Print-Ready Resources
Print-ready handouts for walls and clipboards so you don't have to keep repeating yourself.
Need help turning these into full systems? Start with our calculators in The Vault.
Most operators guess at menu prices and leave thousands on the table. These templates walk you through real food cost math — plate cost to menu price — so every item earns its place.
If your food cost is creeping up but you haven't touched your menu prices in six months, start here. These calculators and cheat sheets help you reverse-engineer what each plate should cost, set target margins by category, and build pricing that actually holds up when invoices spike. Use the Food Cost Calculator to nail plate-level math, or grab the Menu Pricing Formula to train managers on markup logic.
Ingredient tables + AvT checks for every dish. Real math, real margin.
Fast breakdown: item cost to final menu price, step-by-step with examples.
Rework menu prices based on actual sales to adjust pricing based on sales volume.
Quick pour-cost math for the bar so you stop guessing at cocktail pricing.
Without written checklists, your opening crew forgets prep and your closers cut corners. These templates put daily tasks, waste tracking, and inventory counts on paper so managers stop asking "did anyone do this?"
Most restaurants bleed money on waste, missed prep, and inconsistent counts — not because staff doesn't care, but because nothing is written down. Use the Waste & Void Log to catch daily mis-fires before they turn into month-end cost leaks. Print the Opening & Closing Duties checklist so every shift starts and ends the same way. Run the Food Inventory Count Sheet monthly to feed accurate numbers into your prime cost calculations.
Track spoilage, mis-fires, comps, and manager voids by station.
Checklist blocks for FOH, BOH Line, BOH Kitchen, Bar (Open + Close shifts).
Separate page per station / shift: FOH, BOH Line, BOH Kitchen, Bar (Open, Mid, Close).
Standard food inventory sheet for monthly counts to plug straight into your prime cost calculator.
Printable audit sheet for easy use in your prime cost calculations.
Standardized bar inventory sheet so every manager counts the same way.
Keep schedules inside budget by matching allowed hours to your sales targets.
Set sane PAR levels by usage instead of "we always order two cases."
Standard operating procedures for consistent, accurate inventory counts.
Comprehensive cleaning checklist covering all restaurant areas and frequencies.
Complete bar setup checklist covering equipment, stock, garnishes, and final inspection.
Track PAR levels, on-hand quantities, and prep amounts for proteins, produce, sauces, and more.
Professional PO form with vendor info, line items, delivery details, and totals.
Create consistent SOPs with purpose, steps, quality standards, and training verification.
Customizable refund policy covering dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and gift cards.
Theft bleeds $5K–$20K a year from most independents — and owners rarely catch it until it's too late. These templates cover the warning signs, incident documentation, and HR policies that protect your bottom line.
Employee theft usually isn't dramatic — it's quiet cash skimming, inventory walking out the back door, and time-clock padding that adds up over months. The Employee Theft Warning Signs template lists the red flags managers should watch for in cash handling, inventory, and behavior. Use the Incident Report when something does happen so you've got documentation if it escalates. The Employee Handbook sets expectations upfront and gives you legal cover.
Cash, inventory, time-theft, and behavior flags owners should monitor.
Complete handbook covering scheduling, pay, dress code, conduct, safety, and discipline.
Document injuries, accidents, and incidents with witness statements and corrective actions.
Wall charts work because they're visible every shift. These one-pagers cover emergency procedures, cost-saving reminders, and operational goals your team can see at a glance — no login required.
The best SOPs are the ones your team actually sees. Pin the 3-Step Emergency Response poster by the office door so everyone knows what to do when something goes wrong. Use the RPS 1-Pager to remind staff why cost control matters to their paycheck. These aren't training manuals — they're quick-hit reminders designed for the wall, not the binder.
Stop financial bleeding in 72 hours: assess, stabilize, and optimize your operation.
Calculate potential monthly savings, annual impact, and ROI multiple against industry benchmark targets.
Quick credibility piece: what changes, what it looks like, what it earns.
The five most common profit leaks restaurant owners miss until it's too late.
Where to place high-margin items so guests actually order them.
Strategic planning worksheet with SWOT grid and action plan builder.
Most restaurants overpay by 0.3–0.5% on card fees because they never audit their statements. This checklist walks you through processor settings, fee structures, and POS configurations that silently drain margin.
When was the last time you actually read your merchant statement? Most owners never do — and processors count on that. The POS Cost Reduction Checklist walks you through every fee line, discount rate, and add-on charge so you can renegotiate or switch before another month bleeds out. It covers both hardware and software settings that silently inflate costs.
Tighten fees, clean catalogs, and automate alerts to catch leaks.
How to actually use these tools in your restaurant.
Weekly for high-cost items (proteins, seafood, liquor). Monthly for everything else. The goal isn't perfection — it's catching problems before they compound. A weekly protein count takes 15 minutes and tells you immediately if something's walking out the door. Use our Food Inventory Count Sheet to standardize the process so every manager counts the same way.
Every item that doesn't make it to a paying customer: spoilage, mis-fires, over-production, comps, and manager voids. Log the date, item, quantity, reason, and who was responsible. The goal isn't to punish — it's to find patterns. If Tuesday prep is consistently over-producing salmon, that's a pars problem, not a people problem. Our Waste & Void Log has columns for all of this.
Watch for patterns: voids and comps clustered on specific shifts, cash drawers that are consistently short, inventory variances on high-value items, and employees who insist on working alone. The Employee Theft Warning Signs template lists 30+ red flags across cash handling, inventory, time theft, and behavior. Most theft isn't dramatic — it's $20 here, a case of beer there. It adds up to $5K–$20K/year in a typical independent.
Use actual usage data, not gut feel. Track how much of each item you use over 4 weeks. Average it, add a safety buffer (usually 20–30%), and factor in delivery frequency. If you get trucks twice a week, your PAR only needs to cover 3–4 days. Our Inventory PAR Builder walks through this calculation for each item category.
Yes — and not just for legal cover. A handbook sets expectations before problems happen. When someone shows up late repeatedly, you point to the attendance policy they signed. When a harassment issue arises, you have documented procedures. It also protects you in unemployment claims and wrongful termination suits. Our Employee Handbook Template covers scheduling, pay, dress code, conduct, safety, and discipline steps.
Start with plate cost — the actual ingredient cost for one serving. Divide by your target food cost percentage (e.g., 30%) to get your minimum menu price. Then adjust for market positioning and perceived value. A $4 plate cost ÷ 0.30 = $13.33 minimum. You might price it at $14.95 or $15.95 depending on your concept. Our Food Cost Calculator and Menu Pricing Formula walk through the math.