It is crucial that you have a clear idea of restaurant start up costs before you dive in and put your money on the line. You really have to have access to more than $100,000 in funding to start up in the restaurant industry and maybe more than this depending on what you have in mind.

Many restaurant entrepreneurs run out of capital during the first year of their restaurants existence and are forced to discontinue due to the fact that they did not get to break even point as rapidly as they thought. Keeping enough capital in reserve to prepare for a worst case scenario is wise.

Write out a budgeting plan for buying only what you need as your business grows and look into used equipment and fittings for better value.

The major costs are related to getting set up in a suitable place for your restaurant. Costs can vary considerably here depending on if you rent, buy or even build your own place from scratch. Then you will have refurbishment costs as well as continuing utility costs to think about.

Leasing would be the best option right now and with the economy still bad, but slowly starting to perk up, you could negotiate a lease at a reasonable rate and be set up and ready for when the economic recovery finally comes.

Compliance costs can be surprisingly high so it is important to do some preliminary investigation so that you understand how much it will cost to get the licenses and permits that city authorities require you to have.

You might need to hire consultants to advise you throughout the startup stage and beyond and their substantial charges may be able to be offset by the help and guidance that they can provide.

You will need to completely kit out a commercial kitchen. Once you know more about the seating capacity and the menu that you intend to provide you can seek out opinions from a chef about equipment needs.

Dining room, welcome area and bathroom needs also require a lot of thought. You will need to buy all of the furniture, serving equipment and table settings to match your theme.

Successful restaurants usually implement computerized systems that maintain efficiency and owner control. From payment collection and processing, to security systems, you should estimate costs in advance.

You need to design a brand and work this in with your theme, on exterior signs and on menus and on business cards and other materials. Advertising is also essential and you need to allocate a substantial sum for this to build up some good exposure.

It is easy to overlook some of the minor (and major) expenses relating to starting up and managing a restaurant. Talk to restaurant owners, read some guides on the matter and make observations when you eat at restaurants so that you remember all of the important details.

From table decorations to employee uniforms, your list of expected restaurant startup costs will depend on the volume of your operation, your theme, seating capacity and your target market.

Calculating set up costs is one thing but you should also identify the monthly operating costs which involve purchases of food and supplies, rent, payroll and promotional costs . These costs will be incurred whether your restaurant is full or not so you need to have capital put aside to cover them if revenue is worse than anticipated.

Research a variety of financing options and make sure that you have secured lines of credit well in advance for when you need them.

Start your restaurant off right be ensuring that you completely understand the startup and administration costs that you can expect. Don’t take on too much debt right away as you might need lines of credit while you get through the first difficult year of business. Those that understand costs and budget accordingly have the greatest chance of emerging with a profitable restaurant.