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Your restaurant opening budget
Enter your estimates in US dollars. Blank fields count as zero. Figures stay in this page and are lost on refresh; download a CSV to keep them. Downloads are counted, but your budget amounts are not sent to analytics.
Reserve = monthly costs × months, with no sales assumed. Contingency applies only to one-time costs. Values below zero count as zero; months are capped at 60 and contingency at 100%. Avoid counting annual premiums and monthly installments twice.
- One-time costs
- $0
- Contingency
- $0
- Operating reserve
- $0
- Estimated total cash needed
- $0
- Committed available cash
- $0
- Funding gap
- $0
Totals display rounded dollars; the CSV preserves cents. These are scenario calculations, not a financing recommendation or an insurance quote.
What belongs in the one-time budget?
Start with the cash you expect to pay before service begins: lease and utility deposits, design and professional fees, permit applications, improvements, kitchen equipment, furniture, smallwares, initial inventory, and pre-opening training. Include sales tax, freight, installation, and other charges in the relevant estimate when they apply.
Treat this as a cash-planning worksheet, not a tax classification. A refundable deposit still uses cash. A financed appliance may require a deposit now and payments later; enter the upfront amount here and put its ongoing payment in monthly costs. Avoid counting the full purchase price and the financed balance as two separate opening expenses.
Estimate monthly cash needs
Build recurring costs from your planned schedule: occupancy, payroll and related costs, utilities, food and packaging, insurance installments, software, debt payments, and other bills. The calculator multiplies your monthly total by the number of reserve months you choose. That is a simple scenario assuming no incoming sales; it is not a profit forecast or a recommended reserve duration.
For a fuller forecast, create a month-by-month cash-flow sheet with expected receipts and payments. Include slower sales, supplier payment dates, loan repayments, and delays in receiving funds. Do not count sales tax collected for remittance as money freely available for operating expenses.
Make uncertain estimates visible
Mark each estimate as confirmed, quoted, or still to research in your working notes. Ask contractors whether their price includes permit work, utility upgrades, hood work, and change orders. Ask the landlord to confirm the condition and ownership of equipment left by a previous tenant.
The worksheet applies your chosen contingency percentage to one-time costs only. It does not inflate the operating reserve. Change the percentage to compare scenarios, and separately add extra reserve months if the opening schedule is uncertain.
Budget insurance against the actual operation
Request estimates using your address, menu, expected sales, alcohol service, payroll, equipment values, and lease requirements. Keep the deposit or upfront premium separate from later installments. If you enter a full annual premium as an opening payment, do not add the same premium again as monthly installments.
Review limits, deductibles, exclusions, payment fees, and effective dates alongside price. The insurance allowance in your startup budget is a planning input; the worksheet does not generate an insurance quote.
Use the funding gap to plan your next step
Subtract cash actually committed and available for the project from the estimated total. Keep pending financing and money restricted to another purpose out of the available-cash field. A zero gap in this scenario does not establish that the business will be profitable or that a lender will approve financing.
Download the worksheet and replace remaining placeholders with supplier or adviser estimates. Revisit it when the menu, premises, staffing, or construction scope changes. The calculator starts blank so none of its values can be mistaken for a market benchmark.
Use this guide for planning. Confirm requirements and current fees with the agencies serving your address. Coverage depends on the policy and insurer; this guide does not confirm that a particular operation is eligible.