Key takeaways
- In an hour that would be empty, a deal only needs to cover its food cost to add money: rent and wages are paid either way.
- Contribution per plate = what the diner pays minus the food cost. Work it out before you post.
- Worst case = cap × the discount on diners who'd have paid full price anyway. Size the cap to a worst case you're fine with.
- Run deals only in your quiet windows; at peak hours the same deal just gives money away.
- Judge a deal by new and returning diners, not just claims.
The short answer
A slow-hour deal makes money when two things are true: it fills seats that would otherwise be empty, and what the diner pays is more than the food on their plate costs you. Because rent, wages and the lights are paid whether the room is full or not, a deal in a genuinely empty hour adds money as long as it covers its food cost. The risk is the diner who would have come anyway at full price. A daily cap limits that risk to a number you choose.
Why the empty hour changes the math
Restaurant margins in Canada are thin: Statistics Canada reported a 3.6% operating profit margin for food services and drinking places in 2023, the lowest since 2003. With margins like that, a discount at full-price hours is expensive. But most of a restaurant's costs are fixed for the shift. In a quiet hour, the question isn't "is this deal profitable on its own?" but "does this deal leave me better off than an empty table?".
Contribution per plate
Contribution is what's left from a sale after the cost of the food on the plate. It's the money that goes toward wages, rent and profit.
Food cost at 30% of the menu price (the industry average is 28% to 32%): $4.50.
| Deal | Diner pays | Food cost | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| No deal | $15.00 | $4.50 | $10.50 |
| 15% off | $12.75 | $4.50 | $8.25 |
| $4 off | $11.00 | $4.50 | $6.50 |
| 2-for-1 (two bowls) | $15.00 | $9.00 | $6.00 for two |
| Empty table | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Every deal above beats the empty table. Use your own menu price and food cost: these are round example numbers.
The worst case, and how a cap controls it
The real cost of a deal is the discount you give to diners who would have paid full price anyway. You can't know exactly who they are, so plan for the worst case:
- A $4-off deal capped at 15 a day: at worst, $60 a day of discount to people who'd have come anyway.
- The same deal with no cap on a busy day: no limit.
Pick a cap whose worst case you'd shrug at. On FIG, the daily cap stops the deal automatically once it's been used that many times.
And the upside: if even a third of those 15 diners are new, and one or two become regulars, the deal is paying off long after it ends.
Add-ons: where a deal earns
Diners who come in for a deal often order something else: a drink, a side, a dessert. That extra order is usually full price.
Take the 15%-off bowl above ($8.25 contribution) and suppose the diner adds a $5 drink that costs you $1.25 to make (use your own numbers). The table now contributes $8.25 + $3.75 = $12.00, more than a full-price bowl alone. A deal on the main dish with drinks at full price is a classic shape for this reason.
Pick the window
- Look at sales by hour for the last four weeks.
- Find the windows where you're under, say, a third full: often weekday afternoons and early weeknights.
- Run the deal only there. On FIG, a deal can run on chosen days and hours, with different hours for different days.
The same 2-for-1 that fills a Tuesday at 3 pm would give away a full bowl per table at 7 pm on a Saturday.
New diners vs regulars
A deal that only discounts your regulars is a price cut, not marketing. Watch who it brings in:
- Claims tell you if the deal is interesting.
- Scans tell you if people actually come.
- Return visits tell you if it's building regulars.
FIG's insights show views, claims, the diners who came in and who came back, per deal, day by day. If most scans are your usual faces, change the dish, the hours or the deal.
A checklist before you post
- Does the diner's price cover the food cost, with room to spare?
- Is it only in hours you're actually quiet?
- Is the cap's worst case a number you're fine with?
- Is it specific: a dish, a time, a price?
- Do all staff know it and how to scan?
- Have you set a date to check claims, scans and return diners?
On FIG, posting deals and scanning diners are included in one flat plan, with no fee per diner. Next: % off, $ off or 2-for-1?
Questions
Do restaurant discounts actually make money?
They can, when they fill otherwise empty seats and the diner's price covers the food cost. At busy hours, the same discount mostly gives money to diners who'd have paid full price.
What food cost should I assume?
Use your own. As a reference, the average food cost is often quoted at 28% to 32% of revenue.
How big should my daily cap be?
Big enough to matter, small enough that the worst case (cap × discount) is a number you're comfortable with. Start small and raise it.
Should drinks be part of the deal?
Often not: a deal on the main dish with drinks at full price lets add-ons do the earning.
How do I know if new people are coming?
Watch scans and return visits per deal. FIG's insights show the diners who came in and who came back.
Does FIG take a cut of dine-in deals?
No. Posting deals and scanning diners are included in FIG's flat monthly plan, with no fee per diner.
