How does the math work?
First, the cost. Each item costs the price of its unit times how much goes in the recipe: 300 g of a flour that costs $5.99 per kilo come to $1.80. Add up all the items, the packaging and, if you want, your time, and you get the cost of the whole recipe. Divided by the yield, that is the cost of each unit.
Then, the price. Fees, taxes and profit are percentages of the selling price, not of the cost. That is why the math divides instead of adding:
price = cost ÷ (1 − (fees and taxes % + profit %))
A cookie that costs $1.40, with 5% in fees and 35% profit, comes to 1.40 ÷ 0.60 = $2.33, which goes up to $2.35, the next multiple of 5 cents. Out of that $2.35, $0.12 goes to fees and $0.83 is yours.
Fixed costs such as rent, gas and internet do not go into the price of each product: they show up in the month's result, which is where the Custí app shows whether the business closed in the black.
I bought a whole package and don't know the price per kilo. How do I enter it?
Tap the calculator button, next to the ✕ on the item. Enter what you paid and how much is in the package (a $5.00 packet of yeast with 10 g, for example) and you get the price per kilo, liter, meter or piece. Hit "Apply" and the value goes straight into the item.
How do I work out the selling price of a cake?
Add up what each ingredient costs in the amount the recipe uses, plus packaging and, if you want, your time. Divide by the yield (how many slices or kilos you get) and you have the cost per unit. The price is that cost divided by 1 minus your fees plus the profit you want: with 30% profit and no fees, cost divided by 0.70.
Why divide instead of adding the profit on top of the cost?
Because taxes and app commissions are charged on the selling price, not on the cost. Adding 30% on top of the cost leaves a real profit of 23% of the price. Dividing, the 30% is 30% of what lands in your pocket on every sale. Here and in the app, "profit on cost" and "margin on price" move together: change one and the other adjusts, and the price is the same.
Does it work for meal preps, savory snacks, sweets and other food?
It does. The calculator is open-ended: enter whatever you make. Meals yield in pieces, snacks can yield in pieces or kilos, a cake in slices or as a whole cake (yield 1). The math is the same.
What goes into fees and taxes?
Everything that comes off the price before your profit: sales tax, delivery app commission. If you have none, leave it at 0%. The card machine fee stays out, because it varies a lot from one card machine to another: keep in mind it still comes out of what you receive.
Why does the price come out rounded?
The calculated price goes up to the next multiple of 5 cents: no product sells for $3.53, only for $3.55. It is the same rule as the Custí app.
Is my data saved?
No. This page is for quick math: what you type stays only in this browser and can disappear at any time. To keep your recipes in the cloud, use the Custí app, which is free too.
