Prime cost is the number that matters most. It’s your food cost plus your labor cost, and for most restaurants it should land between 55% and 65% of total sales. If you’re above that range, you’re leaving very little margin for rent, utilities, and everything else that keeps the doors open.

A weekly food cost report shows what percentage of your food sales went to purchasing food. Calculate it by taking your beginning inventory, adding purchases, subtracting ending inventory, and dividing by food sales for the same period. Most restaurants target 28% to 35% depending on concept. A casual dining spot might run higher food cost with lower labor, while a quick-service restaurant often flips that ratio.

The food cost calculation only works if your inventory counts are accurate. Running physical counts at least weekly gives you real numbers instead of guesses. Compare actual food cost to theoretical food cost based on what your recipes say you should have used given your sales. The gap tells you where waste, theft, or portioning problems are happening.

Labor cost reports break down what you’re spending on wages, payroll taxes, and benefits as a percentage of sales. Most restaurants aim for 25% to 35% total labor cost. Track it weekly at minimum because labor is controllable in real time. If sales drop on a Tuesday night, you can send someone home early. You can’t make that decision if you’re only looking at labor numbers once a month.

Sales by category reports help you understand where revenue is coming from. Knowing that 40% of sales come from entrees and 15% from alcohol changes how you think about pricing and menu mix. It also helps you spot trends before they become problems.

Comp and void reports track meals that went out but didn’t generate revenue. A certain amount is normal for guest recovery or kitchen mistakes. When comps and voids spike, something is wrong. It could be training issues, a problematic server, or theft. Review these weekly and investigate anything unusual.

Waste tracking documents food that gets thrown away before it reaches a customer. Spoilage, prep mistakes, overproduction. This is money in the trash can. A simple waste log reviewed weekly makes the problem visible so you can address it.

Cash over/short reports reconcile what the register says you sold against what’s actually in the drawer. Small variances happen. Consistent shortages from the same register or the same shift need attention.

The reports only help if someone is actually looking at them. Weekly review of food cost, labor cost, and sales mix should be non-negotiable. Monthly isn’t frequent enough for restaurants and bars because by the time you see the problem, you’ve already lost weeks of margin.

If your current bookkeeping doesn’t produce these reports, you’re operating blind. That might mean your books need organizing, or it might mean your chart of accounts isn’t set up to separate the categories that matter. Either way, bookkeeping cleanup and catch-up services can get your financials structured so the numbers actually tell you something useful about your business.