Labour Budget for Opening a Restaurant Abroad: Staff and Ramp-up

Build the labour budget for an overseas opening from three inputs: who you employ (the staffing mix), what each costs a month including employer contributions, and how many weeks you pay them before the first sale. A three person kitchen with one sponsored Japanese head chef and two local cooks runs about A$18,300 a month in Sydney, and about A$21,200 of pay goes out before opening if the chef starts eight weeks early.

1. The three inputs

Keep the one-off costs of bringing chefs from Japan (visa fees, flights) on a separate line taken from the per hire model. Mixing them into monthly labour makes month one look like the steady state.

2. Staffing mix: rules that limit it

Start from hours, not headcount: the hours of kitchen and floor labour you need each week, divided by the legal working week in that country (see overtime rules by country). Then check the rules that cap how many staff can come from Japan.

We could not find an official staffing norm for a counter sushi bar, izakaya or ramen shop. Base the headcount on your own restaurants in Japan, adjusted for local hours law, and write the assumption down.

3. Monthly labour cost: three kitchens

Same kitchen in each city: one Japanese head chef on a work visa and two local cooks. Rates come from the pay reference page. Front of house, penalty rates, overtime, tips and insurance are left out so the method stays visible; add them from local quotes.

Not included: Australian payroll tax and workers' compensation (state rules), US state unemployment insurance and workers' compensation, Singapore medical insurance for the S Pass holder. The New York cook uses the national median because we have no verified New York figure for restaurant cooks.

4. Pre-opening and ramp-up

The months before opening are pure cost. A Japanese head chef who arrives early to test the menu, source fish and train the team is paid from day one, and the local cooks usually start a few weeks before opening. Plan it in weeks, counting back from opening day.

Weekly figures are the monthly costs above times 12 and divided by 52. The eight and three week periods are an example, not a rule; your visa dates decide when the chef can start. After opening, keep the full monthly cost in every month even while sales build, and budget at least three months of it as working capital. A later start date also moves the fee dates on the per hire schedule.

5. Checking the number against sales

We found no official statistic on labour cost as a share of sales for Japanese restaurants abroad, so we do not give a target ratio. Use your own: divide the monthly labour total (kitchen, floor and management) by forecast monthly sales in a normal month. If the result is above what your restaurants in Japan run at, change the staffing mix or the opening hours. The visa floor for the head chef is fixed, so it cannot be the line you cut.

6. Labour plan template

7. What to do this week

• Write the staffing mix and check it against the rule for your market in section 2.
• Fill the template with rates from the pay reference page and the contribution rates above.
• Set the head chef's start week from the visa timetable, then total pre-opening pay.
• Divide the monthly total by your sales forecast and decide whether the plan holds.

General information, not accounting, tax or immigration advice. The worked examples show a method and are not a statement of actual pay or costs. Confirm every rate with the official source and your accountant.