

Related Guides

Restaurant Prime Cost Explained: The Number That Predicts Survival — Prime cost as the full cost picture
How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage: A Complete Guide for Restaurants — The food cost percentage formula
Restaurant Percentages: Every Ratio Owners Must Track — Every restaurant ratio in one place
What's a Good Food Cost Percentage for My Business? — Healthy food cost benchmarks

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