ProStart Year 1 Chapter
10
Business Math
Real-World Math
* Which mathematical operations(s) is/are required in the following
situations?
Key
A=Addition
S=Subtraction
M=Multiplication
D=Division
____ 1. A manager wants to calculate next month’s sales. He knows
that there has been a 5% increase from last month’s $48,400.
____ 2. A beef stroganoff recipe that serves 12 people calls for 3
pounds of beef. Anita wants to make stroganoff for only 4 people.
____ 3. Thirty cans of tomato paste are needed for the coming week.
The chef must place an order for more and notes that she has only
17 cans in inventory.
Round and Round
 Round the number 6.37846 to the nearest:
 Thousandth:
 Hundredth:
 Tenth:
 Whole Number:
Volume Equivalents
 Draw lines to indicate equivalent amounts
between the volume items in the left and right
columns below.
1 gallon
1 cup
1 Tablespoon
1 quart
1 pint
1 fluid ounce
3 teaspoons
2 pints
4 quarts
2 cups
8 fluid ounces
2 Tablespoons
Answers:
1 gallon
3 teaspoons
1 cup
2 pints
1 Tablespoon
4 quarts
1 quart
2 cups
1 pint
8 fluid ounces
1 fluid ounce
2 Tablespoons
The Five Steps for Changing recipe
yields are:
 1. Decide on the desired yield.
 2. Calculate the conversion factor
 3. Multiply each ingredient amount by the conversion
factor.
 4. Convert ingredient amounts to logical, measurable
quantities.
 5. Make any necessary adjustments to equipment,
temperature, and time.
The Metric System
 Four Basic Metric Units of Measure




Gram (weight)
Liter (volume)
Degree Celsius (temperature)
Meter (length)
 Metric Prefixes
 Kilo- 1,000 (1 kilogram equals 1,000 grams)
 Deci- 1/10 (1 deciliter equals one-tenth of 1 liter)
 Centi- 1/100 (1 centiliter is one one-hundredth of 1 liter)
 Milli- 1/1,000 (1 millimeter is one one-thousandth of 1 meter)
Length Conversions:
To convert:
To:
Inches
Inches
Feet
Yards
Miles
Millimeters
Centimeters
Meters
Meters
Kilometers
millimeters
centimeters
centimeters
meters
kilometers
inches
inches
feet
yards
miles
Multiply by:
25
2.5
30
0.9
1.6
0.04
0.4
3.3
1.1
0.6
Temperature and Weight
Conversions
 Temperature
To convert:
Degrees F
To:
degrees Celsius
Degrees Celsius
degrees F
Weight
To Convert:
Ounces
Pounds
Grams
Kilograms
To:
grams
kilograms
ounces
pounds
Multiply by:
0.56
(after subtracting 32)
1.8
(then add 32)
Multiply by:
28
0.45
0.035
2.2
Volume Conversions
To Convert:
Teaspoons
Tablespoons
Fluid ounces
Cups
Pints
Quarts
Gallons
Milliliters
Liters
Liters
Liters
To:
Multiply by:
milliliters
milliliters
milliliters
liters
liters
liters
liters
fluid ounces
pints
quarts
gallons
5
15
30
0.24
0.47
0.95
3.8
0.03
2.1
1.06
0.26
Costed-Out Recipe: The Ultimate
Brownie
Unsweetened chocolate
Butter
Eggs
Sugar
Vanilla
Cake Flour
Baking Soda
Chopped walnuts/
pecans
1 lb
1 lb 8 oz
1 lb 8 oz
3 lbs
2 Tbsp
1 lb
1 ½ tsp
1 lb
$5.50/lb
$2.50/lb
$5.50/lb
$2.50/lb
$6.50/pt
$3.50/lb
$2.75/lb
$1.49/lb
The Ultimate Brownie Cont.
Chocolate
Butter
Eggs
Sugar
Vanilla
Cake Flour
Baking Soda
Chopped Nuts
Total cost of recipe
1lb x $5.50
1.5lb x $2.50
1.5lb x $5.50
3lb x $2.50
$6.50/ 32=0.203x2
1lb x $3.50
$2.75/96=0.029x1.5
1lb x $1.49
=$5.50
=$3.75
=$8.25
=$7.50
=$0.41
=$3.50
=$0.04
=$1.49
=$36.45
Stages at which costs can be
controlled:
 Purchasing
 Receiving
 Storage
 Issuing
 Preparation and Production
Recommended Storage
Temperatures
Fresh Meats
32 F to 36 F
(0 C to 2 C)
Fresh Produce
40 F to 45 F
(5 C to 7 C)
Fresh Dairy
Products
38 F to 40 F
(4 C to 5 C)
Fresh Fish
30 F to 34 F
(-1 C to 1 C)
Frozen Foods
-10 F to 0 F
(-23 C to -18 C)
Dry Foods
Room Temp
50 F to 70 F
(10 C to 21 C)
Equation for Calculating Cost of
Goods Sold
Opening Inventory
+ Monthly Purchases
- Employee meals
- Interunit transfers
(A transfer of food items between two areas of the same establishment)
- Closing inventory
= Cost of goods sold
Important Formulas for Portion
Control of Meat, Poultry, and Fish
Total value of usable item
= Cost per usable pound
Weight of usable item
Cost per usable pound
= Cost per usable pound
16 ounces per pound
Portion size x Cost per usable ounce = Portion cost
Yield Percentage Formulas
• To calculate the quantity needed, use the formula:
• Quantity= [Number of portions x Portion size (expressed as a
decimal)] / Yield percentage
• If you want to know the number of portions, the formula can be
rewritten as:
Number of portions=
If you’re interested in the portion size, the formula becomes:
Portion size=
If you know all but the yield percentage, you can calculate it with
this formula:
Yield percentage=
The four steps of forecasting are:
 Refer to the sales history
 Evaluate the effects of external conditions.
 Predict the total anticipated volume.
 Predict the anticipated number of sales of
each item on the menu.
Essential Planning Questions
 What do I want to accomplish?
 How will I accomplish it?
 When will I accomplish it?
 Why does it need to be accomplished?
 Who will accomplish it?
Essential Organizing Questions
 How many labor hours are needed?
 How many employees do I need?
 What type of equipment do I need?
 What supplies do I need?
 What is the cost of supplies?
 What is the cost of labor?
Three Steps in the Work
Organization Process
1. Establish an operational plan
-Define the establishment’s goals
-Outline detailed plans for achieving them
-Create an organization chart
2. Prepare job descriptions by answering
the following questions:
-What is to be done?
-When is it to be done?
-Where is to be done?
Organization Process cont.
3. Prepare an analysis of business volume
-Keep hourly and daily tallies of the number
of covers
-Tabulate hourly volume of business for an
given day
-Tabulate hourly volume of business for a
series of days
-Translate the raw numbers into a graph that
reflects the hourly volume of business over
a specific period of time
How Do Computers help
Foodservice managers
maintain cost control?
Answers:
 Aiding in the checkout process




(computerized cash registers)
Generating forms, such as guest checks
Monitoring operations in a timely manner
Increasing control over employees’ actions
by requiring adherence to established
standard procedures
Tracking and computing finances