Net profit margin = (sales − every cost) ÷ sales × 100. Type one month's sales, food and labor cost, rent and other costs, and the share of sales that comes through delivery apps. You see your margin before commission, after it, and if the same orders came through your own ordering page instead. US medians for 2024 were 2.8% for table service and 4.0% for quick service, so one 25% commission can cost more than the whole margin.
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Your net margin
Example numbersFood, drink and labor together.
What you would keep if no order paid commission.
Delivery apps take $4,500 a month: 88% of the profit you would otherwise keep.
At 25% commission, once 34% of your sales come through the apps, the month makes nothing.
The same $18,000 of orders on your own ordering page, paying a 2.9% card fee ($522) instead of commission.
Moving those orders to your own page would keep $3,978 more a month, $47,736 a year.
Compare with US restaurants
US full-service median income before taxes, 2024: 2.8% of sales (food and drink 32%, labor 36.5%). From the National Restaurant Association's survey of more than 900 US restaurants. Medians, not targets.
Move app regulars to your own ordering page
Make a Menuthere ordering page with your menu and a QR code. Orders on it pay 0% commission, so regulars who order direct leave you more.
Sales, food and labor as a share of sales, rent and other costs. Example numbers are filled in to start.
The share of sales that comes through the apps and their average commission. The calculator takes it off your margin.
See your margin with the apps and with the same orders coming direct, then copy the numbers for your partner or accountant.
These are the calculator's example numbers, not a benchmark. A restaurant sells $60,000 a month. Food is 31% of sales, labor 33%, rent $3,600 and everything else $12,600. Before any commission it keeps $5,400, a 9% margin. Then 30% of its sales ($18,000) come through delivery apps at an average 25% commission.
| Profit a month | Net margin | |
|---|---|---|
| Before any commission | $5,400 | 9.0% |
| With 30% of sales on apps at 25% | $900 | 1.5% |
| Same orders on your own page (2.9% card fee) | $4,878 | 8.1% |
Sales are before sales tax or VAT and before the apps take their cut. If your app menu prices are higher than in-store, type your real app sales: the higher prices are already in them. For a full explanation, read the restaurant profit margin guide.
| Median, % of sales | Full service (table service) | Limited service (quick service) |
|---|---|---|
| Income before taxes | 2.8% | 4.0% |
| Food and non-alcoholic drink cost | 32.0% | 32.4% |
| Salaries, wages and benefits | 36.5% | 31.7% |
| Occupancy | 5.7% | 5.2% |
Half of restaurants did better and half worse. The Association says the figures are not standards or goals. Use them to see where your own costs stand out, and the break-even calculator to see the sales you need each month.
Questions owners ask
Checked against
Make your own ordering page with a QR code. Customers order from you directly and you pay no commission.