Restaurant Server Start-Up Costs
What it costs to get started as a server, and how long until it pays back.
Part of the 🍽️ Restaurant Servers toolkit, with more tools made for the job.
🍽️ Restaurant server
What you buy once to get started
What it costs to run, per month
Try a cautious number first.
Rules on food hygiene certificates, serving alcohol, wages and how tips are shared differ by country and place, so check yours before you start.
Type your start-up costs and running costs and the totals appear here. Add what you expect to bring in to see if it pays back.
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Fill in the lines that apply to you. This adds up what you buy once to start serving and what it costs to keep going each month, and shows when the start-up money comes back.
Starting as a server costs less than most jobs, but it is not nothing. Restaurants often expect you to bring comfortable, non-slip shoes and sometimes buy part of the uniform, plus the small tools of the job: a wine key, pens and a notepad. In many places you also need a food hygiene certificate, and an alcohol service licence or training if you serve drinks. Then there is the travel to your first shifts, which can be more than you expect if the restaurant is far away or you work late. These are small amounts, but they come before your first tips, so it helps to know the total.
How it’s worked out
- Start-up total is the one-off things added together: shoes, uniform, tools, certificates, travel in the first week and anything else.
- Running costs are what you spend each month to keep working: travel, cleaning the uniform, replacing shoes and kit, and your phone.
- Profit per month is what you expect to earn from the job, wages and tips you keep, minus those running costs.
- Payback time is the start-up total divided by the monthly profit. If your monthly profit is zero or below, it never pays back.
Shoes at 60, a uniform at 80, tools at 25, a certificate at 40, first-week travel at 30 and 20 of other things make 255 to start. With 115 a month of running costs and 900 a month earned, you make 785 a month, and the start-up money is back in a few days of pay.
Common mistakes
- Buying everything before you are hired. Ask what the restaurant provides and what it expects you to bring.
- Skimping on shoes. You are on your feet for hours on slippery floors, and bad shoes cost you in pain and days off.
- Forgetting the certificates. Food hygiene and alcohol service training are required in many places, and the date by which you need them may be soon.
- Underestimating travel. Late shifts can mean taxis or night transport, which adds up over a month.
Questions
What do I need to start as a server?
It depends on the country and the restaurant. Usually comfortable non-slip shoes and some basic tools, sometimes parts of the uniform, and in many places a food hygiene certificate and alcohol service training. Ask the restaurant what it provides.
Do I need experience?
Many restaurants hire and train beginners, especially for busy seasons. Some start new servers as runners or hosts. Ask about training and about who you would shadow.
How soon will I earn tips?
Usually from your first shifts, though some restaurants have a training period with no tables of your own, or a different wage during it. Ask about it when you apply.
Where do I go once I have started?
Work out what you really earn per shift, then what you keep after a tip-out. The links below the tool lead there.
Estimates only
These are estimates and general information, not legal, tax or employment advice. Wages, tipping customs, tip-out and pooling rules, and tax on tips differ by country, state and restaurant, so use your own figures and your restaurant's written policy, and check the rules where you live.
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