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Labor

Coffee Shop Labor Cost Calculator

Lay out who is on the bar each day, set their wages, and see your labor cost as a % of sales. Staffing is usually a coffee shop's biggest controllable cost, so it pays to plan it before you open.

Monthly labor (75 staff hours a week)$6,547 (30% of sales)

Weekly staffing

Set the hours you open each day, then tap an hour to stack more staff on the rush. Every open hour keeps at least one person.

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Staffed time before you open to set up, per open day.

Staffed time after close to clean and cash out, per open day.

Pay at or above your local minimum. Add a ZIP in onboarding to see it here.

Payroll taxes, workers comp, and benefits on top of wages, usually 10 to 15 percent.

Roles

75 bar hrs/wk from your schedule
Are you working the bar?

Back office: ordering, books, scheduling, social. Often the owner's.

Paid hours led by a shift lead who opens, closes, and handles cash.

Who works these hours

about 3 hires

75 hours a week, grouped into shifts of up to 30 hours.

Barista 1
30 hrs
Barista 2
30 hrs
Barista 3
15 hrs
  • This schedule can serve far more than you project, so you may be overstaffed for the volume. Trim quiet hours to a single person to bring labor down.

When someone gives notice

Turnover is normal in coffee, so one resignation should not be a crisis. Before you open, have the basics ready:

  • A written open, close, and drink-build guide so a new hire ramps in days.
  • A cross-trained backup for every shift, so no role is a single point of failure.
  • A short list of where you will recruit: regulars, local culinary programs, Instagram, and job boards.
Plan hiring and onboarding on the Hiring step →

Working it yourself keeps this line low, but your time is not free. If you are not paying someone for setup, driving, or a shift, decide what you are paying yourself for those hours, even if it sits outside this number.

Your numbers save in this browser and carry into the Hiring step of your roadmap.

How it works

  • Build a typical week of shifts and set a wage per person. The tool starts from your state's minimum wage as a floor.
  • Watch labor as a % of sales. Push the schedule against your forecast to find the hours you can actually afford.
  • Trim or add coverage until the % lands where a healthy shop runs, then carry the plan into hiring.

Questions

What % of sales should labor be at a coffee shop?
Many coffee shops aim to keep labor near a third of sales or less, including the owner's time. This tool shows your % as you set the schedule against your forecast.
Does it use my state's minimum wage?
Yes. Labor rates start from the current minimum wage for your state as a floor, so the estimate reflects where you actually plan to operate.