The Toolkit
The worksheets I wish
someone had handed me.
Four working documents, built from the same numbers as the free calculator and two decades of doing this. Print them, fill them in, argue with them. Free, like everything here.
Pick your document.
Prefer it computed?
The free calculator runs your exact numbers live: cost to open, the ×1.4 reserve, and your break-even, for your concept and your city.
Run your numbersQuestions owners actually ask
What documents do you need to plan a restaurant or coffee shop?
You need four working documents to plan a food business properly: a startup budget worksheet, a one-page business plan a bank can actually read, a weekly numbers scorecard, and a lease-clause checklist. Together they turn the idea into numbers on paper before you commit real money. All four are free to print on this page.
What should you check before signing a restaurant lease?
Before you sign, check the seven lease clauses that sink food businesses. A landlord-friendly lease can kill an otherwise healthy shop, and you cannot negotiate a clause you have not spotted. The free 7 Lease Clauses Checklist walks through each one in plain words.
How do you write a business plan a bank will take seriously?
Banks read numbers, not vision statements: your cost to open, your cash reserve, your break-even, and how the loan gets repaid. One tight page built on real figures beats forty pages of filler. The One-Page Fundable Business Plan template gives you that page.
What numbers should you track weekly in a food business?
Track your average order value, your prime cost against the 25/25/25 target, and your burn rate every single week. Those three numbers warn you a month or two before the P&L does. The 3 Numbers Scorecard is the printable version: fill it in weekly and argue with it.