GP & Menu Calculator

Work out the gross profit on any dish, price to hit a target GP, or check your whole menu's blended margin. Built for UK hospitality — VAT handled properly.

Dish cost

GP is always worked out on the net (ex-VAT) price. Ingredient costs are treated as ex-VAT.

Selling price

Enter a selling price to see your GP.

Gross Profit, Explained

The short version of everything a kitchen needs to know about GP.

What is GP in a restaurant?

GP (gross profit) is the share of a dish's net selling price left after paying for its ingredients. If a dish sells for £10 net and the ingredients cost £3, the GP is £7 - or 70%. It ignores labour, rent and overheads, which is why hospitality targets are high.

How do I calculate GP percentage?

GP% = (net selling price - ingredient cost) ÷ net selling price × 100. Net means the menu price with VAT stripped out: divide a VAT-inclusive price by 1.2 first (at 20% VAT). A £12 menu price is £10 net; with a £3 dish cost that is (10 - 3) ÷ 10 = 70% GP.

What GP should a restaurant aim for?

Most UK venues target 65-75% GP on food and 70-80% on drinks. Fine dining and high-waste kitchens often sit lower; quick service and coffee often sit higher. What matters most is the blended GP across what you actually sell, not any single dish.

Does GP include VAT?

No. GP is always calculated on the net (ex-VAT) selling price, because the VAT you collect belongs to HMRC, not to you. Working GP out on the VAT-inclusive price flatters every dish by roughly 17 points at 20% VAT - the most common menu pricing mistake.

How do I price a dish to hit a target GP?

Divide the dish cost by (1 - target GP). A £3.10 dish cost at a 70% target needs £3.10 ÷ 0.30 = £10.33 net, which is £12.40 on the menu once 20% VAT goes back on. This calculator does that for you and suggests menu-friendly prices like £12.50 or £12.95 with the GP each one actually delivers.

How do I cost a pint from a keg?

Divide the keg cost by the number of sellable pints. A 50-litre keg holds 88 pints; allow around 5% for line cleaning, fobbing and waste and you get roughly 83 sellable pints. If the keg costs £95, that is £95 ÷ 83 = £1.14 a pint. At £5.40 on the bar (£4.50 net of VAT) that is a 74.7% GP. Use the "Bulk / keg" option in the dish cost panel and the calculator does the whole chain for you - it works for wine bottles and spirits by the 25ml or 50ml measure too.

Got your GP? Feed it into the free break-even calculator to see how many covers a day your venue needs to cover its rent, rates and rota.

Want more on menu pricing and margins? Read the Zynthio blog — practical guides on food safety, labour costs and running a tighter operation.

Want your GP tracked automatically?

Zynthio's Recipe Book costs every dish from live ingredient prices, flags allergens, and links to stock control — so your margins update themselves.