Dish GP calculator
The real gross profit on any dish, worked out the way it has to be done: on the price after VAT.
Dish GP calculator
75.0%
gross profit
£7.50 margin per plate
Quick menu maths
Aiming for 70% GP? Multiply the dish cost by 4 and that is your menu price, VAT included. For 75%, multiply by 4.8. For 80%, multiply by 6.
How to use it
Put in what the dish costs you. That means every ingredient on the plate, per portion, including the garnish and the bread nobody costs.
Put in the menu price and leave the VAT box ticked if that is the price the customer sees. The GP and the margin per plate come out on the right.
Working the other way? Flip to What should I charge, set your target GP, and it prices the dish for you.
The VAT trap
The menu price includes VAT. 20% of it goes to HMRC before you buy a single ingredient. So a £12 dish is £10 to you, and the margin maths starts from £10. Most pricing mistakes on menus I see start with skipping that divide by 1.2.
Worked example: a dish that costs £2.50 and sells for £12 makes £7.50 a plate at 75% GP. Sell 200 of them a week and that one menu line is worth £78,000 a year.
Common questions
What is a good GP for food in a UK restaurant?
Most well run independents land between 68% and 75% on food. Drinks run higher. Under 65% and the menu needs work, on pricing, portioning or both.
Do I calculate GP before or after VAT?
After. Divide the menu price by 1.2 first, then take your cost off. GP worked out on the VAT-inclusive price flatters every dish by around 5 points.
Is GP the same as markup?
No. Markup is measured on cost, GP on selling price. A dish costing £2.50 and selling for £10 net is 300% markup and 75% GP. Menus are managed on GP.
Why does multiplying cost by 4 give 70% GP?
For 70% GP the net price is cost divided by 0.3, and adding VAT multiplies by 1.2. Together that is 4 exactly. The same logic gives 4.8 for 75% and 6 for 80%.
Built by Jack Applebee. 11 years running restaurants at Borough Market and the Southbank.
If the GP on the sheet never matches the GP in the bank, that gap is where I work.
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