Restaurant profit and loss
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Read it from the top
Sales come first, split at least into food and beverage if both are material. Cost of goods sits under the sales it belongs to. Labor sits under that, or beside it, as long as the reader can see prime cost without a calculator. Controllable expenses, occupancy, and depreciation follow. What is left is operating profit, before anyone argues about tax and debt.
One set of lines for every store
A group that lets each location invent account names cannot add the column up. The guide under this hub walks the lines. It is a starting chart, not a standard from a trade group.
Guides in this hub
Guide Restaurant P&L template, explained Read a restaurant P&L from sales down to prime cost before you look at rent. The template on this site follows that order so a weekly report and the monthly statement use the same lines.
Guide The weekly restaurant P&L: what it shows and how to build oneA weekly restaurant P&L shows net sales, food and beverage cost, labor, and prime cost for one week by location, within a few days of the week ending. It uses actual sales and payroll and an estimate for cost of goods until inventory is counted. The month-end close then replaces the estimates.
FAQ
Short answers to the questions this page is built to settle.
Is a P&L the same as a cash report?
No. A P&L records activity in the period. Cash moves when the card batch settles, tax is remitted, and vendors are paid. The cash-flow hub is the other report.