Meal Prep Business Calculator: Weekly Profit, Price, Markup and Break-Even Weeks

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Opens on the book's Box Run. Change any number to your own and press Calculate.

Customers a week

Meals each

Price a meal

Costs a meal

Food a meal the Freezer Month's food ÷ its portions

Box and label a meal

Costs a week

Shared kitchen an hour

Kitchen hours a week; a step cost: more customers, more hours

Other hours shopping, delivery, admin

Freezer shelf a month

Delivery miles a week

Mileage rate a mile (IRS)

Card fee %

plus, an order one order a customer a week

Fixed costs, the first year

County health permit

Insurance, a year

Food manager certificate

Business license

Kitchen membership

Insulated bags (4)

Scale

Weeks a year

Enter the customers and the price, then press Calculate.

The formula

Meals = customers × meals each; sales = meals × price
Costs a week = meals × (food + box) + kitchen hours × rate + freezer shelf × 12 ÷ 52 + miles × rate + card fees
Card fees = sales × fee % + orders × the fee an order. Profit = sales − costs; markup = (price − cost) ÷ cost; margin = (price − cost) ÷ price
Break-even = fixed costs ÷ profit a week, rounded up (SBA)

The book's worked example, Chapter 12. The Box Run: 12 customers × 5 meals = 60 meals at 10: sales 600. Food 83.88, boxes 12.28, the kitchen 150.00, the freezer shelf 16.15, delivery 22.80, card fees 17.40: costs 302.52, profit 297.48 a week, about 27 an hour for 11 hours. 1,527.96 of first-year fixed costs ÷ 297.48 = 5.14, so break-even after 6 weeks. A worked example, before tax and before any wage, not a promise.

Check it. Sales − every cost line must equal the profit; break-even weeks × the week's profit must reach the fixed costs.

Honest limits. Most US states do not allow cooked or frozen meals as cottage food: a licensed shared kitchen is the usual route, with a county permit, a food manager certificate and insurance. Some states (Texas) allow some from home with registration; California's and Utah's home-kitchen permits are for same-day meals, not a freezer business. In the UK, register with your council, free, at least 28 days before you trade. Fees and rates here are illustrative; the kitchen hours, miles and customers are the book's planning figures, not a promise. Prices are illustrative US prices from November 2026, shown without a currency sign; put in your own. Everything stays in your browser: no sign-up, nothing stored.

These calculators go with Vegan Meal Prep Math (Craft & Studio, Book 4), where every number on this page is worked by hand.