Canadian menu pricing fails less from one bad formula and more from small setup drift: stale costs, wrong province tax mapping, and cash-handling gaps at checkout. Those issues compound quietly until contribution drops on high-volume items.
This checklist gives a monthly control cycle with province-aware tax handling and cash-rounding verification.
Quick Summary
- Review top items monthly using pre-tax math.
- Validate GST/HST setup by province in POS.
- Reprice items that moved materially above target cost.
- Test post-tax cash rounding behaviour on cash tenders.
Why a Faster Review Cycle Matters in 2026
Statistics Canada reported on 2026-01-20 (December 2025 CPI release):
All-items CPI:+1.8%year over yearFood purchased from restaurants:+3.6%year over year
When restaurant inflation runs above all-items CPI, annual or ad-hoc repricing is usually too slow.
Step 1) Standardize the Pricing Formula (Pre-tax First)
menuPriceBeforeTax = itemCost / targetFoodCostRate
checkoutTotal = menuPriceBeforeTax x (1 + applicableTaxRate)Keep one internal pre-tax price base across channels, then apply province tax rules at checkout.
Step 2) Province Tax Configuration Check
Quick validation points:
- Confirm each location uses the correct province tax setup (
GST,HST, orGST + PST/QST). - Audit one receipt per location for tax line accuracy.
- Re-test taxes after POS menu imports or bulk price updates.
Step 3) Cash Rounding Check (After Tax)
For cash tenders, final totals are rounded to the nearest five cents after tax. Card and digital payments stay at exact cents.
Example (Ontario, 13% HST):
- Pre-tax menu price:
C$14.00 - Post-tax total:
C$15.82 - Cash settlement:
C$15.80
Worked Example: Repricing One High-Volume Item
Assume:
- Updated item food cost:
C$4.50 - Target food cost rate:
30%
menuPriceBeforeTax = 4.50 / 0.30 = C$15.00Checkout comparison:
- Toronto (
13% HST):C$16.95 - Calgary (
5% GST):C$15.75
Same item, same pre-tax base, different checkout totals by province.
Local Execution: Downtown Toronto vs Halifax Neighborhood
| Location context | Common pricing issue | Practical move |
|---|---|---|
| Downtown Toronto quick-service lunch | Frequent discounting erodes contribution | Apply discount guardrails tied to minimum pre-tax margin |
| Halifax neighborhood dine-in | Higher tax-inclusive sticker sensitivity | Test rounded ladder prices and confirm post-tax receipt totals in POS |
20-Minute Monthly Menu Price Loop
- Export top 20 items by revenue and quantity.
- Refresh ingredient and packaging costs from current invoices.
- Recompute pre-tax floor prices by target food cost.
- Verify province tax mapping and test one checkout per location.
- Test cash rounding on one cash scenario per location.
Related Guides
- Canada Menu Pricing Guide
- Canada Menu Pricing Calculator
- Canada Menu Price Rounding Guide
- Canada GST/HST Pricing Guide
- Canada Restaurant Labour Cost Calculator
- Canada Delivery App Pricing Guide
KitchenCost helps you run recipe cost, tax-aware menu pricing, and monthly review tracking in one place.