{"id":859,"date":"2026-02-26T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.zoomshift.com\/blog\/how-restaurants-can-set-and-stick-to-a-labor-budget\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T07:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:49:16","slug":"restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"How Restaurants Can Set and Stick to a Labor Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a real cost to hiring, training, onboarding, and engaging your employees \u2014 and for most restaurants, labor remains one of the biggest expenses<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sticking to a labor budget isn\u2019t easy. Managers need to balance giving employees enough hours to stay satisfied while avoiding unnecessary labor costs.<\/p>\n

The good news? You\u2019re about to learn how to create, manage, and optimize your labor budget in 2026.<\/p>\n

<\/span>How To Use A Labor Budget Formula To Set Your Budget<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you want to stick to a budget, first you must make one.<\/p>\n

Here is a simple way to calculate your budget.<\/p>\n

First, add together the total number of hours worked by your staff in a week. For this example, we\u2019ll say you have six employees each working 40 hours per week. So, the total number of hours worked would be 240.<\/p>\n

Second, multiply the number of hours worked by your hourly rate. The minimum wage in US is $7.25 per hour, though there are some states that have a higher minimum wage laws<\/a>. For simplicity, we\u2019ll say you\u2019re paying $8 per hour per employee. So, 240 multiplied by eight would be $1,920. This is essentially your weekly budget.<\/p>\n

Third, divide the number you just calculated by the number of weeks there are in a year (52). In this example, the answer would be 37 (after rounding up). Now you know that you\u2019re paying $37 per hour worked.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> This is a very simplistic example. It\u2019s rare for restaurants to have standard pay across the board. For instance, you may be paying your kitchen staff more than you\u2019re paying your servers.<\/p>\n

Additionally, there are a host of other costs commonly associated with employees, including: bonuses, overtime, payroll taxes, healthcare and benefits, sick and vacation days, and so forth. It\u2019s not a bad idea to incorporate these costs into your budget.<\/p>\n

Now that you know how to set your labor budget, it\u2019s time to learn how to stick to it.<\/p>\n

By the way, Toast has a free restaurant labor cost calculator<\/a> you can use to determine how much you\u2019re spending on labor. On average, the average labor cost in the food service industry is 30 to 35%, which should give you a good idea of whether your costs are within an acceptable range, or if you need to further optimize.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Reduce Turnover<\/span><\/h2>\n

Turnover is a common challenge in the hospitality industry<\/a> and it\u2019s expensive to boot. Reduce turnover by ensuring you have the most effective hospitality scheduling software<\/a> on the market.<\/p>\n

Just think of all the time and resources that go into hiring, onboarding, and training. Every time you need to replace a worker, you must pay for these costs all over again.<\/p>\n

Reducing turnover isn\u2019t as complicated as it sounds. The reason it often goes unchecked is because employers or managers either don\u2019t know what steps to take, or don\u2019t fully understand the importance of them.<\/p>\n

You should take time to engage your employees, implement employee retention strategies, and even try hosting an employee appreciation day<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Specifically, employee engagement<\/a> is key. Simply providing more positive feedback, encouraging creativity, and building trust with your employees can go a long way.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Improve Your Training<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the reasons onboarding and training can quickly become a major expense is that it isn\u2019t optimized. With the right puzzle pieces in place, you can greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to bring a new worker up to speed and provide a better education in the process.<\/p>\n

Here are a few items you should consider creating if you haven\u2019t already:<\/p>\n

– An employee handbook
\n– An employee training plan
\n– Detailed checklists for every task<\/p>\n

Holding regular staff meetings and reviews as well as cross-training your staff can also help with optimizing your labor budget.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:<\/strong> How to Cross-Train Your Restaurant Employees<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>Systemize & Optimize Your Business<\/span><\/h2>\n

The first step to systemizing your business is creating Standard Operating Procedures<\/a> (or SOPs).<\/p>\n

Once your SOPs are in place, it\u2019s a matter of implementing and then optimizing them.<\/p>\n

This is an ongoing process, and there isn\u2019t necessarily an end to it. There are always more SOPs to create, and you can always make processes more efficient.<\/p>\n

But one thing is for sure \u2013 your employees will be far more effective in their work when they have process maps, checklists, or flowcharts. When they\u2019re equipped with the right tools, you\u2019ll find much of their work can be completed without your direct involvement.<\/p>\n

If you aren\u2019t convinced of the importance of systems, you have but to look to the success of popular chains like Subway and McDonald\u2019s to know they work.<\/p>\n

Additionally, using a tool like a POS system<\/a> that allows you to track sales will help you collect valuable data you can use to project weekly labor costs.<\/p>\n

With the help of systems, your workers will make fewer mistakes and will end up costing your restaurant less.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:<\/strong> How Much Does it Really Cost to Start a Restaurant<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>Perfect Your Scheduling<\/span><\/h2>\n

When it comes to scheduling, many managers have trouble getting away from manually updating Excel spreadsheets and then sending out emails and making calls to confirm shifts and time off requests.<\/p>\n

This takes far too much of your time and can become a major headache when there are multiple versions of the spreadsheets being passed around, and emails are constantly flying back and forth for confirmation.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no longer necessary to rely on hard copy calendars or Excel spreadsheets. We are in the digital age, and there are better alternatives available, such as a restaurant scheduling app<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These apps allow you to set up schedules in minutes, send mobile notifications, manage everything from one place, and more. When you use an app like this, you\u2019ll begin to eliminate scheduling errors and reduce labor costs.<\/p>\n

These tools can also help you predict labor costs because they calculate your planned hours\/shifts on the schedule and correlate costs to the positions and rate you\u2019ve designated to them. This will give you a more accurate projection, and after the weekly is over, if you\u2019re using the time tracking<\/a> feature, you can analyze the labor costs and compare them to your sales.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:<\/strong> The Relational Employee Schedule Formula<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/span>Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n

If you put these strategies into action, you\u2019ll be in a strong position to reduce labor costs and make them more predictable \u2014 helping you stay on budget and avoid unnecessary overruns.<\/p>\n

That said, results won\u2019t happen overnight. Consistent effort across areas like turnover, training, systems, and scheduling is key to seeing meaningful, long-term improvements.<\/p>\n

Looking for a smarter way to manage your restaurant schedule? Learn what ZoomShift can do for you<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Budgeting for labor is difficult. But when you know exactly how much it costs and can plan for it, you can ensure your costs are more predictable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":3071,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMastering Labor Budgeting: Tips for Predictable Cost Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn effective strategies for budgeting labor costs to ensure predictability and control in your business finances.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mastering Labor Budgeting: Tips for Predictable Cost Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn effective strategies for budgeting labor costs to ensure predictability and control in your business finances.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zoomshift\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T06:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T12:49:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/How-Restaurants-Can-Set-and-Stick-To-A-Labor-Budget.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1138\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"493\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"JD Spinoza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"JD Spinoza\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/\",\"name\":\"Mastering Labor Budgeting: Tips for Predictable Cost Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-26T06:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-30T12:49:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e23c4b55eead5e752c5f361c9d670e63\"},\"description\":\"Learn effective strategies for budgeting labor costs to ensure predictability and control in your business finances.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Restaurants Can Set and Stick to a Labor Budget\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zoomshift\",\"description\":\"SMB Management Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e23c4b55eead5e752c5f361c9d670e63\",\"name\":\"JD Spinoza\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a95e64e4714f0d96cfab797f042000d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a95e64e4714f0d96cfab797f042000d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"JD Spinoza\"},\"description\":\"JD enjoys teaching people how to use ZoomShift to save time spent on scheduling. He\u2019s curious, likes learning new things everyday and playing the guitar (although it\u2019s a work in progress).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jdspinoza\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/author\/jd\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mastering Labor Budgeting: Tips for Predictable Cost Management","description":"Learn effective strategies for budgeting labor costs to ensure predictability and control in your business finances.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mastering Labor Budgeting: Tips for Predictable Cost Management","og_description":"Learn effective strategies for budgeting labor costs to ensure predictability and control in your business finances.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/","og_site_name":"Zoomshift","article_published_time":"2026-02-26T06:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-30T12:49:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1138,"height":493,"url":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/How-Restaurants-Can-Set-and-Stick-To-A-Labor-Budget.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"JD Spinoza","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"JD Spinoza","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/","name":"Mastering Labor Budgeting: Tips for Predictable Cost Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-26T06:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:49:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e23c4b55eead5e752c5f361c9d670e63"},"description":"Learn effective strategies for budgeting labor costs to ensure predictability and control in your business finances.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/restaurants-set-and-stick-to-labor-budget\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Restaurants Can Set and Stick to a Labor Budget"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/","name":"Zoomshift","description":"SMB Management Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e23c4b55eead5e752c5f361c9d670e63","name":"JD Spinoza","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a95e64e4714f0d96cfab797f042000d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5a95e64e4714f0d96cfab797f042000d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"JD Spinoza"},"description":"JD enjoys teaching people how to use ZoomShift to save time spent on scheduling. He\u2019s curious, likes learning new things everyday and playing the guitar (although it\u2019s a work in progress).","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jdspinoza\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/author\/jd\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=859"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6110,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/859\/revisions\/6110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoomshift.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}