From busy lunch services to profitable catering events, knowing where your money comes from is key to scaling your restaurant. With our Multi-Segment Restaurant Revenue Calculator, you can project your earnings across dine-in, delivery, drive-thru, and catering. Identify the most profitable revenue sources for your restaurant and create strategies to boost sales.
Restaurant Revenue Calculator
Calculate your restaurant's revenue projections across multiple service types
Base Revenue Settings
Additional Revenue Sources
Drive Thru Revenue
Catering Revenue
Delivery Revenue
How to use the calculator
Step 1. Enter Your Base Revenue Info
- Start by adding your average daily customer count. Be realistic use past data for a solid estimate.
- Next, enter the average amount each customer spends. This is also called the average check size. If you’re unsure, use a 3-month average or find the comps from similar restaurants. For example, the average check size among Baby Boomers dining at Chipotle restaurants is $20.13.
- Specify how many days per week you typically operate. Don’t forget to consider slower days and major holidays.
Step 2. Add Extra Revenue Sources
- Click the “Add Drive Thru,” “Add Catering,” or “Add Delivery” buttons for any additional services you offer.
- Tip: Adding a new revenue source is a great way to project additional revenue. Some fast-food restaurants make 60% – 70% of total sales with a drive thru so it can be a game-changing addition for the right concept.
- If you no longer want to include a service, click the “Remove” button.
Step 3. Calculate Your Results
- Hit the “Calculate Revenue” button to see your full projections. Start with conservative estimates to avoid over-projecting your potential revenue.
- Check both the monthly and annual revenue breakdowns, then click “Print Results” to save or share.
Understanding Your Results
The calculator shows you two main views to help with both short-term and long-term planning:
Monthly Revenue
- Provides a snapshot of total monthly revenue, broken down by service type.
- Ideal for planning cash flow and adjusting your daily targets.
Annual Revenue
- Projects your total yearly revenue with a detailed breakdown by service type.
- Great for long-term business planning and valuation purposes.
Formulas:
The calculator starts with your core dine-in business, but allows you to add drive-thru and delivery revenue streams. Standard month length of 4.33 weeks
Weekly Revenue = Daily Covers × Average Customer Spend × Operating Days
Monthly Revenue = Weekly Revenue × 4.33 (average weeks per month)
Annual Revenue = Monthly Revenue × 12
Catering revenue is calculated monthly due to its less frequent nature. Keep in mind this part of the business can really ramp up during the holidays like Christmas when offices are throwing holiday parties for staff appreciation events.
Monthly Catering Revenue = Monthly Catering Customers × Average Catering Order Value
Annual Catering Revenue = Monthly Catering Revenue × 12
What revenue streams should you test out?
To get feedback on this calculator, I sat down with the seasoned restaurant owner Malcolm Bedell for his perspective and input. Malcolm launched Ancho Honey, a celebrated food truck turned restaurant known for its inventive menu and Honey’s Fried Chicken Palace, a new concept dedicated entirely to serving up his signature fried chicken sandwiches. Needless to say, Malcolm has tried it all when it comes testing new revenue streams including catering, drive-thrus, delivery, and sit down dining.
Malcolm’s experience has taught him one key lesson: what works for fast food may not work for a sit-down spot, and vice versa. As Malcolm put it, “Look, not every revenue stream is going to work for every concept. I’ll never forget that rush of hubris when I opened my first restaurant. Suddenly, I thought I could just transfer what worked on the food truck to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Turns out, cooking entrees on a ten-burner stove is a different beast than slinging sandwiches off a griddle inside a trailer.”
And certain menus simple aren’t practical for drive-thru or delivery. “Remember during the pandemic? everyone thought they could just bolt on a drive-thru and watch the cash roll in. But have you ever seen a buffet or a steakhouse try that? Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. Some concepts are meant to be savored. Folks want to sit down for that.”
Outside Ancho Honey in Tenant’s Harbor, Maine.
Related tools:
Menu Recipe Scaling and Food Cost Calculator: Now that you’ve made some broad stroke revenue projections it’s time to sit down and get serious about your recipes and food costs.
Food Truck Business Revenue & Profit Projection Calculator: Project revenue for a food truck business. Food trucks can create yet another new revenue source for restaurants.
About the Author: Brett Lindenberg
