Description

Most schedules get written the same way: copy last week, swap a few names, post it. Then Tuesday has five people standing around on a slow night, Friday is short two when the rush hits, and someone drifts into overtime because of a shift swap nobody tracked.

You find out when payroll comes in. By then the money is already spent.

This planner ties your schedule to your sales before the week starts. Forecast each day, staff to that forecast, and check what the schedule will cost while you can still change it. Then track food and labor together, because those two costs decide whether the week made money.

What’s inside the printable planner (13 pages):

• How to Use This Planner: what to pull from your POS and payroll, and how the weekly routine works.
• Staff Roster & Labor Targets: your labor %, prime cost %, overtime line, payroll load, and every staff member’s position, rate, and availability.
• Sales Forecast: expected sales by day from the last four weeks, adjusted for holidays, events, and weather. Includes peak and slow hours.
• Staffing Guide: how many people each position needs at each sales level. Build it once, use it every week. Includes a sales-per-labor-hour target and shift rules.
• Weekly Schedule: shifts, hours, and wages for up to 20 people.
• Schedule Cost Check: projected labor % for every day before you post, with a checklist to run first.
• Daily Labor Check: sales against plan during the shift, plus a cut order decided in advance, so nobody has to make that call in the middle of a slow night.
• Prime Cost Summary: weekly food and beverage cost plus total labor, and what to check when it runs high.
• Time-Off & Overtime Watch: approve requests before scheduling, and catch overtime mid-week, before the weekend.
• Common Mistakes to Avoid: six ways labor cost gets away from owners.

What’s inside the companion spreadsheet:

• A four-week sales forecast with adjustments and a lunch and dinner split
• Enter shifts as start, end, and unpaid break, and hours and wages calculate automatically, including shifts that end after midnight
• Projected labor % by day and for the week, with days over target flagged in red
• A Staffing Guide check that highlights days scheduled with more people than you need
• An overtime watch that flags anyone in or near overtime, or over the hours they asked for
• Labor cost broken down by position
• Daily actuals to compare real sales and hours against the plan
• A weekly prime cost tracker
• Comes loaded with an example week so you can see how it works before you add your own

Built for the way restaurants actually run:

• Printable PDF, US Letter size, in black and white
• Spreadsheet works in Excel and Google Sheets
• Uses the sales reports from your POS and the numbers from your payroll
• No theory and no filler, just who to schedule, what it costs, and what to change

Who it’s for: owners and managers of independent restaurants, cafes, bars, and food trucks who write the schedule every week and want labor cost under control before payroll, not after.

How often to use it: the forecast, schedule, and cost check run every week. Review the Staffing Guide and your targets every 90 days, or after any change to hours, menu, or pay rates.

Pairs with the Food Cost & Recipe Costing Workbook. Together they cover both halves of prime cost: food and labor.

Instant digital download: one PDF and one spreadsheet (.xlsx). The printable planner is not a fillable form. Overtime, break, and scheduling rules vary by state and city. This planner flags hours against the overtime line you set, but it is not legal or payroll advice.