Sales per labor hour (SPLH), explained
A sharper labor metric than labor % — and how to use it.
What it is
Sales per labor hour (SPLH) = net sales ÷ total labor hours worked, over the same period. If a shift did $4,000 in net sales on 40 worked hours, SPLH is $100. It tells you how much revenue each hour of labor generated.
Why it beats labor % alone
Labor % moves with both sales and cost, which can mask what’s happening. SPLH isolates productivity: two shifts can hit the same labor % while one is clearly working harder per hour. It’s also easier to compare across shifts, dayparts and locations.
How to use it
Set an SPLH floor per daypart, watch it by shift, and use it when comparing locations in a group — the highest-SPLH venue often has scheduling worth copying. Pair it with sales-per-hour by server to coach the floor.
PULSE tracks SPLH across every shift and, at Head Office, compares labor & SPLH across every location side by side — plus a per-server sales-per-hour scorecard so you can see who’s driving the number and where scheduling is worth copying.