Average check
Also called: average cover · per person average · ppa
Average check is total sales divided by covers. It's the highest-leverage number on the revenue side because it drops almost entirely to contribution — a dollar of additional check costs you only the food that came with it.
Worked example · What $2 is worth
- Covers per year
- 62,000
- Average check increase
- +$2.00
- Additional revenue
- $124,000
- Incremental food cost at 30%
- −$37,200
- Additional contribution
- $86,800
Finding $86,800 on the cost side of a restaurant this size is a year of hard work. Two dollars of check is a menu decision and a service habit.
The four levers
- Menu price. The most direct, and the one with the guest-perception limit. See how to raise menu prices.
- Mix. Guiding guests toward higher-contribution dishes through placement and description — this is what menu engineering is for.
- Attachment. Appetiser, side, dessert, second drink. The highest-margin volume most restaurants leave on the table.
- Upgrades. Add the protein, upgrade the pour. Small absolute numbers, very high margin.
Run the numbers
Price increase impact calculator
The guide that works it through
My Restaurant Isn't Making Money. Where Do I Look?
A structured walk down the restaurant P&L to find where the profit is going — with the arithmetic for how much each lever is actually worth at your volume.
Related terms
Covers
The number of guests served in a period — the denominator behind average check, labour per cover and cost per cover.
RevPASH
Revenue per available seat-hour — the metric that combines how full you are with how much each guest spends.
Menu engineering
Sorting every dish by popularity and contribution margin to decide what to promote, reprice, rework, or cut.
Contribution margin
The dollars a dish contributes to overhead and profit after its ingredient cost — menu price minus plate cost.
Seat turnover
How many times a seat is occupied by a new party during a service period.