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 calculator and FDA label generator

Know your numbers.
Price with confidence.

Recipe costing, inventory tracking, menu engineering, nutrition labels, and revenue reporting. Built for food trucks, bakeries, cottage food producers, caterers, and independent restaurants. No finance degree required.

Free forever. No credit card. Takes 30 seconds.

Not for multi-location chains or enterprise restaurants. Built for solo operators and small teams.

Spreadsheets hold the old price until someone re-keys it. By the time you notice a supplier price jumped, you've been selling that dish at a loss for weeks. See how Percy Plate compares to a spreadsheet →

See what's inside

Real screenshots from a live Percy Plate account.

Operator Dashboard

Revenue, food cost %, menu items, and action items at a glance

Recipe Costing

Ingredient-by-ingredient cost breakdown with suggested pricing

Menu Engineering

Star/Plowhorse/Puzzle/Dog analysis for every menu item

Restaurants Food Trucks Bakeries Caterers Cottage Food Coffee Shops Pizzerias BBQ

Everything you need to run the numbers

From costing your first recipe to scaling for profit. Six pillars covering the full journey. See the full roadmap →

Know Your Costs

What does each dish actually cost you?

Enter ingredient prices once. Get exact cost per serving for every recipe, every time. Sub-recipes, unit conversions, and batch scaling all automatic.

+ Recipe costing
+ Cost per serving
+ Sub-recipes
+ Unit conversion
+ Batch scaling

Price for Profit

What should you charge?

Set your target food cost percentage. See suggested sell prices instantly. Model price changes before you commit.

+ Target food cost pricing
+ Menu price suggestions
+ Margin per dish
+ Menu price increase modeling

Understand Your Margins

Are you actually making money?

Food cost is not profit. See prime cost (food + labor). Track actual vs. theoretical food cost. Know which menu items are Stars, Plowhorses, or Dogs.

+ Prime cost analysis
+ Actual vs. theoretical
+ Menu engineering (Stars/Plowhorses/Dogs)
+ Gross margin per dish

Control Your Business

Where is your money going?

Track inventory, log purchases, and watch for price creep from vendors. See revenue across every channel. Run closeouts with sales tax reports.

+ Inventory tracking
+ Purchase logging
+ Vendor price comparison
+ Revenue dashboard
+ Sales tax reports

Label and Sell

Need FDA-compliant labels?

Generate Nutrition Facts panels, ingredient labels sorted by weight, and automatic allergen detection. Print to thermal or sheet labels. Built for cottage food, bakery, and packaged food.

+ FDA Nutrition Facts
+ Ingredient labels by weight
+ Automatic allergen detection
+ Thermal and sheet label printing

Learn the Business

The numbers behind a profitable menu.

Plain-English guides on food cost, pricing, prime cost, and menu engineering. Written for owners, not accountants.

+ Food Cost 101
+ Menu pricing strategy
+ Prime cost explained
+ Cottage food labeling rules

Free account gets you started. Pro unlocks everything.

Recipe cost, menu price, food cost percentage, prime cost. Create a free account to try the core calculators. Go Pro for the full toolkit.

Free forever. Pro is $14.99/mo.

Start free and upgrade when you need inventory tracking, revenue reports, FDA labels, and more. No credit card to start. Cancel anytime.

Free

Best value — save $60

Annual

$119.99/yr

Monthly

$14.99/mo

At $14.99/month, Percy Plate costs less than one bad shift's lost margin — and roughly 13-23x less than MarginEdge ($350/mo) or MarketMan ($199-$249/mo).

Cancel anytime, no questions asked.

Payments processed securely by Stripe. Percy Plate never sees or stores your card details.

Heidi Macomber

Founder, Percy Plate

I built Percy Plate because I kept watching food businesses guess at pricing instead of calculating it. A spreadsheet that's one supplier price change out of date can quietly turn a profitable dish into a loss.

Common questions

See all FAQs

Do I need an account to use Percy Plate?+

A free account is required to add your own ingredients and recipes. It takes about 30 seconds and there is no credit card required. The free calculators and quiz work without an account.

What does the paid plan include?+

Inventory tracking, revenue closeouts with tax reports, revenue dashboard, actual vs. theoretical food cost analysis, batch scaling, FDA ingredient labels, Nutrition Facts labels, and margin alerts. $14.99/month or $119.99/year.

Does it work on my phone?+

Yes. Percy Plate is mobile-friendly. Add ingredients, cost recipes, and check margins from your phone while standing in the walk-in.

Can I cancel anytime?+

Yes. Cancel from your account settings at any time. Your data stays saved. Re-subscribe whenever you want and everything is still there.

Does Percy Plate work with my POS?+

Percy Plate is a standalone web app, so there is no POS dependency. Log revenue and purchases directly. Square and Toast do not include recipe costing natively, so Percy Plate fills that gap alongside whatever POS you already use.

Can I export my recipes if I cancel?+

Yes. You can export your recipes and ingredients to CSV at any time, whether or not you keep your subscription.

Is there a contract or cancellation fee?+

No. Percy Plate is month-to-month with no contract. Cancel anytime from your account settings with no fee.

How long does setup take?+

About 30 seconds to create a free account, and you can cost your first recipe within a few minutes of signing up.

Know your numbers.Price with confidence.