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US Labor Minutes Per Dish Calculator (2026): Convert Scheduling Pain Into Menu Math

A practical U.S. guide for owner-operators to calculate labor cost per dish from minutes worked, loaded wage rate, and service channel mix.

Published Feb 14, 2026
labor cost per dishrestaurant labor calculatormenu costingowner operatorprime costusa
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If payroll keeps hurting, but you cannot see which menu items are causing it, you need labor minutes per dish.

Most operators track total labor % only. That helps with diagnosis, but it is too blunt for pricing decisions.

This guide turns labor from schedule pain into item-level numbers you can use this week.

Quick Summary

  • Convert hourly pay into loaded labor rate first
  • Price from labor minutes per dish, not broad labor %
  • Separate dine-in and delivery packout minutes
  • Update assumptions monthly to avoid quiet margin drift

Why This Matters in 2026

NFIB’s January 2026 report still lists labor quality and inflation among top small-business pressures. And federal wage/tax frameworks remain active constraints:

  • Federal minimum wage baseline: $7.25/hour
  • Employer FICA: 7.65%
  • FUTA statutory rate: 6.0% (effective rate often lower with credits)

If you price from base wage only, menu economics are usually understated.

Core Formula

loadedHourlyRate = baseWage x (1 + payrollBurdenRate)
laborCostPerMinute = loadedHourlyRate / 60
laborCostPerDish = laborCostPerMinute x laborMinutesPerDish

Where payrollBurdenRate includes FICA, FUTA, state UI, and employer-paid extras.

Example: Chicken Wrap (Delivery)

Assumptions:

  • Base wage: $18.00/hour
  • Payroll burden rate: 13% (example composite)
  • Prep + line + packout minutes per item: 8.5 minutes

Step 1:

loadedHourlyRate = 18.00 x 1.13 = $20.34

Step 2:

laborCostPerMinute = 20.34 / 60 = $0.339

Step 3:

laborCostPerDish = 0.339 x 8.5 = $2.88

That $2.88 belongs in your price-floor math, not hidden inside monthly averages.

Channel-Specific Minutes Matter

One menu item can have different labor minutes by channel:

  • Dine-in: plating and handoff
  • Pickup: bag/check/label
  • Delivery: bag/check/seal/driver handoff

Treating all channels the same can underprice your highest-friction orders.

Build a 3-Bucket Minutes Model

  1. Low labor (under 5 min)
  2. Mid labor (5 to 9 min)
  3. High labor (10+ min)

Then apply bucket-based labor cost floors before final rounding. This is faster than item-by-item from scratch every week.

Weekly Labor-Minute Audit (15 Minutes)

  1. Time top 5 items in real service
  2. Compare to current assumptions
  3. Flag items with +20% minute creep
  4. Fix workflow or update price floor
  5. Re-check next week

You cannot manage what you never time.

Common Mistakes

  1. Pricing from base wage only
  2. Ignoring payroll burden and employer taxes
  3. Skipping packout/label time for off-premise orders
  4. Never revisiting labor-minute assumptions after menu changes

Small minute drift becomes large payroll leakage over volume.

KitchenCost helps you combine ingredient cost and labor-minute assumptions into one usable price floor per item.

Try KitchenCost.

Sources (checked on 2026-02-14)

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I calculate labor cost per menu item?

Use loaded hourly labor cost, convert it to cost per minute, then multiply by prep + line + packout minutes per item.

What does loaded labor cost include?

Base wage plus employer payroll burdens such as FICA, FUTA, state unemployment, and any employer-paid benefits.

Should owner labor be included?

Yes. If the owner works shifts, include a realistic labor value so menu pricing reflects true operating cost.

How often should labor-minutes assumptions be updated?

At least monthly, and immediately when staffing model, workflow, or wage rates change.

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