GP% and Selling Prices
Gross Profit percentage (GP%) is the single most important number in hospitality finance. It tells you how much of every pound of revenue is left after you pay for the ingredients. CostingBrik makes it easy to set, track, and protect your GP% across your entire menu.
What GP% means
GP% measures the proportion of revenue that remains after deducting the cost of the ingredients (also called Cost of Goods Sold, or COGS).
GP% = ((Selling Price - Food Cost) / Selling Price) x 100
Example:
- You sell a dish for £12.00.
- The ingredients cost £3.60.
- GP% = ((£12.00 - £3.60) / £12.00) x 100 = 70%
This means 70p of every pound spent on that dish is gross profit - available to cover labour, rent, utilities, and your own margin.
GP% is calculated on the selling price. Markup is calculated on the cost. They are not the same thing.
- A dish costing £3.00 sold for £10.00 has a 70% GP% but a 233% markup.
- A dish with a 100% markup (cost £3.00, sold for £6.00) only has a 50% GP%.
The hospitality industry standard is to work in GP%, not markup. CostingBrik uses GP% throughout.
Setting target GP%
You can set a target GP% at multiple levels in CostingBrik:
Per recipe
When editing a recipe, enter your target GP% in the pricing section. Brikly will then:
- Calculate the recommended selling price based on the current food cost and your target GP%.
- Flag the recipe if the actual GP% falls below target due to ingredient price changes.
Per category
You can set default GP% targets per recipe category. For example:
| Category | Target GP% |
|---|---|
| Starters | 70% |
| Mains | 68% |
| Desserts | 72% |
| Hot drinks | 80% |
| Cold drinks | 75% |
| Alcoholic drinks | 78% |
When you create a new recipe in a category, the category's default target is applied automatically. You can override it on individual recipes.
Global default
Set a global default GP% target that applies across your entire operation. This is useful for quick reporting - you can instantly see which recipes are above or below target.
Calculating selling price from cost and GP%
The formula to calculate the selling price you need to achieve a target GP%:
Selling Price = Food Cost / (1 - (Target GP% / 100))
Examples:
| Food cost | Target GP% | Selling price (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| £1.20 | 70% | £1.20 / 0.30 = £4.00 |
| £2.50 | 68% | £2.50 / 0.32 = £7.81 |
| £0.45 | 80% | £0.45 / 0.20 = £2.25 |
| £3.80 | 65% | £3.80 / 0.35 = £10.86 |
Brikly does this calculation for you. On every recipe, once you set a target GP%, the recommended selling price is displayed automatically.
The formula might give you £7.81, but you will probably price the dish at £7.95 or £8.00 on your menu. Use the calculated price as your floor - round up to a sensible menu price, which will give you slightly better than your target GP%.
Common GP% targets in hospitality
GP% targets vary by sector, but here are the widely accepted benchmarks in the UK and Ireland:
Food
| Type | Typical GP% range |
|---|---|
| Quick service / takeaway | 65-70% |
| Casual dining | 65-70% |
| Fine dining | 68-75% |
| Bakery / cafe | 65-72% |
| Pubs (food) | 60-68% |
Drinks
| Type | Typical GP% range |
|---|---|
| Coffee | 78-85% |
| Tea | 85-90% |
| Soft drinks | 75-80% |
| Draft beer | 70-75% |
| Bottled beer | 65-70% |
| Wine (by glass) | 75-80% |
| Wine (by bottle) | 65-72% |
| Cocktails | 75-82% |
Your target GP% should reflect your business model. A high-volume, low-service operation can work at 62-65% GP. A low-volume venue with high labour and rent costs might need 72%+ to be viable. Use these benchmarks as a starting point and adjust based on your actual overheads.
How CostingBrik protects your GP%
Automatic monitoring
Every time an ingredient price updates, Brikly recalculates the GP% for every affected recipe. If any recipe drops below its target GP%, it is flagged on:
- The recipe list - with a warning indicator.
- The costing dashboard - in the "Below Target GP%" section.
- Alerts - if you have configured notifications.
Scenario modelling
Before changing a menu price or accepting a supplier price increase, you can model the impact:
- "What if this ingredient goes up 10%?" - see how it affects every recipe that uses it.
- "What selling price do I need to maintain 70% GP?" - get an instant answer.
- "What happens to my average GP% if I drop this dish to £9.95?" - see the margin impact.
Menu-level GP%
CostingBrik does not just track GP% per recipe - it can calculate a weighted average GP% across your menu. This takes into account how many of each dish you sell (from POS data or manual volume estimates) and tells you your true blended margin.
This is critical because a menu full of 70% GP dishes is only delivering 70% GP if every dish sells equally. In reality, your bestseller might be a 62% GP burger while your high-margin salads barely sell. The weighted average shows you the real picture.
Quick reference: GP% formula card
| You know... | You want... | Formula |
|---|---|---|
| Cost + Selling price | GP% | ((Selling - Cost) / Selling) x 100 |
| Cost + Target GP% | Selling price | Cost / (1 - GP%/100) |
| Selling price + Target GP% | Maximum food cost | Selling x (1 - GP%/100) |