WHAT IS PRIME COST
Two Costs. One Number.
Prime cost is the sum of what you spend to make the food and pay the people. Track them together and you're tracking the health of the whole restaurant.
Cost of goods sold
28%-35%
​Every category, tender, tip, discount and fee from the day, summarized into one clean journal entry.
Total labor
25%-35%
Wages, payroll tax and benefits across front and back of house - the other half of what you control.
Prime Cost
< 65%
COGS + labor. Usually 55–65% of sales - and the clearest single signal of whether you're making money.
HOW CACTUS TRACKS IT
Prime cost, calculated for you - daily.
Cactus reads your POS end-of-day and builds one balanced Daily Summary Journal Entry in QuickBooks. Sales can be grouped as you per your need.
1
Live COGS from invoices
Every vendor bill Cactus scans updates your food and beverage cost automatically.
2
Labor from your POS/ADP
Hours and pay recorded completely for each employee.
3
Prime cost as % of sales
The number that matters, calculated against your actual daily sales.
4
Target alerts
Get pinged the moment prime cost drifts above the ceiling you set.
5
Trends over time
Watch food vs labor move week over week and catch cost creep before it eats your margin.
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