Event P&L.

Per head — enter your guest count and the rate you're charging per person (food + drinks package, etc.). This is the most useful mode for events with a fixed per-head price.

Flat total — use this when you have a fixed venue hire fee or know the total revenue regardless of covers.

The Projected revenue figure is a calculation based on your inputs. Actual revenue on the night may differ if covers change — keep that in mind when reading the margin.

This covers your raw ingredient and drink costs — i.e. what you actually spend on the food and drink you serve.

% of revenue is best when planning ahead. A combined food and drink cost of 28–32% of revenue is a typical target. Food alone is usually 25–32%, drinks 18–24%.

Actual £ is best for post-event review when you have real invoiced costs to hand. Switching to actual costs will give you a true post-event P&L.

Add each role or person with their hours worked and hourly rate. The tool totals these automatically. If you just want a rough figure, use Flat £ mode instead.

Labour cost as a % of revenue is typically 25–35% for a well-run event. Higher is a warning sign, especially for smaller events where fixed labour isn't spread across enough covers.

Any cost that doesn't vary with guest count — room hire, entertainment, equipment hire, florals, linen, etc. These are the costs you pay regardless of whether 50 or 150 people show up.

Gross margin = revenue minus all costs, expressed as a percentage of revenue. Green (≥65%) is healthy for hospitality events. Amber (50–64%) is marginal. Red (<50%) is a loss-maker after labour and overheads are counted.

These thresholds are for gross margin — they don't account for your wider venue overheads (rent, rates, etc.). If those are significant, you'll want your event margin to be in the green range.

The minimum number of guests needed to cover your fixed costs (labour + overheads), given your per-head rate and variable costs. Only shown in per-head revenue mode.

Use the scenario slider in the results panel to see what happens to your margin if covers drop on the night.