A salad shop sells fresh food that doesn't keep. A chopped salad with chicken costs about $3.85 to make and sells for $12.50, but greens, cut vegetables and proteins have to be bought and prepped every day, and what isn't sold by close is thrown out. The plan turns on wages for a morning prep crew and a fast lunch line, rent near offices, the walk-in that keeps produce cold, and keeping waste low with a menu built from shared ingredients. In the example, a Columbus salad shop starts with $198,400, ends its first year about $19,400 behind before the owner's pay while sales build, and makes about $4,000 a month at full speed. Below is each part of the plan, the first year month by month, the startup budget, and a free template.
The short version
- Describe the shop in a paragraph: the offices nearby, the lunch rush, the goals.
- Cost each bowl: greens, protein, toppings, dressing, the bowl and the card fee.
- Plan sales by category per $100: salads, grain bowls, soups and drinks, catering.
- Wages and rent are the fixed costs that decide the month.
- Prep to what sells; cut produce doesn't last.
- Budget working cash for the slow first months, and check it against the lowest cash point.
- TaroStack makes each bowl a recipe, so its true cost follows the price of what's in it. More below.
Part 1: the business description
Greenline Salad Co., a made-up salad shop in Columbus, Ohio, writes:
Greenline Salad Co. is a 1,200-square-foot fast-casual salad shop near downtown offices, with chopped salads, grain bowls, soups and fresh juices, and catering trays for office lunches. In its first year it aims to reach $40,000 of sales a month.
Part 2: what a bowl costs
| Bowl | Greens and vegetables | Protein | Toppings and dressing | Bowl and lid | Card fee | Cost | Price | Cost share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken chopped salad | $1.10 | $1.40 | $0.65 | $0.32 | $0.38 | $3.85 | $12.50 | 30.8% |
| Salmon grain bowl | $0.90 | $2.60 | $0.70 | $0.32 | $0.44 | $4.96 | $14.50 | 34.2% |
Protein is the biggest single cost; the toppings bar decides the rest. How a food cost share is judged is in what is a good food cost percentage.
Part 3: customers and staffing
Lunch from 11 to 2 is most of the day; four people prep from 7 and six work the line at lunch. Catering trays go out at 11:30 on weekdays. The shop closes at 7.
Part 4: what each category earns
| Category | Sales | Variable cost | Contribution | Margin | Hundreds a month at full speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salads | $100.00 | $31.00 | $69.00 | 69% | 240 |
| Grain bowls | $100.00 | $34.00 | $66.00 | 66% | 80 |
| Soups, juices and drinks | $100.00 | $30.00 | $70.00 | 70% | 40 |
| Catering trays | $100.00 | $30.00 | $70.00 | 70% | 40 |
At full speed the business sells $40,000 a month and keeps $27,440, 68.6%; salads bring $16,560 of it.
Part 5: the first year, month by month
Fixed costs are $23,400 every month: rent ($5,200), wages ($15,500), utilities ($1,100), insurance ($300), register and software ($250), ads ($500), and other costs ($550). Sales start at half of full speed:
| Month | Sales | Profit | Cash, year to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $20,000 | −$9,680 | −$9,680 |
| 2 | $22,300 | −$8,104 | −$17,784 |
| 3 | $24,900 | −$6,319 | −$24,103 |
| 4 | $27,100 | −$4,809 | −$28,912 |
| 5 | $29,700 | −$3,024 | −$31,936 |
| 6 | $32,000 | −$1,448 | −$33,384 |
| 7 | $34,000 | −$76 | −$33,460 |
| 8 | $35,700 | $1,092 | −$32,368 |
| 9 | $37,100 | $2,051 | −$30,317 |
| 10 | $38,300 | $2,872 | −$27,445 |
| 11 | $40,000 | $4,040 | −$23,405 |
| 12 | $40,000 | $4,040 | −$19,365 |
The year's sales are $381,100, and the business ends it $19,365 behind, before the owner's pay. It breaks even at about $34,110 of sales a month, in the eighth month. The lowest cash point, −$33,460 in month 7, is covered by the $50,000 of working cash with about $16,500 to spare. Wages are two-thirds of the fixed costs; produce thrown out at close is the cost that grows quietly, which is why the menu shares ingredients across bowls.
Part 6: the startup budget
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Build-out and signs | $75,000 |
| Refrigeration and walk-in | $26,000 |
| Prep line and smallwares | $14,000 |
| Furniture | $10,000 |
| Lease deposit and first month | $10,400 |
| Signs and branding | $5,000 |
| Opening inventory | $4,000 |
| Register | $2,500 |
| Licenses and permits | $1,500 |
| Working cash | $50,000 |
| Total to start | $198,400 |
The $148,400 before working cash is earned back in about three years at full speed. A sandwich-first shop is in sandwich shop business plan, and a smoothie-first one in smoothie business plan.
Get the template
Download the salad shop business plan workbook. Four sheets: your categories, each per $100 of sales with its variable cost and hundreds a month at full speed; the first year, month by month, with sales ramping up, profit, cash, the first profitable month, the lowest cash point and whether the working cash covers it; your fixed costs; and the startup budget. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The plan uses one share for produce. The shop throws out a different amount every day: a rainy Tuesday's cut romaine, avocados that turned, and chicken prepped for a lunch rush that didn't come.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack makes each bowl a recipe, so its true cost follows the price of greens, chicken and avocados.
Bowls as recipes. Each bowl is a recipe by weight, so its cost moves when the supplier's price does.
Counts with no signal. The cooler and dry storage can be counted on a phone with no signal, and the reorder list shows what runs out first in days of cover.
Waste with a reason. Cut produce thrown out at close is recorded as waste with a reason, reported by item.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What a bowl costs this month | Worked out once | True cost from the recipe |
| What to order before the weekend | A guess | The reorder list |
| What was thrown out | Not recorded | Waste by reason and item |
Recipes, counts and the reorder list are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.