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Food & hospitality / Question & answer

Restaurant: Why does adding the fee percentage leave a shortfall?

Find the charge needed to retain a chosen amount after payment processing.

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Restaurant / cover economics
Answer

The percentage fee applies to the final charge. This arithmetic does not determine whether surcharging is permitted.

Try this with your own numbers

Formula and worked example

Charge = (required receipt + fixed fee) / (1 − percentage fee)

Example figures
InputExample
Required net receipt500
Processor fee2.9 %
Fixed transaction fee0.3
Calculated result515.242

Choose reliable inputs

Track purchased quantities, usable yield, labour and waste before deciding on a selling price. For this restaurant calculation, use recipe sheets, supplier invoices and stock counts and a consistent definition of one cover.

  • Ingredients: include the portion belonging to this cover or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
  • Service labour: include the portion belonging to this cover or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
  • Facility overhead: include the portion belonging to this cover or reporting period, and record where the value came from.

Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.

Why does adding the fee percentage leave a shortfall?

The percentage fee applies to the final charge. This arithmetic does not determine whether surcharging is permitted.

Compare a different assumption

What if this input changes?

If required net receipt rises by 10%, this example changes by 51.4933 . This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.

Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.

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