Implementation fee + monthly license & QA
Single independents. Multi-unit groups scoped on the walkthrough call.
- Implementation$15,000License & QA$900/mo
- Multi-unit groups: implementation scoped per unit on the walkthrough call.
Kitchen Counts publishes its pricing transparently because every operator we talk to has been burned by “contact us for a quote.” Three segments, published implementation fees and monthly retainers, honest scope descriptions. The walkthrough call is to confirm fit, not to negotiate the rate.
Pricing
Priced by the kitchen you run.
One food cost control system, sized to your segment. Priced to what it replaces.
Every engagement starts the same way: a one-month on-site build, your own team trained to run it, then we step back to QA. What differs is your segment and your scale, which is what sets the implementation fee and the monthly retainer.
One flat implementation fee by segment: $15,000 for independent restaurants and catering, $25,000 for care, retirement, and institutional operations. $900 a month for license and QA after that, across every segment. Multi-unit groups and multi-home operators get their implementation fee scoped on the walkthrough call. The prices are published below, and that conversation is about fit, not a negotiation.
Implementation fee + monthly license & QA
Care, retirement, and institutional operations.
- Implementation$25,000License & QA$900/mo
- Multi-home operators: implementation scoped per home on the walkthrough call.
Implementation fee + monthly license & QA
Member clubs, university residences, corporate cafeterias.
- Implementation$25,000License & QA$900/mo
Which Tier Fits
One implementation fee,set by segment.
Two flat tiers. Which one applies depends on what kind of operation you run, not your size within it.
Restaurant Operators
$15,000 implementation. Independent restaurants and catering, single-site to start. Multi-unit groups get the per-unit implementation fee scoped on the walkthrough call.
Care Kitchens
$25,000 implementation. Care, retirement, and long-term care operations of any size. Multi-home operators get the per-home implementation fee scoped on the walkthrough call.
Facilities
$25,000 implementation, the institutional tier. Member clubs, university residences, and corporate cafeterias, sized during the walkthrough to your seasonal calendar and catering crossover.
Analyze Your Operation
What variance iscosting you.
Three modes, one honest number. Choose Restaurant, Facility, or Care, drag in your real spend and variance — or your bed count and envelope — and see where you land against the Kitchen Counts fee. Honest math: if the math doesn’t work for your scale, the calculator will say so.
Annual Recovery Calculator
Live widgetOperation type
Care kitchens run a fixed funding envelope, so the win is full deployment, not dollars saved. Restaurants and facilities recover (or contain) real spend.
$12,000
$2K$60K
35%
22%50%
Above the 28–32% industry benchmark.
28%
22%35%
Industry best practice: 28–31% for independents and care kitchens.
Annual food spend
$624,000
Estimated annual recovery
$43,680
$3,640 per month
Kitchen Counts Year 1 cost
$25,800
$15,000 implementation + $900/mo license & QA
Net Year 1 benefit
+$17,880
Estimated return after Kitchen Counts fees
Estimate based on averages, not a guarantee. From month two onward, it's the license & QA retainer only.
Honest math. This is a sorting tool, not a quote. Drag in your real numbers to see where you land against the flat implementation fee for your segment.
What operators are up against in 2026
0%
cite food cost as their #1 pressure this year
0%
are operating at a loss or just breaking even
Source — Restaurants Canada
This is the pressure Kitchen Counts was built to take off your plate — and why pricing it is the easy decision.
Founders' Rate
For the first three engagements in each segment, we offer a time-limited concession on the implementation fee. List price holds on the retainer. We document the engagement publicly (with permission) in exchange.
Check eligibility →Multi-Site Portfolios
Three or more facilities under common ownership receive consolidated portfolio pricing: the same implementation-fee-plus-retainer model, sized per building, with one quarterly portfolio review across all of them.
Talk to us →Association Programs
Members of our partner associations — AdvantAge Ontario, the Canadian Society of Nutrition Management, the Ontario Retirement Communities Association, the Ontario Long Term Care Clinicians, the Ontario Long Term Care Association, Restaurants Canada, and the Club Management Association of Canada — receive preferred onboarding and an annual member-day discount on the implementation fee. These partnerships launch through 2026; reach out and we’ll verify membership.
Check eligibility →The Initial Walkthrough
What 30 minutes actuallycovers.
- The current state of your operation: bed or cover count, current food cost percentage, the vendors and the ordering rhythm you run today
- The pain points you actually live with, from variance and vendor creep to the counts that never quite get done
- A read of the data you already have, and what it says about where food cost and food quality are leaking
For Executive Directors, GMs, chef-owners, and ownership teams making a system-level decision about how the inventory function runs.
Schedule your walkthrough
30 minutes. Real walkthrough of Kitchen Counts with your numbers, not a slide deck.
Questions we actuallyget.
Answers for Regional Directors, chef-owners, and operations leads evaluating Kitchen Counts.
No fixed minimum. You pay the one-time implementation fee for the one-month build, then the monthly QA retainer for as long as it’s earning its keep. Most operators keep the retainer running indefinitely once the system’s live, since that cadence is what keeps the discipline from drifting back. Cancel the retainer with 30 days’ notice if it’s ever not worth it to you.
The list rate is the list rate. The exception is the Founders’ Rate: for the first three engagements in each segment, we offer a time-limited concession on the implementation fee. List price holds on the retainer. We document the engagement publicly (with permission) in exchange.
Yes, priced per operation. A 100-bed single-building care kitchen is one implementation-fee-plus-retainer engagement. A multi-site portfolio gets consolidated portfolio pricing, sized per building at the same model, with one quarterly portfolio review across all of them. Reach out and we’ll size it.
Different category. Compass and the major contract foodservice operators replace your kitchen team: they bring their own staff, menus, and sourcing. Kitchen Counts runs the inventory function on top of your kitchen team. You keep the chef, the menu, the residents’ food experience, and we add the operational discipline. The fee comparison favours Kitchen Counts significantly: a contract operator engagement runs into six figures annually for a typical mid-size facility, while Kitchen Counts runs an implementation fee plus a monthly QA retainer, sized to your segment and scale. The more important comparison is what stays yours. Full breakdown on the Care Kitchens comparison →.
