What small businesses spend, as a share of turnover
The Australian Taxation Office publishes ranges for small businesses' main costs as a share of turnover, by industry and size. This page sets them out by industry and turnover band.
The ranges come from tax returns and activity statements of small businesses in each industry. The ATO publishes them so businesses can compare their own figures. This page reproduces them and is not connected with the ATO.
Catering services
Industry: Catering services
In Catering services, the ATO's range for businesses with turnover of more than A$600,000 was 23% to 33% of turnover on labour in 2023-24.
See everything we hold on accommodation and food services.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Small business benchmarks 2023-24. © Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia. Not endorsed by the ATO. Arranged by industry and turnover band by onestepright.
| Turnover (A$) | Cost of sales (%) | Labour (%) | Rent (%) | Motor vehicle (%) | Total expenses (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50,000 to 200,000 | 31 to 43 | 19 to 28 | 6 to 12 | 4 to 7 | 60 to 76 |
| 200,001 to 600,000 | 32 to 41 | 16 to 27 | 6 to 11 | 2 to 5 | 68 to 83 |
| More than 600,000 | 31 to 41 | 23 to 33 | 4 to 8 | 1 to 2 | 81 to 91 |
Each cell is the ATO's range for that cost as a share of turnover.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Small business benchmarks 2023-24. © Australian Taxation Office for the Commonwealth of Australia. Not endorsed by the ATO. Arranged by industry and turnover band by onestepright.
Set your own costs as a share of turnover beside your industry's range. A figure outside the range is a question to ask about your prices and costs.
Who in your business can move a price, and by how much? The pricing check takes about ten minutes.