How to Price Food to Make Money Using Google Sheets
This method uses a simple formula: Selling Price = Total Cost of Dish ÷ Your Target Food Cost Percentage
Your "Food Cost Percentage" is the part of the menu price that pays for the ingredients. A common target is between 25% and 35%. This leaves the rest (65-75%) to pay for staff, rent, and profit.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Set Up Your Sheet
Open Google Sheets and create a new spreadsheet. Set up headers like this in row 1:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dish Name | Total Cost | Target Food Cost % | Your Price | What to Charge | Notes |
| 2 | Burger |
Step 2: Calculate the Total Cost for One Dish (Column B)
For each dish (e.g., a burger), list every ingredient and its cost.
- Bun: $0.50
- Patty: $2.00
- Cheese: $0.40
- Lettuce/Tomato: $0.30
- Sauce/Packaging: $0.30
In cell B2, you would add a formula to add it all up:
=0.50+2.00+0.40+0.30+0.30
Google Sheets will calculate the total: $3.50
Tip: For more accuracy, create a second tab in your sheet to carefully cost out every single ingredient. Then you can just reference that total here.
Step 3: Choose Your Target Food Cost % (Column C)
Decide on your goal. Let's use 30% (or 0.30) as a good target. Type 0.3 into cell C2.
Step 4: The Magic Formula for Your Price (Column D)
This is the minimum price you need to charge to hit your target.
In cell D2, type this formula:
=B2/C2
This means: $3.50 (Total Cost) ÷ 0.30 (30%) = $11.67
This price ($11.67) would give you a 30% food cost.
Step 5: Decide What to Charge (Column E)
Now, look at your calculated price ($11.67). You can round it to a number that looks better on a menu and uses pricing psychology.
In cell E2, you might type: $11.99
This is a common tactic. It's still very close to your target cost but is more appealing to customers.
Step 6: See Your Final Profit
Add another column to see how much money you make per dish!
In F1, type the header "Profit per Sale"
In cell F2, use this formula: =E2-B2
This means: $11.99 (Selling Price) - $3.50 (Food Cost) = $8.49 Profit
This $8.49 is what helps you pay for everything else and make money.
Your Final Sheet Will Look Like This:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dish Name | Total Cost | Target Food Cost % | Your Price | What to Charge | Profit |
| 2 | Burger | $3.50 | 0.3 | $11.67 | $11.99 | $8.49 |
| 3 | Salad | $2.80 | 0.3 | $9.33 | $9.49 | $6.69 |
Tab 1: The DASHBOARD (Your Main Menu Price List)
This is the final, clean view you'll print or use to build your menu. It's automatically generated from the other tabs.
How to Set It Up:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MENU PRICE LIST | |||||
| 2 | ||||||
| 3 | APPETIZERS | |||||
| 4 | Item Name | Description | Price | Cost | Profit Margin | |
| 5 | Garlic Bread | Homemade with herbs & cheese | =DETAILS!C2 | =DETAILS!B5 | =(C5-D5)/C5 | |
| 6 | ... | |||||
| 10 | ||||||
| 11 | MAIN COURSES | |||||
| 12 | Item Name | Description | Price | Cost | Profit Margin | |
- Column C (Price): Pulls the final price from your "Details" tab.
- Column D (Cost): Pulls the total cost from your "Details" tab.
- Column E (Profit Margin): This formula =(Price - Cost)/Price shows the percentage of profit you make on each sale. This is your most important number.
Why it's powerful: You can instantly see which items are your most profitable (highlight them on your menu!) and which are not.
Tab 2: DETAILED DISH COSTING
This is the core engine where you cost out every single recipe in detail.
How to Set It Up:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dish Name: | Garlic Bread | |||||
| 2 | Selling Price: | $8.99 | |||||
| 3 | |||||||
| 4 | Ingredient | Item Cost | Qty per Recipe | Unit | Cost per Dish | Supplier | |
| 5 | Baguette | $2.50 | 0.25 | each | =B5*C5 | Grocery Store | |
| 6 | Butter | $4.00 | 0.03 | lb | =B6*C6 | Sysco | |
| 7 | Garlic | $3.00 | 0.01 | lb | =B7*C7 | Produce Co. | |
| 8 | Parsley | $2.00 | 0.005 | lb | =B8*C8 | Produce Co. | |
| 9 | Cheese | $5.00 | 0.05 | lb | =B9*C9 | Dairy Co. | |
| 10 | Total Cost: | =SUM(E5:E9) | |||||
- Column B (Item Cost): You get this from your "Suppliers" tab.
- Column C (Qty per Recipe): You need to break down your recipe. (e.g., 0.25 of a baguette).
- Column E (Cost per Dish): Automatically calculates the cost for that ingredient in one dish.
- Cell E10: This is the Total Food Cost for one order of Garlic Bread.
Do this for every single dish on your menu. It's work upfront but saves thousands later.
Tab 3: PRICE CALCULATOR
This tab takes the cost from the "Detailed Dish Costing" tab and helps you set the final price.
How to Set It Up:
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dish Name | Total Cost | Target Food Cost % | Minimum Price | Your Final Price |
| 2 | Garlic Bread | ='DETAILED DISH COSTING'!E10 | 0.28 | =ROUND(B2/C2, 2) | $8.99 |
| 3 | House Burger | ='DETAILED DISH COSTING'!E20 | 0.30 | =ROUND(B3/C3, 2) | $14.99 |
- Column B: Pulls the total cost from the other tab.
- Column D: The formula calculates the minimum price to hit your target food cost. The ROUND function cleans it up.
- Column E (Your Final Price): This is where you make your business decision. You type this in. You can round to .99, look at competitor prices, or price it higher if it's a special item.
Tab 4: SUPPLIERS & INGREDIENT COSTS
This is your master list of what every ingredient costs. It makes updating your entire system easy.
How to Set It Up:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ingredient | Cost | Unit | Supplier |
| 2 | Baguette | $2.50 | each | Grocery Store |
| 3 | Ground Beef (80/20) | $5.50 | lb | Sysco |
| 4 | Burger Buns | $0.45 | each | Bakery |
| 5 | Lettuce | $2.00 | head | Produce Co. |
When the price of ground beef goes up, you just change it here once, and it will automatically update the cost in every recipe that uses it.
How It All Works Together:
- Update Suppliers Tab: You enter all your ingredient costs.
- Build Recipes: In the "Detailed Dish Costing" tab, you build each recipe. The costs auto-populate from the Suppliers tab.
- Set Prices: The "Price Calculator" tab reads the recipe costs and suggests a price. You set the final price.
- View Your Menu: The "Dashboard" tab pulls in the final prices and costs to show you a beautiful, clean menu price list with profit margins.
How to Calculate Plate Cost in Google Sheets
Calculating the plate cost (also called food cost or cost per dish) is the most important step in pricing your menu. It is the total cost of every single ingredient that goes into one single plate you serve to a customer.
Follow these steps to build a plate cost calculator.
Step 1: Make a List of All Your Ingredients
First, create a new tab in your Google Sheet and name it "Plate Cost Calculator".
Set up columns for each piece of information you need:
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ingredient | Purchase Price | Purchase Unit | Cost per Unit | Supplier |
| 2 | Ground Beef | $25.00 | 5 lbs | =B2/C2 | Sysco |
| 3 | Burger Buns | $4.50 | 12 buns | =B3/C3 | Bakery |
| 4 | Cheese Slices | $15.00 | 120 slices | =B4/C4 | Dairy Co. |
| 5 | Tomatoes | $4.00 | 8 tomatoes | =B5/C5 | Produce Mart |
- Purchase Price (Column B): What you pay for the whole bag, case, or unit.
- Purchase Unit (Column C): How that product is packaged (e.g., 5 lbs, 12 buns).
- Cost per Unit (Column D): This formula calculates the cost for 1 pound, 1 bun, or 1 slice. This is the key to accurate costing.
Formula in D2: =B2/C2 (e.g., $25 / 5 lbs = $5 per pound)
Step 2: Cost Out a Specific Recipe (The Plate Cost)
Now, create a new section on the same sheet for your specific dish, like a "Gourmet Burger".
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | ||||||
| 9 | Dish: Gourmet Burger | |||||
| 10 | Ingredient | Amount Used | Unit | Cost from List | Cost for this Plate | |
| 11 | Ground Beef | 0.33 | lbs | =$D$2 | =B11*D11 | |
| 12 | Burger Buns | 1 | bun | =$D$3 | =B12*D12 | |
| 13 | Cheese Slices | 1 | slice | =$D$4 | =B13*D13 | |
| 14 | Tomatoes | 0.25 | tomato | =$D$5 | =B14*D14 | |
| 15 | Lettuce, Sauce, etc. | $0.20 | ||||
| 16 | Total Plate Cost: | =SUM(E11:E15) | ||||
How to fill this out:
- Ingredient (Column A): List each ingredient in the burger.
- Amount Used (Column B): How much of that ingredient goes on one plate. Example: Your burger uses 1/3 of a pound of beef, so you type 0.33.
- Unit (Column C): The unit for the amount used (lbs, bun, slice).
- Cost from List (Column D): This pulls the cost per unit you calculated in Step 1. Using =$D$2 (with dollar signs) locks the cell reference so you can copy the formula down without it changing.
- Cost for this Plate (Column E): This multiplies the Amount Used by the Cost per Unit. Formula in E11: =B11*D11 (e.g., 0.33 lbs * $5 per lb = $1.65 for the beef)
- Total Plate Cost (Cell E16): The =SUM(E11:E15) formula adds up the cost of every ingredient to give you the final cost to make one plate.
Real-Life Example: The Burger Cost
Let's pretend your ingredient costs are from the table above:
- Beef: 0.33 lbs * $5/lb = $1.65
- Bun: 1 bun * $0.38/bun = $0.38 ($4.50 / 12 buns = $0.375 each)
- Cheese: 1 slice * $0.13/slice = $0.13 ($15.00 / 120 slices = $0.125 each)
- Tomato: 0.25 tomato * $0.50/tomato = $0.13 ($4.00 / 8 tomatoes = $0.50 each)
- Lettuce/Sauce: = $0.20
The Total Plate Cost for your Gourmet Burger is: $1.65 + $0.38 + $0.13 + $0.13 + $0.20 = $2.49
This means it costs you $2.49 to make one burger. Now you know that if you sell it for $9.99, you are making a good profit!
Why This is So Important:
- No More Guessing: You know exactly what each plate costs.
- Fix Problems: If you notice a dish isn't making money, you can break down its cost to see which expensive ingredient is causing the problem. Maybe you can find a new supplier or use a little less.
- Easy to Update: If your cheese supplier raises the price to $16.00, you just change the price in Cell B4. Your entire recipe and plate cost will update automatically.
Pro Tip: Be honest and precise with your "Amount Used." Weigh your proteins, count your slices, and don't forget the cost of oil, spices, and garnishes. They add up!
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