Short answer: wages percent is rostered hours times award rate divided by sales; food cost percent is purchases divided by sales. Both come from data you already have (the POS export and the roster), and both can be on one page at 6am.
Why monthly is too late
A wages creep from 31 to 38 percent over three busy weeks is a bad month by the time the bookkeeper reports it. Seen daily, it is a roster change on Wednesday.
The calculation
Sales by day from Square, Lightspeed or your POS. Rostered hours by day from Deputy, Tanda or the roster sheet, costed at award rates including penalties. Purchases by week from supplier invoices as they are filed. Targets by format (most venues aim for 28 to 35 percent on each).
What to do when it drifts
Wages: cut the roster for the slow shifts, not the busy ones; the daily view shows which. Food cost: check the supplier price rises first (they hide in invoices), then portioning, then waste.
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Written by Christian Stewart, Stewart Systems, Wollongong. Published 2026-09-29. Records and flags, not legal, WHS or insurance advice; rules change, check the regulator for the current one.