Restaurant guides and calculators
Free guides on service, menus, costs and tax for restaurant owners in India. Most come with a calculator that runs on your own numbers.
Guests, service and the floor
- Ordering System for Bars, Pubs & Microbreweries in India (2026)13 min readWhy guests wait to flag down a server for the next round, how tabletop ordering makes the next drink easy to order, how to handle split bills, and how 5% food GST and State Liquor VAT apply to the same tab.By Madhvan Sharma
- Best Ordering System for Cafes & Coffee Shops in India (2026)13 min readShorten the counter queue, make the second coffee easy to order for guests working on laptops, and get beverage modifiers (oat milk, extra shot, less sugar) to the barista exactly as the guest asked.By Yash Garg
- Restaurant No-Shows in India: Should You Charge Booking Deposits? (2026)12 min readAudit the triple economic loss of no-shows in India, Section 74 legal rules, Zomato and District cover charges, and discover the hybrid redeemable credit model.By Madhvan Sharma
- Restaurant Upselling Techniques: Visual Cues vs Rushed Waiters (2026)11 min readWhy verbal upselling gets dropped during a peak rush, how visual cues on the menu make a pairing easy to say yes to, and an interactive auditor to estimate what better attachment could add to your multi-course baskets.By Yash Garg
- How to Increase Restaurant Average Order Value (AOV) in India (2026)16 min readPractical ways to grow table check sizes without raising prices. Audit dining basket attachments, model menu contribution margins, and see how tabletop pairing suggestions work.By Madhvan Sharma
- How to Improve Table Turnover Rate Without Rushing Guests (2026)15 min readFind the dead time in your service cycle. Calculate RevPASH, audit the six stages of a table's visit for bottlenecks, and see where tabletop ordering can remove waiting without rushing anyone.By Madhvan Sharma
Costs, margins and pricing
- How to Start a Cloud Kitchen in India: Setup & Licenses (2026)15 min readCalculate real equipment capex, commercial exhaust CFM formulas, 2026 FSSAI and municipal licensing, and model aggregator commissions vs direct channel economics.By Madhvan Sharma
- Zomato Hyperpure Review: Wholesale Mandi vs B2B Delivery (2026)12 min readCompare your real procurement costs: wholesale APMC mandi prices against B2B delivery from Hyperpure, thaw loss on frozen goods, cold-chain handling, and how much of your supply sits with one vendor.By Madhvan Sharma
- Restaurant Inventory Management in India: Par Levels, Waste & The Variance Audit (2026)11 min readMaster the ABC inventory rule for Indian kitchens, calculate exact par levels to prevent stockouts, and audit weekly sheet-to-floor variance in rupees.By Madhvan Sharma
- Why Flat 20% Restaurant Discounts Destroy Margins: The 42% Volume Trap (2026)8 min readThe maths behind discounting: at an example 32% food cost, a flat 20% discount needs about 42% more covers just to earn the same gross profit. Plus how to fill slow days with higher-margin alternatives.By Madhvan Sharma
- Food Cost Percentage: Formula, Benchmarks & Calculator for Indian Restaurants (2026)9 min readMaster the period COGS formula, compare food cost across restaurant categories, and find the silent gap between your actual and theoretical food cost.By Madhvan Sharma
- How to Price Menu Items in an Indian Restaurant: Formula, Psychology & Calculator (2026)10 min readCalculate your true ingredient cost with yield shrinkage, balance dine-in vs aggregator delivery margins, and avoid single-price margin collapse.By Madhvan Sharma
- Restaurant Break Even Point: Formula, Indian Example & Calculator (2026)8 min readMaster the break even sales formula, classify fixed vs variable costs, convert monthly targets to daily covers, and simulate the economics of an example 60-seat floor.By Madhvan Sharma
- Restaurant Profit Margin in India: An Honest P&L Breakdown (2026)10 min readExplore how net margins differ across cafes, casual dining, and QSRs with a bottom-up P&L for an example ₹10 Lakh-a-month restaurant, rent thresholds, and the cost of leaning on aggregators.By Madhvan Sharma
- Restaurant Labour Cost in India: Why the US 30% Rule Misleads9 min readBenchmark your front-of-house payroll ratio, think through waiter-to-table staffing and the real cost of attrition, and model what self-ordering could change using your own numbers.By Madhvan Sharma
Tax, law and delivery apps
- Restaurant Service Charge Legal Rules India: CCPA, Court Rulings & Menu Math (2026)12 min readIs service charge mandatory in India? Audit the CCPA 2022 guidelines, the Delhi High Court's March 2025 ruling, Section 15 GST taxability, and model how to absorb the charge into menu prices.By Madhvan Sharma
- GST on Restaurant Food in India: 5% vs 18% & Liquor VAT (2026)13 min readMaster food GST rates, decode the 18% hotel specified premises threshold (room tariff > ₹7,500), split State Liquor VAT, and audit the blocked ITC squeeze on commercial rent and commissions.By Madhvan Sharma
- Do You Need GST for Zomato & Swiggy? (Section 9(5) Rules 2026)12 min readUnderstand why GST is practically mandatory on food delivery apps, unpack the Section 24(ix) nuance, master GSTR-3B Table 3.1.1 reporting, and verify onboarding document checklists.By Madhvan Sharma
- Zomato & Swiggy Payout Cycles: How to Audit Deductions (2026)11 min readUnderstand how weekly and faster settlement cycles typically work, spot customer refund deductions in your payout statements, and reconcile POS orders against bank statements.By Madhvan Sharma
- Zomato & Swiggy Commission 2026: The Real Settlement Math12 min readUnpack the full aggregator settlement waterfall: base commissions, unclaimable 18% GST, payment fees, and funded discounts, with our interactive payout calculator.By Madhvan Sharma
Give every table a host who knows your menu
KNOMI helps restaurants grow every table. Knomi Host, the host inside your illustrated menu, suggests the right pairing at the right moment and Knomi Sense remembers what every guest likes. Orders reach Knomi Dash, your kitchen display, and KNOMI works alongside the POS you already use, at 0% commission.
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