Going self-employed
The kitchen and the covers are your world: get the menu pricing, supplier admin and food-business side organised before you open the doors and start serving.
Instant digital downloads on currently available products · UK-focused templates and guides · Not a substitute for professional advice.
Cooking the food and running the room is the part you're built for; running it as a business is the part that quietly eats your margin. The day you open you're not just on the pass, you're pricing every dish against ingredient cost so the gross margin actually works, managing waste and stock, juggling suppliers, building staff rotas around your covers, and watching cash flow through the quiet weeks. LaunchKit is a set of UK-focused, downloadable templates and guides to help you think through that setup side and get organised before your first service. It's a practical starting point, not a substitute for professional advice.
What to sort first
Cost each dish against its ingredients and set prices that protect your gross margin once rent, staff and overheads are accounted for.
Registering your food business with your local authority, food hygiene and allergen requirements, and any premises or alcohol licensing are things to look into and sort yourself before you open.
Decide how you'll order, track stock and keep waste down so the back-of-house side doesn't quietly drain your margin.
Think through how you'll rota kitchen and front-of-house staff around your covers and opening hours so quiet shifts aren't over-staffed.
Get a basic system for tracking takings, supplier costs and wages so cash flow and tax time aren't a scramble through the slow season.
Think through Instagram, Google and maps, local Facebook and your bookings so new and repeat covers keep coming in.
Cover for a restaurant premises is worth looking into early. That's a prompt to look into, not insurance advice.
Recommended LaunchKit tools
Walks you through the practical first steps of setting up a self-employed restaurant so you're not guessing what to sort before you open.
See what’s inside Your paperworkReady-to-use supplier, booking and invoice templates for the paperwork that runs around the kitchen and front of house.
See what’s inside Your pricingHelps you cost each dish against its ingredients and price the menu so your gross margin covers rent, staff and overheads instead of leaving you short.
See what’s inside Getting foundContent templates to help you show off your dishes and fill covers on Instagram and local Facebook without staring at a blank caption box.
See what’s inside Your wordsHelps you write menu descriptions, booking replies and local listings without spending your one quiet hour wrestling with the words.
See what’s inside Money adminA set of forms to help you keep supplier costs, takings and staff-related spending organised in one place across the week.
See what’s insideNot sure where to start? See everything for restaurant or browse all LaunchKit products.
Suggested starter stack
The same tools, grouped in the order most people pick them up. You don’t need everything at once — start with the essentials, then add the rest as your business grows.
Common questions
Get the admin side organised so you can focus on the work. Browse the tools built for restaurant businesses.
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