Guide
The costs that do not care how busy you are.
Fixed costs are the same on a dead Tuesday as on a full Saturday, which is what makes them dangerous.
In short
Rent and other fixed costs should be assessed as a share of sales, and the test is whether they are sustainable at your realistic quiet-period revenue rather than your best month. If prime cost is healthy and there is still nothing left, fixed costs are the problem, and the options are more revenue, renegotiation, or a change of premises.
Updated 28 August 2026
Test against your quiet months, not your best
Fixed costs are survivable at peak by definition. The real test is January, or whenever your quiet period falls. If rent as a share of sales looks reasonable in December and alarming in February, you have a seasonal business carrying a year-round cost, and that needs planning rather than hoping.
List every fixed cost, including the small ones
Rent, rates, insurance, finance repayments, waste collection, software subscriptions, alarm monitoring, music licensing. The small recurring items are individually trivial and collectively significant, and they accumulate because nobody reviews them.
- Rent and rates
- Insurance and finance
- Utilities standing charges
- Software and service subscriptions
- Licences and waste
Cancel what you no longer use
Every restaurant has subscriptions nobody has opened in a year. An annual audit of recurring payments on the bank statement usually finds several. This is the least glamorous and most reliably profitable hour you will spend.
When rent is genuinely too high
If the numbers do not work at realistic revenue, the options are to grow revenue enough to carry it, negotiate with the landlord, or move. Negotiation is more possible than people assume, particularly at break points and particularly if you are a reliable tenant. It requires knowing your numbers and being willing to have the conversation early rather than in crisis.
The honest limitation
You cannot cut your way out of a fundamentally unaffordable lease. If fixed costs are the problem, efficiency projects in the kitchen will not solve it, and continuing to look there wastes the time you have to act.
Questions, answered straight.
Not covered here? Just ask us.
What should rent be as a share of sales?
It varies by format and location, and a single benchmark is not much help. The practical test is whether it is comfortable at your quiet-period revenue.
Can I renegotiate mid-lease?
Sometimes, particularly near a break clause or if the landlord values a reliable tenant. Approach it early and with figures rather than as a distress call.
Should I include my own drawings?
Yes, as a cost. A business that only works because the owner takes nothing is not covering its costs.
How often should I review fixed costs?
Annually for the full list, and check the bank statement for recurring payments quarterly. Subscriptions accumulate faster than anybody expects.
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