Made by someone who has opened the venues
Andrea Calistri, founder of ACRA, has opened over 200 venues and has led restaurant chains in Italy, France and the Netherlands. The file comes out of that work.
ACRA Academy / ACRA Food Cost Pro
Know what every dish costs and what you really spend.
ACRA Food Cost Pro is the Excel file that shows what each dish costs and what you actually spend in the kitchen and at the bar, month by month. For restaurants, pizzerias, bars and gelaterias. English edition, amounts in euros.
€49launch price until 30 November, then €79
- Enter your purchases by hand or paste them from your accounting software
- Know what every dish costs and what to charge for it
- See the actual food cost of every month, not just the theoretical one
- Food cost and beverage cost calculated separately, with bar-kitchen transfers
- Keep stock, waste and staff meals under control
- Works with Excel on Windows and Mac
- 7 video guides in Italian, and email support
Buy and download now →Card, Apple Pay and other methods · secure payment with Stripe
Sold to customers in the European Union.
Sold to customers in the European Union.
Why is your food cost higher than expected at the end of the month?
Generous portions, waste, comped dishes, supplier prices that keep rising.
In the sample venue of the file, in one month, they cost €630. The file shows you how much they weigh in euros and where they come from.
You enter the purchases, the file does the rest
Type each invoice line into the Purchases sheet, or paste the lines from your accounting software or a spreadsheet. The columns are the ones on the invoice: date, supplier, item, quantity, unit and amount.
The first time, you link the supplier’s item to your raw material. From the next purchase the file does it for you, and it updates the prices.
You know what every dish costs
Fill in the recipe cards in grams. The file calculates the cost of each portion, allows for trimming and cooking losses, and gives you the minimum selling price that keeps you within your target food cost.
For every dish you see the contribution margin and its share of revenue.
At the end of the month, the numbers add up
Take the inventory and enter your POS revenue. The file calculates the actual food cost and beverage cost, compares them with the theoretical ones and breaks the variance down in euros: discounts, comps and staff meals, waste, purchase price increases and the part that cannot be explained.
The whole year in a single file, month by month.
Ready in three steps
- 1Enter your raw materials and recipe cardsOnce only. It takes an afternoon.
- 2Enter your purchasesEvery week, typed in or pasted from your accounting software.
- 3Close the monthTake the inventory, enter your revenue and press «Close the selected month». The file does the rest.
Why this file
Easy even if Excel is not your job
You type only in the yellow cells. The formulas are protected and every sheet has an example row.
No subscription
The file is yours, with no fees. Your data stays on your computer.
ACRA Food Cost Pro
€49launch price until 30 November, then €79
- The Excel file for your venue, English edition
- 7 video guides included, in Italian
- Email support: supporto@acretailadvisory.it
- Free updates of version 1
Buy and download now →Card, Apple Pay and other methods · secure payment with Stripe
Sold to customers in the European Union.
Sold to customers in the European Union.
Frequently asked questions
Does it work on a Mac?
Yes, with Excel 2016 or later, including Microsoft 365. On Windows you need Excel 2010 or later.
Does it work with Google Sheets, Numbers or Excel on iPad?
No. You need Excel on a computer, because the buttons that close and reopen the month are macros.
Do I need to be good at Excel?
No. You type only in the yellow cells and everything else is calculated for you. Every sheet has an example row, and 7 video guides take you through it step by step.
How do I enter my purchases?
In the Purchases sheet, one row for each invoice line: date, supplier, item, quantity, unit, line total excluding VAT and VAT rate. You can type the rows or paste them from your accounting software or a spreadsheet. The first time you buy an item you link it to one of your raw materials; from then on the file does it for you and keeps prices up to date.
Can I use my own VAT rate?
Yes. In Settings you enter the VAT rate on your sales, and every purchase line carries its own VAT rate. Amounts are in euros.
Excel asks me to enable macros. Is that normal?
Yes. The macros are two buttons: «Close the selected month» and «Reopen the selected month». They do not connect to the internet: your data stays on your computer. On a Mac, press «Enable Macros». On Windows, if a red bar says «Microsoft has blocked macros from running»: close the file, right-click it, choose Properties, tick «Unblock» and press OK. Then reopen the file and press «Enable Content».
Does it also calculate beverage cost?
Yes. Every raw material is assigned to food or beverage: the file calculates the two costs separately, each against its own target, and accounts for what moves between bar and kitchen, such as the wine in a risotto. For revenue you need two departments on your POS, one for food and one for beverage: your POS supplier can set them up.
How many dishes can I enter?
Up to 200 dishes, 300 raw materials and 15,000 purchase lines in a year.
Are the video guides in English?
No. The 7 video guides are in Italian and have no English subtitles. They are recorded on the Italian edition of the file: the sheets and calculations are the same, so you can follow every step on screen. The Instructions sheet inside the file is in English. One guide covers importing Italian electronic invoices, which this edition does not have, because purchases are entered as described above.
How do I receive the file?
Right after payment, a page opens where you can download it.
Would you rather have ACRA analyze your menu? There is the Food cost and menu service. The Excel business plan for opening a venue is coming soon: leave your email below to hear first.
ACRA Academy
Excel business plan: coming soon
A single email, when it is available.
More from ACRA Academy
Restaurant check-upWhere the restaurant loses margin, in euros.Food cost and menu analysisThe cost of every dish and the right menu prices.Restaurant business planCustom-built, with a 5-year financial plan.Store manager trainingFive modules: numbers, shifts, food cost, team and leadership. Coming soon.
