Beverage Cost
How do you calculate restaurant beverage cost percentage?
Direct answer
Beverage cost percentage equals beginning beverage inventory plus beverage purchases minus ending beverage inventory, divided by beverage sales, multiplied by 100. Match alcohol and non-alcohol categories consistently.
Key points
- Beverage Cost % = (Beginning Inventory + Purchases - Ending Inventory) / Beverage Sales x 100.
- Transfers, breakage, comps, and staff drinks require consistent treatment.
- Compare actual usage with recipe or pour standards by beverage category.
What to do next
- 1Count opening and closing beverage inventory with consistent units and costs.
- 2Add purchases and reconcile transfers, returns, and credits.
- 3Divide beverage COGS by beverage sales, then inspect pour, price, mix, and loss variance.
Worked example
With $8,000 opening inventory, $12,000 purchases, $7,000 ending inventory, and $52,000 beverage sales, cost is 13,000 / 52,000 x 100 = 25.0%.