Food cost calculator

What does inventory management return per site and year?

Set your sites, revenue, food cost, ordering and stock-count time. The calculator first shows what the gap between theoretical and actual food cost costs you today, then what two levers recover per year, what FoodNotify costs at around €300 per site and month, and when it pays back. The assumptions are listed openly below; the third lever deliberately gets no number.

Answered in brief

The key questions on food cost, without sliders. The figures come from live customer projects; sources are listed further down.

How much does inventory management save in hospitality?
The biggest lever is the gap between the food cost your recipes allow and what is actually used. Each percentage point of that gap equals one per cent of revenue and lands in the result as margin. At €1M revenue per site, 1.5 percentage points are around €15,000 a year, 4 percentage points around €40,000. Time comes on top: ordering drops from 52 to 9 minutes a day, stock counts to half.
How do I calculate my food-cost loss myself?
Multiply your annual revenue per site by the gap in percentage points, divide by 100 and multiply by your number of sites.Loss per year = revenue per site × percentage points ÷ 100 × sites
How large is the gap typically?
We conservatively assume 1.5 percentage points. At a chain with over 200 sites, the gap between theoretical and actual was more than 4 percentage points after roll-out, measured over three months with three complete stock counts. Without an actual-vs-theoretical analysis you do not know your gap, because it only becomes visible once recipes, POS and stock counts sit on one item master.
What does FoodNotify cost, and when does it pay back?
Entry starts at €174.90 per site and month on the Starter plan; for the usual scope expect around €300. Example: five sites with €1.5M revenue each and a conservative 1.5 percentage points give €112,500 margin gain a year against €18,000 cost. The cost is earned back after around 47 days.
When is it worth it?
From one site with around €1M revenue a year. The more sites, the bigger the effect, because head office sees every property in the same numbers and steps in where it pays off.
Is saved time the same as profit?
No. The food-cost lever is real margin gain; every percentage point lands in the result. Time is working time priced out: it goes back into operations and only becomes margin if it is not used up elsewhere. That is why we show both separately.

As of September 2026. Individual results from customer projects, no guarantee. Your value depends on recipe maintenance and POS connection.

Impact calculator

What is hiding in your food cost?

Between the food cost your recipes allow and what is actually used there are often several percentage points: waste, over-portioning, price increases nobody notices. Set your numbers and see what that means in euros.

Example calculation5 sites, €1.5M revenue per site. Set your own numbers.
Time for ordering and stock counts4 assumptions

Food cost per site

Theoretical from recipes, by category
Actual from stock count and POS

Your sites
Loss per year, based on your inputs
Food-cost gap Time value
the licence cost
until the licence is paid back
net after licence
Check with an expert
20 minutes, with a business of your size as reference. We take your values with us. FoodNotify cost at around €300 per site and month: per year.
One e-mail with your calculation and the booking link. No newsletter, no call.
How we calculate
1 · Food-cost gapThe difference between actual and theoretical food cost, visible only once recipes, POS and stock counts sit on one item master. Revenue × sites × gap.
2 · TimeOrdering in 9 instead of minutes a day, stock counts in half the time, times the hourly rate. Time going back into operations, not automatically saved payroll.
3 · Accuracy and focusPrice changes show up when the invoice is read, order suggestions prevent overstock. We deliberately do not put this in euros.
Sources: lever 1 from the actual-vs-theoretical analysis at a chain with over 200 sites after roll-out, measured over 3 months with 3 complete stock counts; prerequisite: recipes maintained, POS connected, goods receipt and stock counts in the system. Lever 2: ordering time 52 → 9 minutes per day (same chain), stock-count time −50 % (a&o Hostels). Cost: calculated at around €300 per site and month for the usual scope; entry from €174.90 on the Starter plan. No guarantee, your value depends on recipe maintenance and POS connection.
Concept Family
Wilma Wunder · 12 restaurants
Stock count from 2 people × 3 hours to 1 person × 1 hour.
Individual result from the customer project
Price
from 174.90 € per site and month
Starter plan; Pro and Enterprise individual.
See pricing →
Roll-out
4 – 6 weeks for 5 sites
Pilot at the first site, then roll-out. We handle master data and POS connection.
After the click
You pick the slot in the calendar
20 minutes with your numbers, no call beforehand, no newsletter.
Loss per year
Check with an expert

How the calculator works

Lever 1: food cost

Revenue per site × the gap you set in percentage points × sites. The gap is the difference between actual and theoretical food cost that becomes visible and closable after roll-out.

Lever 2: time

Ordering time today minus 9 minutes a day × opening days, plus half the stock-count hours per month × 12, each × hourly rate × sites. From 1,700 hours also shown as full-time equivalents.

Cost and payback

Around €300 per site and month × 12 × sites, the usual scope. Entry on the Starter plan is €174.90. Net is lever 1 plus lever 2 minus cost; payback follows from cost divided by what the levers bring per month.

Frequently asked questions about the calculator

Where do the assumptions come from?

Lever 1 (food cost) from the actual-vs-theoretical analysis at a chain with over 200 sites after roll-out: more than 4 percentage points, measured over three months with three complete stock counts. Lever 2 (time): ordering time from 52 to 9 minutes a day at the same chain, stock-count time minus 50 % at a&o Hostels. The customer with over 200 sites remains unnamed.

Why are there two scenarios?

“Conservative” assumes 1.5 percentage points less food cost, “Observed” more than 4. The lower value is the safer basis for a decision; the higher one is what was measured after roll-out with maintained recipes and a connected POS.

What is the third lever that gets no number?

Decisions head office can only make once every property sits in the same numbers: enforcing framework contracts, comparing prices per supplier, adjusting recipes group-wide. It is real, but too different per business for a general figure.

What does FoodNotify cost?

The calculator assumes around €300 per site and month, the usual scope. Entry starts at €174.90 on the Starter plan; Pro and Enterprise are individual. Roll-out: four to six weeks for five sites. Pricing and onboarding

When is it worth it?

From one site with around €1M annual revenue; FoodNotify has the biggest effect in businesses with several sites, because head office can compare every property.

Book a demo

No guarantee: your value depends on recipe maintenance and POS connection. More about FoodNotify on the homepage.