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The board test

Everyone will tell you to cut your menu. The evidence says that does almost nothing. What moves money is giving the menu an order, and putting the right few things where people cannot miss them.

This works out which of yours have earned that. Free, no signup. Everything runs in your browser, so your prices and costs are not sent to me or to anyone else.

How to use this

Takes about ten minutes

What you need

  • Your menu items, or at least the fifteen that matter
  • What each one sells for
  • Roughly what each one costs you to make, ingredients only
  • Roughly how many of each you sell in a week
  • How many slots your board physically has

What you get

  • The few items that have earned board treatment, and why each one qualified
  • What to do with everything else: fix the margin, leave it in the menu, or cut it
  • The five places each hero has to be visible, of which the board is only one
  • A PDF you can hand to whoever runs your floor

Getting the most out of it

  1. 01

    Put the whole menu in, not just the ones you suspect. Every item is judged against the others, so a partial menu gives a partial answer. Fifteen items is far better than five.

  2. 02

    Rough weekly counts are fine. A week you remember beats a spreadsheet you do not have. If you have a POS export, better, but do not wait for it.

  3. 03

    Cost to make means ingredients, not rent and wages. Being consistent across items matters more than being precise on any one of them, because the comparison is what drives the result.

  4. 04

    Set the slots to what you actually have. If your board holds five things, ask for five. A board where everything is emphasised emphasises nothing.

  5. 05

    Be suspicious of a puzzle you have never promoted. An item can look like a puzzle because it is hidden, and that is the one thing this cannot see. Give it a fair run before you trust the label.

Your menu

Rough numbers are fine. A week you remember beats a spreadsheet you do not have.

ItemPriceCost to makeSold a week
0 of 6 filled

Three items minimum

Enter at least three items with a price and a weekly count. The more of your menu you put in, the more honest the comparison, because every item is judged against the others.