What Is a Good Sales Per Labor Hour?
Most full-service restaurants target $40–$65 in sales per labor hour. Fast casual typically runs $45–$80 due to higher throughput and lower service labor. If your SPLH is below $35, your scheduling likely has too many hours relative to your volume — compare staffed hours vs. actual cover counts by daypart.
SPLH is most useful as a trend metric. Calculate it weekly and track it over time — if it drops without a revenue explanation, labor hours have crept up relative to sales.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do you calculate sales per labor hour?
Sales Per Labor Hour = Total Revenue ÷ Total Labor Hours Worked. For example: $65,000 revenue ÷ 1,400 hours = $46.43 per labor hour. Include all hourly kitchen and front of house hours, but typically exclude salaried managers from this calculation.
Should I track SPLH by department?
Yes, once you have the data infrastructure to do so. Kitchen SPLH and FOH SPLH tell different stories. Kitchen SPLH is driven by prep efficiency and throughput. FOH SPLH is driven by table turns and average check. Blended SPLH is useful for tracking overall trends.