Historical Benchmarks HRT 383 Lunch Winter 2005 What

Historical Benchmarks HRT 383 Lunch Winter 2005

What is a benchmark? o From Merriam-Webster Online: A point of reference from which measurements may be made http: //www. m-w. com/cgi-bin/dictionary Accessed 10/08/04

An Historical Benchmark is… o An historical point of reference n n What did we do in the past? Measurable o o o Dollars/Cents Percentage Count Time Weight Volume

Cautions: o o Compare “Apples to Apples” Watch for differences in: n n Volume Days or Day-Part Variations o o n n Number of operation periods Hours of operation Seasonality “Like Items” Menu prices A La Carte vs. Banquets

Searching for Benchmarks… o Net Sales Analysis: n Daily or weekly sales in dollars o o o n n Total sales Food sales Beer sales Wine sales Bar sales Daily or weekly guest count Daily or weekly check average

Searching for Benchmarks… o Weekly Menu Mix/Sales History Analysis: n Item sales (by count or percentage) o o Individual items (count or percent) Category sales (count or percentage) n A la carte counts vs. banquet counts n Unless most measures are equal (or close to equal), use percentages for benchmarks!

Searching for Benchmarks… o Bar Cost: n Daily or weekly percentages o o o n Beer costs percentage Wine cost percentage Total bar percentage Usually, weekly information is more accurate than daily information

Searching for Benchmarks… o Credits to Cost of Goods Sold: n n n Comps vs. Total Sales Goodwill comps (marketing) vs. QSA Waste report o o n Accuracy is critical Use for information rather than benchmarks Family meal issues

Searching for Benchmarks… o Weekly Summary: n QTD information o o o n COGS o o n Counts Check average Sales Quarterly food cost percentage Weekly and quarterly bar cost percentage Other expense categories by percentage

Searching for Benchmarks… o QTD Menu Mix/Sales History Analysis: n Item sales (by count or percentage) o o Individual items (count or percent) Category sales (count or percentage) n A la carte counts vs. banquet counts n Usually QTD information is used for benchmark percentages

Searching for Benchmarks… o Budgets: n n Total Sales COGS o o Food cost percentage target is 40% Bar cost percentage target is 50%

Searching for Benchmarks… o Lunch Menu Mix – Winter 2004: n Appetizers 48. 8% o n #1 -Selling Menu Entrée - Salmon 11. 1% o n n Manager’s Special Entrée 28. 8% A la carte to banquet = 72% / 28% Desserts = 53. 2% o n Manager’s Special App 24. 6% Manager’s Special Dessert 26. 6% Beverages = 75. 9%