The food cost number you think you have

Most operators can quote a food cost percentage. Far fewer can explain why it moved this week—or which items caused it. The gap is visibility.

What’s really going on

  • Purchases tell you what came in, not what was used correctly.
  • Sales tell you what sold, not what was wasted or over-portioned.
  • Monthly counts reveal problems after the money is gone.
  • Spreadsheets hide variance because they can’t connect sales to usage automatically.

Common mistakes

  • Counting too infrequently (monthly only).
  • Not tracking waste, comps, and voids consistently.
  • Letting recipe portions drift over time.
  • Treating vendor price changes as the only driver of food cost.

What a better approach looks like

  1. Track theoretical usage (what should have been used) vs actual.
  2. Log waste in a simple daily routine (2 minutes, not 20).
  3. Review variance weekly by category (protein, dairy, produce).
  4. Cost key menu items and flag margin drift early.

A practical 30-day plan

  1. Pick 10 high-cost ingredients and measure variance weekly.
  2. Add a daily waste log for the top 5 waste items.
  3. Standardize 3 recipes with clear portions and training reminders.
  4. Review a weekly food-cost huddle with one action item per week.

Questions to ask any POS vendor

  • How do you calculate theoretical vs actual inventory usage?
  • Can we track waste quickly during service and prep?
  • Do you support recipe-level costing and portion control reporting?
  • Can we see variance by location and category?

Bottom line

The goal isn’t more software—it’s clearer visibility and fewer surprises.

Soft CTA: If you’re evaluating systems, prioritize visibility across POS + inventory + labor + reporting. The faster you can spot issues, the easier they are to fix.