Benchmarking Helps Restaurants Measure—and Improve—Their Performance

Benchmarking is the process of calculating your restaurant's key financial or operational metrics and comparing them to established standards. Those standards may be industry averages, the performance of "best-in-class" restaurants or even your own restaurant's past performance. Benchmarking can be an effective tool for identifying areas in need of improvement, spotting dangerous trends while there is still time to address them and enhancing your restaurant's profitability.

Below are some of the most useful benchmarks for restaurants. Keep in mind, however, that the right benchmarks for your restaurant depend on the type of restaurant, its size, its geographical location and other factors.