Free calculators for people who actually run cafes.

Built by working operators. No signup, no email gate, nothing stored - the math happens in your browser.

Tip pool calculatorSplit tips by hours and role, CA-rules aware. End the 11pm tip fight. Food cost calculatorPlate cost, food cost %, and the price you should be charging. CA meal break exposureWhat missed, short, or late meal breaks actually cost under Labor Code 226.7. Menu engineering worksheetStars, plowhorses, puzzles, dogs - classify every item and learn the move. Startup cost calculatorThe all-in number for opening a coffee shop, runway included.
The Back Office OS - waitlistAI that costs your menu from your real invoices. Founding members lock $39/mo for life.

Guides

How much does it cost to open a coffee shop?The three real paths, every line item, the runway everyone forgets.California meal break law, in plain EnglishThe hour-5 rule, the penalty math, and the boring fix.How much do coffee shops actually make?The honest P&L: four cost buckets, 12% net, and the three levers.How to price a coffee shop menuPlated cost, the guardrails, the anchor item, and the yearly 5% move.How long until a cafe breaks even?The two break-evens, the 142-transactions-a-day math, and the runway rule.California tip pooling laws, in plain EnglishWho can never touch the pool, the card-fee rule, and the policy to post.How much does a coffee shop owner make?The honest range by stage, and the three paydays nobody explains.Cafe lease negotiationThe five clauses that matter more than rent - guarantee, CAM, options, TI, then rent.Coffee shop labor cost percentageThe real target, sales per labor hour, and the cuts that don't hurt service.Cafe staff no-shows: the system that fixes themThe posting rule, the swap board, and the escalation ladder.The 7 pricing mistakes that kill marginCopying the neighbor, free modifiers, fear of the round number, and four more.The cafe employee handbookWhat to write before you need it - the sections that end arguments.Fixing the 2-5pm dead zoneSix moves that fill slow dayparts - and the one that works best.

Why these exist

Every operator googles these at midnight. The free tools ranking today are generic restaurant calculators built by software companies. These are built from real multi-store cafe operations - the rules, the edge cases, the gotchas.

The Back Office - the operator's letter

One numbers breakdown, one rule that costs you money, one growth move. Three times a week, anonymous, free.