How do you work out one day's numbers?
Count only what opening actually causes. You pay rent, insurance and leases on a closed day too, so they stay out of this sum. Here's a made-up example, Restaurant Laterne on a Monday, with two people on eight hours each at Germany's minimum wage.
| Item | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Net sales | 600 euros | 600 euros |
| Ingredients, 30 percent | 180 euros | 180 euros |
| Wages, 16 hours | 222 euros | 234 euros |
| Employer costs, a flat 20 percent in this example | 45 euros | 47 euros |
| Power, water, cleaning, in this example | 50 euros | 50 euros |
| Left over | 103 euros | 89 euros |
Under Germany's minimum wage ordinance, the rate is 13.90 euros since January 2026 and 14.60 euros from January 2027. Put in your real numbers, for your own country. If you as the owner work the floor, your time doesn't show up in this sum, and that's often what makes it misleading.
What speaks for staying open?
Regulars and habit. People who always come on Mondays may find somewhere else, and that costs you on Tuesdays too. Being open when your neighbours are shut can also be an advantage. Neither shows in a one-day sum, so simply ask your Monday guests.
What speaks against it is the person behind the counter. 103 euros for a full day without a break isn't much if nobody has had a day off for weeks. A rested team on Friday can be worth more than a weak Monday.
What should you test before closing?
- Open for less time. Only evenings or only lunch often saves most of the wages.
- Create a reason to come, such as a fixed dish for that day. More ideas are in how to fill quiet days.
- Give regulars a nudge, such as double stamps on that day only.
Give each attempt eight weeks and compare with the same weeks before. A single Monday tells you nothing, because weather and public holidays distort it too much.
How do you test a Monday nudge without counting everything by hand?
With NFCeez you do it with a Boost on the stamp card. In the app you choose double stamps and pick Monday as the day. Guests keep the card in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, your team scans as usual, and on Mondays every visit counts twice. The app also suggests a Boost from your own numbers and shows you afterwards what it brought. The limit: it only counts guests with a card, not everyone who comes on a Monday, and the app doesn't know your sales. The digital stamp card page shows how Boosts look.
What changes if you close?
All visible hours, on the same day: on Google, on the door, on Instagram and on your own page. Nothing annoys people more than a locked door. How to do it on Google is in our article on your Google Business Profile.
Your next step: put the numbers from your last eight Mondays into the table.
How NFCeez does thisA reason to come on your quietest day.With a Boost, every visit counts twice on the day you choose. The app shows afterwards what it brought, and your regulars collect in their Wallet.See how it works
