RollCallOperator Tools

Labour & prime cost

Labour Cost & Sales Per Labour Hour

Am I over-staffed, and what is each labour hour actually returning?

Labour percentage tells you what labour costs relative to sales. Sales per labour hour tells you what each scheduled hour returns. Watching only the percentage hides a slow shift that was staffed correctly for a busy one.

Your numbers

Pre-filled with a worked example so you can see how it behaves. Type over any field with your own figures. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.

The answer

How this is calculated
Labour cost % = labour cost ÷ sales × 100
Sales per labour hour = sales ÷ labour hours worked
Average labour cost per hour = labour cost ÷ labour hours worked
What this does not tell you
  • Labour percentage and sales per labour hour move in opposite directions on a slow night. Read them together.
  • State whether your labour cost includes payroll burden and keep that choice consistent between periods.

RollCall Media

Three free newsletters for people who run rooms.

Written for operators, not for the algorithm. One useful idea per edition, sources linked, no pitch. Free, and always will be.

Read and subscribe, free