Food Truck Business Plan Template, With Costs and Break-Even
A food truck plan needs four parts that the templates we opened leave out: the cost of each menu item, the permits to check, a startup budget with line items, and the number of orders a day that covers the monthly costs. This page gives a fill-in outline for each part, then works all four for one fictional truck, Quarry Lane Grill, with every step of the arithmetic.
Try the numbers first. The calculator below starts with the Quarry Lane Grill example and gives the orders a day a truck needs to cover its costs. Change any box to your own figure, and the result updates. The worked example further down uses the same numbers.
Break-even calculator for one truck
The numbers are the example's. Replace them with your own. Nothing you type is sent or stored.
- Loan payment a month
- US$1,245.50
- Monthly fixed costs, with the loan
- US$5,331.74
- Card fee per sale
- US$0.51
- Left per sale after food, packaging and card fee
- US$9.84
- Break-even orders a day
- 21
- Break-even orders a month
- 542
- Sales a day at break-even
- US$291.90
- At 18 orders a day: result a day
- US$-27.95
- At 18 orders a day: result a month
- US$-726.62
Method: loan payment = amount × monthly rate ÷ (1 − (1 + monthly rate)−months). Break-even orders = fixed costs ÷ left per sale, rounded up. Money is rounded to cents at each step.
Quarry Lane Grill is fictional. We wrote this example by hand for this page. It is not output from the 15 Minute Plan generator.
Food truck plan sections
The U.S. Small Business Administration's "Plan your business" page lists these headings for a traditional business plan: executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, service or product line, marketing and sales, funding request and financial projections. It describes the traditional plan as "very detailed", says it takes more time to write, and says that "Lenders and investors commonly request this plan." [1] The same page says a lean startup plan "can take as little as one hour to make". [1]
The table gives the fill-in outline. The last column shows how the example fills each part. For the lender’s side of the same plan, see the SBA business plan template page.
| Section | What the reader checks | Fill in for your truck | Quarry Lane Grill (example) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive summary | What the truck sells and why it works | Menu, stops, orders a day, loan request | Four menu items, 35 orders a day planned, a US$60,000 loan request |
| Company description | Legal form, base, the owner’s background | Your legal form and where the truck is based | Sole owner (assumed); commissary in the city where it operates (assumed) |
| Market analysis | Who else sells food at your stops, and at what price | The stops you plan and the prices nearby | Stops still to be named; competitor list still to add |
| Organization and management | Who runs the truck and for how many hours | Owner, helpers and hours | Owner plus one part-time helper, 30 hours a week |
| Service or product line | The menu, and what each item costs to make | Each item’s food and packaging cost | Menu table in the next section |
| Marketing and sales | How orders come in and what they cost | Channels and their monthly fees | Online ordering and social posts; US$150 a month |
| Funding request | How much, for what, and for how long | Amount, use of funds, owner cash | US$60,000 loan; US$35,184.22 owner cash |
| Financial projections | Monthly figures that match the request | Fixed costs and break-even | The fixed-cost and break-even sections below |
Menu cost per item
Cost each item from its ingredients before you set its price. The beef price is the U.S. city average for 100% ground beef from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US$6.885 a pound in July 2026 (FRED series APU0000703112, July 2026) [2]. It is a reference price, not a quote for your supplier. The chicken price is an assumption.
| Item | List price (US$) | Food and packaging cost (US$) | How the cost is built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smash burger | 11.00 | 3.20 | Patty 0.25 lb at US$6.885 a lb = 1.72; bun 0.40; cheese 0.30; toppings and sauce 0.38; wrapper and box 0.40 |
| Crispy chicken sandwich | 11.00 | 2.60 | Chicken 0.30 lb at US$4.00 a lb (assumed) = 1.20; bun 0.40; slaw and sauce 0.35; wrapper and box 0.40; breading and oil 0.25 |
| Small fries | 4.00 | 0.70 | Assumed: potatoes, oil, salt and box |
| Lemonade | 3.00 | 0.60 | Assumed: concentrate, cup and lid |
Bun, cheese, toppings, wrapper and box, slaw, breading and oil are assumed prices. Most orders in this example are a main with a side or a drink. The mix is an assumption. Change it to match your own menu.
| Ticket | Share of orders | Price (US$) | Cost (US$) | Share × price (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smash burger and small fries | 0.50 | 15.00 | 3.90 | 7.50 |
| Chicken sandwich and lemonade | 0.30 | 14.00 | 3.20 | 4.20 |
| Smash burger only | 0.20 | 11.00 | 3.20 | 2.20 |
| Total | 1.00 | 13.90 average ticket |
The average food and packaging cost is 0.50 × 3.90 + 0.30 × 3.20 + 0.20 × 3.20 = US$3.55.
Card fees are the next cost per ticket. This example assumes every sale is paid by card, and uses 2.6% plus US$0.15 per sale. A search summary of 2026-11-04 gave 2.6% plus US$0.15 as the in-person rate on Square's Free plan; older sources give 10 cents. Square's fee page could not be opened that day, so check your processor's current rate. The fee is 2.6% of 13.90 = 0.36, plus 0.15 = 0.51 (0.5114 before rounding). Left per ticket after food, packaging and card fees: 13.90 − 3.55 − 0.51 = US$9.84.
Permits and licences to check
The place where you sell sets the permits, and the rules change. Ask the office that issues each one which of these apply to your truck before you buy it or sign a lease:
- The health permit for the truck, from the state or county health department.
- The business licence from the city or county where the truck is based.
- A fire inspection of the cooking equipment, the hood and the fire suppression system.
- A commissary agreement, if your local rule requires a licensed kitchen where the truck is cleaned and stocked and where water and waste are handled.
- Vehicle registration, commercial auto insurance, and any vending or parking permit that the city or venue at each stop requires.
- A food handler or manager certificate, if your local rule requires one.
Texas, if you sell there. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) says that from 1 July 2026 all mobile food vendors must be licensed by DSHS [4]. The bill is House Bill 2844. Before that date, vendors followed their current local licensing rules. The DSHS page also says that a holder of a current local licence can keep operating if they send proof of that licence with the DSHS application (its "Category One" route). The fees are on the DSHS page and are not repeated here. Check that page before you apply.
Startup costs, line by line
The table lists every one-time cost the example needs before the first sale. The basis column says where each figure comes from: a price read on a page, an assumption to replace with a quote, or a planning rule.
| Line | Amount (US$) | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Used step van, converted | 55,000.00 | Assumption: get a quote |
| Griddle, 36-inch countertop (Vollrath GGMDM-36) | 1,689.00 | Listed price on Webstaurant, checked 2026-11-04; prices change [3] |
| Fryer | 1,200.00 | Assumption |
| Three-compartment sink and hand sink | 1,500.00 | Assumption |
| Reach-in refrigerator | 2,500.00 | Assumption |
| Generator | 3,000.00 | Assumption |
| Hood and fire suppression | 6,500.00 | Assumption: confirm with the fire inspector |
| Wrap and signage | 3,500.00 | Assumption |
| Card reader and tablet | 600.00 | Assumption |
| Smallwares | 1,200.00 | Assumption |
| Opening inventory | 1,000.00 | Assumption |
| Licences and inspections, first year | 1,000.00 | Assumption |
| Commissary deposit | 500.00 | Assumption |
| Working capital: three months of fixed costs (3 × 5,331.74) | 15,995.22 | Planning rule, not a source |
| Total | 95,184.22 | Sum of the lines |
The loan request is US$60,000, and the owner puts in the rest: 95,184.22 − 60,000.00 = US$35,184.22. The total is this example's sum, not a range for any city. Your total will differ.
Monthly fixed costs
The example runs 26 days a month: six days a week, 4.33 weeks, rounded. Fixed costs are the bills that come due whether or not the truck sells.
| Cost | How it is worked out | Amount (US$ a month) |
|---|---|---|
| Commissary rent and storage | Assumption | 650.00 |
| Truck loan payment | US$60,000 at 9% a year over 60 months (assumptions: replace with your lender’s terms). Monthly rate 0.09 ÷ 12 = 0.0075. Payment = 60,000 × 0.0075 ÷ (1 − 1.0075⁻⁶⁰) = 450 ÷ 0.36130 | 1,245.50 |
| Insurance, liability and commercial auto | Assumption: get quotes | 300.00 |
| Helper wages | 30 hours × 4.33 weeks × US$16.00 an hour (both assumed) | 2,078.40 |
| Employer payroll taxes | 10% of wages, an example rate. The real rate depends on the state and on which employer costs apply, so check with an accountant or payroll provider | 207.84 |
| Generator fuel, propane and utilities | Assumption | 350.00 |
| Permits, renewals and inspections | Assumption: 1,200 a year ÷ 12 | 100.00 |
| Marketing and online ordering | Assumption | 150.00 |
| Repairs and maintenance reserve | Assumption | 250.00 |
| Total | Sum of the lines | 5,331.74 |
To test whether the loan payment fits your cash flow, use the loan payment and DSCR calculator.
This table leaves out the owner's pay. Owner pay comes from what the truck earns after these costs, so this page treats it as a separate target. To see what a target costs in orders, take a US$3,000 a month example: 3,000 ÷ 9.84 = 304.9, rounded up to 305 orders a month; 305 ÷ 26 = 11.7, rounded up to 12 orders a day on top of break-even; 21 + 12 = 33 orders a day. Depreciation is not in this table. Sales tax is not in this table. You collect it from customers and pay it on, so it is not a cost. The rate depends on where each sale happens, so check your state and city rules.
Daily break-even, worked out
The SBA gives the break-even formula as "Fixed Costs ÷ (Price – Variable Costs) = Break-Even Point in Units" [1]. For a food truck, the price is the average ticket and the variable costs are the food, packaging and card fee on each ticket.
- Contribution per ticket: 13.90 − 3.55 − 0.51 = 9.84.
- Daily fixed costs: 5,331.74 ÷ 26 = 205.07.
- Daily break-even: 205.07 ÷ 9.84 = 20.84, rounded up to 21 orders a day.
- Monthly check: 5,331.74 ÷ 9.84 = 541.84, rounded up to 542 orders a month, which is 20.85 a day over 26 days. Both methods round up to 21.
- Sales at break-even: 21 × 13.90 = US$291.90 a day.
| Orders a day | Contribution a day (orders × 9.84) | Less daily fixed costs (205.07) | Result a day (US$) | Result a month (orders × 9.84 × 26, less 5,331.74, US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 177.12 | −205.07 | −27.95 | −726.62 |
| 21 (break-even) | 206.64 | −205.07 | +1.57 | +40.90 |
| 35 (plan case) | 344.40 | −205.07 | +139.33 | +3,622.66 |
At 21 orders a day the margin over costs is thin, so any owner pay has to come from orders above 21. To test your own figures, change the boxes in the calculator near the top of this page.
A slow month at 18 orders a day
Eighteen orders a day is 14% below the break-even volume of 21, so the example is at a loss at that level. A plan should show that case as well as the plan case. Any change to the menu, the prices or the costs moves the break-even, so run the table again with each new number.
Start your own plan
The free preview writes five sections. A paid plan writes the rest of the sections for the plan you choose: Starter writes 10 sections and Pro writes 17. The US list price is US$69 for Starter and US$99 for Pro. Prices differ by country, and a sale price may show at checkout.
Start your food truck planReplace each assumption with a quote
Every line marked "Assumption" in this example is a placeholder for your own number. The three largest purchases, leaving out working capital, are the truck (55,000), the hood and fire suppression (6,500) and the wrap and signage (3,500). The largest monthly line is the helper's wage (2,078.40). Get a written quote for each, and put the figures into the same tables. Check the card fee on your processor's current fee page, and check permit fees with your local office. Each extra US$100 a month of cost needs about 10 more orders a month, or about 0.4 more a day, to break even: 100 ÷ 9.84 = 10.2 orders a month, and 10.2 ÷ 26 = 0.39 a day.
Frequently asked questions
What goes in a food truck business plan?
The SBA lists the headings for a traditional plan, from the executive summary to the financial projections, with the funding request just before the projections. A food truck plan adds a menu with the food cost of each item, a permit list, and a startup budget. The section table above sets out each part.
How much money do you need to open a food truck?
It depends on the truck, on whether you buy or lease it, and on the equipment it needs. In the worked example the total is US$95,184.22, and the truck is most of it. Get a quote for each line before you decide.
How many orders a day does a food truck need to break even?
In this example, 21 orders a day, at an average ticket of US$13.90. The formula is fixed costs divided by the amount left per ticket after food, packaging and card fees. Use your own figures in each part.
Do you need a permit before you buy a food truck?
Ask the health department and the city before you buy the truck or sign a lease. Which permits apply depends on where you sell. In Texas, mobile food vendors need a DSHS licence from 1 July 2026, as the permits section explains.
Sources and date checked
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Plan your business", sba.gov. Opened 2026-11-04: the traditional-plan headings, the quotes and the break-even formula.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, average price of ground beef, 100% beef, per pound, U.S. city average, series APU0000703112, via FRED. Opened 2026-11-04: July 2026 = US$6.885.
- Webstaurant, Vollrath GGMDM-36 36-inch countertop griddle, product page. Opened 2026-11-04: listed price US$1,689.00 each. Prices change.
- Texas Department of State Health Services, mobile food vendors, dshs.texas.gov. Opened 2026-11-04: licensing from 1 July 2026 under HB 2844, and the current-licence route.
- Square, US in-person card rate, squareup.com fee page. Not opened on 2026-11-04 (the request was rate-limited). The 2.6% plus US$0.15 rate is an assumption from a search summary of that day. Check the current rate.
- 15 Minute Plan list prices (
constants/plan.ts, read 2026-11-04). The free preview's five sections and the Starter (10) and Pro (17) section counts are fromAGENTS.md, customer journeys table, read 2026-11-04.