The number operators actually need
A food cost percentage is only useful if you know which dishes and which branches produced it. Group-level “food cost was 33%” does not tell a chef whether the grill station over-portioned or whether one supplier invoice landed late. Published medians for comparison, with their sources, are on the restaurant food cost statistics page.
Actual food cost comes from stock: opening inventory, plus purchases, minus closing inventory, divided by food sales for the same period. That inventory identity is the COGS formula. Theoretical food cost comes from recipes: the cost of each item sold, multiplied by how many you sold. The gap between them is where margin leaks. The percentage is written up in how to calculate food cost percentage and theoretical versus actual food cost.
What AKLI does
AKLI keeps recipe cards, live ingredient prices, inventory counts, and sales in one workspace. When a supplier price changes, recipe costs recalculate. To cost each recipe from edible-portion yield, use the guide. When you import sales (from a CSV or a POS sales file), match a sales file to recipes so stock depletes against those recipes and you can compare theoretical cost with the inventory-based actual.
A POS is optional. Kitchens that are not ready to connect a till can key sales or import a CSV. Details are on features.
The theoretical side is recipe costing. The part of the gap a station can name is waste and variance.
- ✓Recipe and menu item cost cards, including sub-recipes
- ✓Automatic recalculation when an ingredient price changes
- ✓Actual food cost from stock counts, by period and by branch
- ✓Variance between theoretical and actual, so waste is not a guess
- ✓One price for the software: per branch, not per user
Who it is for
Multi-branch restaurants, cloud kitchens, and central kitchens that already feel food cost in the P&L and want it by dish. AKLI is built for groups operating in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. The list price is SAR 299 / QAR 290 / AED 293 / BHD 30 / OMR 31 per branch per month, excluding VAT. See pricing.
You can try the arithmetic yourself on the food cost calculator before a walkthrough.
Facts you can quote
Price, pricing unit, product languages, and HACCP jurisdictions. Figures below are as of 22 September 2026.
- Price
- SAR 299 / QAR 290 / AED 293 / BHD 30 / OMR 31 per branch per month, excluding VAT. Details
- Pricing unit
- Priced per branch, not per user. Unlimited team members are included. Details
- Product languages
- The product interface supports English, French, and Arabic. You choose the language in the product. This marketing site is available in English, French, and Arabic. Details
- HACCP jurisdictions
- Digital HACCP logs are timestamped and built to be exported for inspections under Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), UAE Food Safety Department, and Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) requirements. The logs do not, by themselves, make a kitchen compliant. Details
- As of
- 22 September 2026
Questions operators ask
How much does AKLI cost?
SAR 299 / QAR 290 / AED 293 / BHD 30 / OMR 31 per branch per month, excluding VAT. There is one plan. Billing is arranged with the AKLI team, not through a self-serve checkout.
Is AKLI priced per user or per branch?
Priced per branch, not per user. Unlimited team members are included. A group with 5 branches pays 5 × (SAR 299 / QAR 290 / AED 293 / BHD 30 / OMR 31) per month, excluding VAT. Adding a supervisor does not add a seat.
Which languages does the AKLI product support?
The product interface supports English, French, and Arabic. You choose the language in the product. This marketing site is available in English, French, and Arabic. French pages live under /fr and Arabic pages under /ar.
Which food-safety jurisdictions are the HACCP logs built for?
Digital HACCP logs are timestamped and built to be exported for inspections under Qatar Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), UAE Food Safety Department, and Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) requirements. The logs do not, by themselves, make a kitchen compliant.
What is the difference between theoretical and actual food cost?
Theoretical food cost is recipe cost multiplied by quantity sold. Actual food cost is opening inventory plus purchases minus closing inventory, divided by food sales for the same period. The gap is variance: waste, portioning, unrecorded comps, a count, or an invoice. AKLI keeps both figures by dish and by branch.
Does food cost percentage include labor?
No. Labor, rent, and packaging you do not sell as food sit outside the formula. The percentage is an ingredient identity for the period you counted.