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.

By Heidi Macomber · July 17, 2026 (updated July 28, 2026)

How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage: A Complete Guide

If you run a restaurant, food cost percentage is one of the most critical numbers in your business. Get it wrong, and you could be losing thousands of dollars a month without realizing it. Get it right, and you will have a clear picture of your profitability on every plate that leaves your kitchen.

This guide walks through the exact formula, industry benchmarks, and the common mistakes that silently drain restaurant profits.

What Is Food Cost Percentage?

Food cost percentage is the ratio of the cost of ingredients used to the revenue those ingredients generate when sold. It tells you how much of every dollar from food sales goes toward paying for the food itself.

For example, if a burger costs you $4.50 in ingredients and you sell it for $15, your food cost percentage for that item is 30%. That means 30 cents of every dollar from that burger goes to food costs, and the remaining 70 cents covers labor, overhead, and hopefully profit.

The Food Cost Percentage Formula

There are two formulas you need to know.

Per-Dish Food Cost

For a single menu item:

Food Cost Percentage = (Cost of Ingredients / Menu Price) x 100

Overall Food Cost

For your restaurant over a period of time (weekly, monthly):

Food Cost Percentage = (Beginning Inventory + Purchases - Ending Inventory) / Total Food Sales x 100

The second formula is the one you will use most often for monthly reporting and benchmarking.

Step-by-Step Calculation

Step 1: Take Inventory

Count everything. Every ingredient in your walk-in, dry storage, freezer, and behind the line. Assign each item its unit cost based on your most recent invoices.

Step 2: Add Purchases

Add all food purchases made during the period. This includes deliveries, farmer's market runs, emergency Costco trips, everything.

Step 3: Take Ending Inventory

At the end of the period, count again. Same process, same level of detail.

Step 4: Calculate Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

COGS = Beginning Inventory + Purchases - Ending Inventory

Step 5: Divide by Food Sales

Divide your COGS by total food sales for the same period, then multiply by 100.

Example

Beginning inventory: $8,200
Purchases during the month: $22,500
Ending inventory: $7,800
Total food sales: $58,000

COGS = $8,200 + $22,500 - $7,800 = $22,900

Food Cost Percentage = ($22,900 / $58,000) x 100 = 39.5%

What Is a Good Food Cost Percentage?

Industry benchmarks vary by concept:

Restaurant Type	Target Food Cost %
Quick Service / Fast Casual	25-30%
Casual Dining	28-32%
Fine Dining	30-35%
Pizzeria	30-35%
Bakery / Cafe	30-35%

A general rule of thumb is that total cost of goods (food + beverage + paper) should be around 30-35% of sales for most full-service restaurants.

Your prime cost (food cost + labor cost) should ideally land between 55% and 65% of total sales. If your prime cost exceeds 65%, you have a profitability problem that needs immediate attention.

Common Mistakes That Skew Food Cost

1. Not Counting Waste and Comp Items

Every plate that goes out the door without generating revenue still costs you ingredients. Employee meals, voided orders, comped items, and burned steaks all eat into your margins. Track these separately so you can see how much they are costing you.

2. Ignoring Shrinkage

A 10-pound box of Brussels sprouts does not yield 10 pounds of trimmed, cookable product. If your recipes do not account for yield percentages, your per-dish cost calculations are too low.

3. Using Supplier Prices That Are No Longer Current

Food prices fluctuate constantly. If you priced your menu six months ago and have not updated your recipe costs since, you are likely underpricing several items.

4. Forgetting to Factor in Free Goods and Rebates

If you get volume rebates or free items from suppliers, factor those into your actual cost. A can of tomatoes that lists at $2.40 but comes with a 10% rebate actually costs $2.16.

How to Lower Your Food Cost Percentage

Engineer Your Menu

Identify your stars (high popularity, high profitability) and your dogs (low popularity, low profitability). Promote stars, rework or eliminate dogs.

Negotiate with Suppliers

Get at least three quotes on your top 20 items. Suppliers expect this. A 5% reduction on a $20,000 monthly food bill saves $1,000 a month.

Control Portion Sizes

If your line cooks are plating 7 ounces of chicken instead of the recipe-specified 6 ounces, you are giving away 16% more protein on every plate. Portion cups, scales, and consistent training fix this.

Reduce Spoilage

Track which ingredients are thrown away most often. Adjust par levels, reorder frequency, or menu items that use those ingredients before they go bad.

Food Cost Percentage vs. Gross Profit Margin

These are related but different metrics. Food cost percentage tells you what you spend. Gross profit margin tells you what you keep.

If your food cost is 32%, your gross profit margin on food is 68%. That 68% has to cover labor, rent, utilities, insurance, marketing, and everything else.

Track both. Food cost percentage for operational efficiency. Gross profit margin for overall financial health.

Food cost percentage is not a number you calculate once. It is a living metric that should be tracked weekly at minimum. The restaurants that monitor it closely catch pricing problems before they become profit problems.

Related Guides

What's a Good Food Cost Percentage for My Business? — What a healthy food cost percentage looks like
Restaurant Food Cost Percentage Benchmarks for 2026 — Current benchmarks by concept
Food Cost vs. Total Cost: What's the Difference? — Food cost vs total cost explained
How to Cost a Plate of Food: The Complete Guide — Foundation plate costing skills

Stop guessing what your dishes cost.

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