Covers
A cover is one guest served — not one table, not one check. It's the denominator for average check, labour per cover, and cost per cover, which makes a consistent definition more important than the number itself.
Define it once and never change it
- Takeaway and delivery orders — count as covers or not? Either is defensible; switching mid-year makes your history useless.
- Bar guests who only drink — usually counted, since they consume service labour.
- Children — full covers for capacity and labour planning; they distort average check either way.
The per-cover metrics are where the value is. Sales per cover is average check. Labour dollars per cover is a cleaner productivity read than labour percentage, because it doesn't move when you change prices. Food cost per cover catches portioning drift that percentages hide.
Worked example · Why labour per cover beats labour percentage
- Before a 6% menu price increase — labour $12,400, 1,480 covers, sales $56,240
- 22.0% · $8.38/cover
- After — labour $12,400, 1,480 covers, sales $59,614
- 20.8% · $8.38/cover
- Productivity change
- none
The percentage improved 1.2 points and nothing about the kitchen changed. Per-cover cost is immune to that illusion.
Run the numbers
Break-even calculator
The guide that works it through
The Restaurant P&L, Line by Line (For Owner-Operators)
A full restaurant profit and loss statement explained line by line, with a worked example, healthy percentage ranges, and the four lines where problems actually show up first.
Related terms
Average check
Total sales divided by covers — the single most leveraged number in a restaurant's revenue line.
Seat turnover
How many times a seat is occupied by a new party during a service period.
RevPASH
Revenue per available seat-hour — the metric that combines how full you are with how much each guest spends.
Break-even point
The sales volume at which total revenue exactly covers total cost — the number below which you are paying to open.
Labor cost percentage
Total labour cost divided by sales — the other half of prime cost, and the half that's usually larger.