7 reasons your pub, café or restaurant is busy but still not making enough money
Full tables and a tired team, yet the bank balance doesn't move. If that sounds familiar, one of these seven is usually to blame. Most can be fixed without spending a penny, once you know where to look. That is exactly what our 30 day Commercial Review finds.
By Alex Garner, founder of Profit Clinic
A decade running pubs, restaurants and hotels
The first step is a free 30 minute Profit Discovery. Nothing to sign.
- 25+ years in hospitality
- 5x Return Guarantee
- Built on your own numbers
- UK wide, we visit venues
1Your menu prices haven't kept up with your costs
Food, energy and wages have all gone up, but most menus get a nervous 50p here and there. The result is a menu that looks fine on paper and quietly loses margin on every cover.
Guests rarely notice a well judged price change. They do notice a smaller portion or a tired dish.
What to check: Cost your top ten dishes and drinks at today's supplier prices, not last year's.
2Your best sellers aren't your most profitable dishes
The dish everyone orders can be the one making you the least. Popular is not the same as profitable, and many venues have never put the two side by side.
Small changes to the menu layout, descriptions and specials can steer guests towards dishes that work harder for you.
What to check: List each dish by how many you sell and how much cash each one leaves you.
3Waste and over ordering are quietly eating your margin
Every bin bag of trimmings, every case that goes out of date and every plate that comes back half eaten was paid for. Most venues don't measure it, so it never gets fixed.
Better par levels, tighter prep and an honest look at portion sizes usually make a difference within weeks.
What to check: Weigh your food waste for one week. The number is usually a surprise.
4Rotas are built around habit, not trade
Many rotas are copied from last week. That means the same number of people on a quiet Tuesday as on a busy one, and gaps on the shifts that actually make money.
Matching hours to sales by the hour is one of the fastest ways to protect profit without cutting service.
What to check: Compare staff hours against takings for each shift over the last month.
- Recognise a few of these?
Let's find out which ones are costing you the most.
Our 30 day Commercial Review works through every one of these in your venue, using your own numbers, and puts a value on each fix. If it doesn't find at least five times our fee, you get your money back.
Start with a free Profit DiscoveryThe first step is a free 30 minute Profit Discovery. Nothing to sign.
5Supplier prices have crept up without anyone noticing
Prices rise a few pence at a time, delivery charges appear, and the deal you agreed three years ago has drifted. Nobody has the time to check every invoice line by line.
Reviewing terms, consolidating suppliers and using group buying can bring meaningful savings back.
What to check: Pick your five biggest suppliers and compare this month's prices with a year ago.
6Your team isn't selling the extras guests would happily buy
Guests who would gladly have a dessert, a second drink or a side often simply aren't asked. That is lost spend on tables you have already worked hard to fill.
A little training and a few simple prompts turn this into a habit, and guests enjoy the visit more too.
What to check: Track how many tables order a dessert or coffee. Then ask the team why.
7You're looking at last month's numbers, not this week's
If the accounts arrive weeks after the month ends, problems have already cost you money by the time you see them. Running a venue on gut feel is exhausting.
A short weekly view of sales, gross profit and labour lets you act while it still matters.
What to check: Choose three numbers you will check every Monday morning, and stick to it.
What we fix in 30 days
Every reason on this page, checked properly in your venue and turned into a plan with a value on it.
- Thirty days inside your business, working from your own sales, costs and supplier invoices
- Every dish and drink costed, with your menu ranked by the cash each item leaves you
- Staff hours matched against takings, shift by shift
- Supplier prices, terms and waste checked line by line
- A simple weekly view of sales, gross profit and labour you can keep using
- A costed Commercial Growth Blueprint: what to change, in what order and what each change is worth
The first step is a free 30 minute Profit Discovery. Nothing to sign.
Guessing
After a Commercial Review
Prices changed when it feels right
Prices set from what each dish really costs
Rotas copied from last week
Hours matched to when you take money
Waste nobody measures
Waste measured and reduced
Accounts weeks after the month ends
A simple weekly view you can act on
Hoping next month is better
A costed plan of what to fix, in order
5x Return Guarantee
If our Commercial Review doesn't identify commercial opportunities with an estimated annual value of at least five times our fee, we'll refund the cost of the review.
- 1
Free Profit Discovery
A 30 minute call with Alex. We look at how you trade and agree honestly whether a Commercial Review is worth it for you.
- 2
30 day Commercial Review
We work through your numbers, menu, rotas, suppliers and waste, and spend time in your venue.
- 3
Your Growth Blueprint
You receive a costed plan showing what to change first and what each change could be worth.
Run by operators, not salespeople.
Alex Garner and his team have spent over decade running pubs, restaurants and hotels before founding Profit Clinic. He is backed by a team with more than 25 years in hospitality, so we know what a Saturday night feels like as well as what the numbers say.
- We work from your own numbers, not a template
- You keep every plan we produce
- Straight answers, including when we can't help
- Every Commercial Review comes with our 5x Return Guarantee
Proud member of Cumbria Tourism
Before you book
What is the 30 day Commercial Review?
It is our main service. Over 30 days we look at every part of your venue that affects profit, including menu pricing, gross profit, staff hours, suppliers, waste and reporting. You finish with a costed Commercial Growth Blueprint for the year ahead.
How does the 5x Return Guarantee work?
If our Commercial Review doesn't identify commercial opportunities with an estimated annual value of at least five times our fee, we'll refund the cost of the review.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of your business. We discuss it openly on your free Profit Discovery, before you commit to anything.
Why start with a Profit Discovery?
So we both know the review is worth doing. It is free, takes around 30 minutes and there is nothing to sign. If we can't help, we will tell you straight.
Is this only for pubs?
No. We work with independent pubs, cafés, restaurants, hotels and small hospitality groups across the UK.
Find out what your venue could be earning.
Fill in the short form and Alex will arrange your free Profit Discovery, where we agree whether the 30 day Commercial Review is right for you. The first step is a free 30 minute Profit Discovery. Nothing to sign.
