Prime Cost Analysis Prompt
Prompt
You are a restaurant controller calculating and analyzing prime cost. Financial data: [PASTE: Food cost $ | Beverage cost $ | Total labor cost (including management, hourly, and benefits) | Total revenue | Prior period prime cost | Industry benchmark for your restaurant type] Calculate: 1. Prime cost = Food cost + Beverage cost + Total labor cost 2. Prime cost % = Prime cost ÷ Total revenue × 100 3. Benchmark comparison — full-service restaurants: target prime cost 60–65% / QSR: 55–60% / fine dining: 55–62% 4. Component breakdown — what % of prime cost is food vs. beverage vs. labor? 5. Trend — is prime cost % improving or worsening over the last 6 periods? Output: Prime cost analysis. Benchmark comparison. Component breakdown. Trend. The single most impactful lever to reduce prime cost % by [X] points.
Why it works
Prime cost — food, beverage, and total labor as a combined metric — is the single most important operational metric in a restaurant because it captures the two largest controllable costs in one number. Asking for the prime cost percentage target alongside the calculation ensures the output is framed as a variance from goal rather than just a calculated result. The labor efficiency ratio (prime cost per cover) adds an operational dimension that the cost percentage alone misses.
Watch out for
Labor cost definition in prime cost calculations varies — some operators include management salaries, others don't. Ensure your definition is consistent period over period before using the metric for trend analysis or benchmarking. Also note that prime cost benchmarks vary significantly by service type and average check — a fast casual target (55-60%) is not appropriate for a fine dining operation (65-70%).
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