Calculate What Excess Labor Is Costing Your Restaurants
Enter your own numbers: sales, labor cost, overtime, and the labor percentage you manage to. The calculator shows your current labor percentage, the cost above your target, what that annualizes to per location, and how much of your labor is overtime. No email required to see results. The math uses only your inputs, with no invented industry benchmarks.
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This calculator measures the gap between the labor cost and target entered by the operator. It does not prove that the entire gap is recoverable. A Marty Cash Recovery Plan uses actual POS, scheduling, timeclock, and payroll data to identify specific recoverable dollars.
How the math works
- Current labor % = total labor cost ÷ total sales × 100
- Target labor cost = total sales × target labor %
- Labor cost gap = max(0, total labor cost − target labor cost)
- Annualized gap = gap × 52 (weekly), × 12 (monthly), or × 1 (annual)
- Gap per location = annualized gap ÷ number of locations
- Overtime share = overtime cost ÷ total labor cost × 100. Overtime is already inside total labor, so it is never added to the gap. That would double count.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate restaurant labor cost percentage?
Divide total labor cost by total sales for the same period, then multiply by 100. For example, $100,000 of labor on $300,000 of sales is a 33.3% labor cost.
Does the gap include overtime?
Overtime is already inside your total labor cost, so the calculator does not add it again. That would double count. Overtime is shown separately as a percentage of labor so you can see how much of your labor spend is premium-rate.
Is the whole gap recoverable?
No. This calculator measures the gap between the labor cost and target you entered. It does not prove that the entire gap is recoverable. A Marty Cash Recovery Plan uses actual POS, scheduling, timeclock, and payroll data to identify specific recoverable dollars.
What should my target labor percentage be?
That depends on your concept, market, and service model, which is why this calculator asks for your target instead of assuming an industry benchmark. Use the number you already manage to.