Looking for a food truck business plan? You're in the right place.
A truck looks cheap next to a restaurant, and that is where plans go wrong. How many days a week can one truck sell, and what does a service day bring in? What does the crew cost against the food? How much cash gets the truck through four months of build-out and a quiet first winter? A one-page template won't show you what a sensible answer looks like.
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample plan for a single food truck in Richmond, Virginia, section by section. We'll cover the executive summary, the SWOT analysis and, above all, the financials, right through to the downside case.
Here's what you'll take away:
- The summary: see how to put the truck, the ask and the first three years on one page, so a lender or a family backer knows what it is for within a minute
- The weekly route: learn how lunches, brewery nights and catering share one truck, and why more catering means fewer evening nights
- Prime cost and the daily take: check whether food plus crew stays near the level that leaves a profit, and what a service day has to earn
- The build-out and the reserve: find out what a used van, a kitchen and four pre-opening months cost, so cash does not run out before the first sale
- Seasons and weather: plan for a Richmond winter instead of discovering it in January
- The five-year profit, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how pricing, portioning and the Thursday and Friday lunches show up in the numbers
- The downside case: have an answer ready for "what if sales run 20% short?", along with the steps the owner takes
If you're planning a truck, read this before you write your own. The business is fictional, so take what fits and change the rest.
In this plan
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What Flint Dale Is Asking For
Flint Dale is a Richmond, Virginia food truck that sells three fried-chicken sandwiches and a short list of sides from a used step van, fitted out as a mobile kitchen. It opens on May 1, 2027. The week runs lunches at two office parks on Tuesday and Wednesday, evenings at breweries and festivals from Thursday to Sunday, and private catering bookings. From June 2029 a Thursday and a Friday lunch are added. Devon Pruitt owns 100% of Flint Dale, LLC.
The truck needs $194,000: $144,000 of Devon's savings and a $50,000 equipment loan. The van, kitchen build-out, wrap and contingency take $89,100. Another $16,800 goes to permits, legal work, launch marketing and opening stock. An $88,100 reserve carries four months with no sales and a first season that starts slowly.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $176,450 | $358,000 | $433,400 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($67,391) | $19,794 | $43,008 |
| Closing cash | $39,270 | $60,159 | $90,188 |
Year 1 is a loss. The truck sells for eight months, opens at about 60% of its mature volume, and pays the founder through four months with no sales. Year 2 is the first profitable year. After that, growth comes from price, catering and the two added lunches, because the schedule is already as full as two people can staff.
The plan tests itself. If sales run 20% below plan, Devon holds back the second-shift hire, shortens part-time shifts, cuts marketing and his own pay and pays no distributions. Cash stays positive at every year-end, and the truck stays profitable from Year 2.
The Truck, the Menu and the Rules
Legal name: Flint Dale, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company. Owner: Devon Pruitt, 100%. Vehicle: a used step van, bought and fitted out as a mobile kitchen with a hood and fire suppression, two fryers, a flat-top griddle, refrigeration and a generator. Base: a shared commissary kitchen in Richmond on a month-to-month rental, used for prep, cold storage and overnight parking. Opening date: May 1, 2027, after four months of purchase, build-out, inspection and testing. Stage: pre-launch. The van is shortlisted and the commissary agreement is in draft. Letters of intent from the parks and breweries are being requested.
Three sandwiches and a few sides
| Item | Typical price | Role on the menu |
|---|---|---|
| Buttermilk-brined chicken thigh with pickles and slaw | $13.00 | The anchor; about 60% of sandwiches |
| Hot-honey chicken thigh | $14.00 | The one that travels on social media; about 30% |
| Fried mushroom with smoked paprika and slaw | $13.00 | The vegetarian option, about 10% |
| Fries | $4.50 | Sold on about 35% of lunch orders |
| Canned drinks and lemonade | $3.25 | Sold on about 40% of lunch orders and half of event orders |
The three sandwiches average $13.30. The menu is short because the truck is small. Every item shares the same brine, the same fryers and the same bread, so a Saturday queue is one line of production and not three.
One truck, held to a limit
The plan keeps a single truck for all five years. A second would need its own build-out, its own crew and a commissary that can hold two. By Year 4 the first is already selling about 330 service days a year. The better questions are how much a day on this truck earns and how many days it can sell, which the sales plan answers.
Permits, inspections and who sets the rules
The state health department publishes food-safety guidance. A mobile food unit is expected to pass plan review and an inspection through the local health district before it sells. The exact steps are set locally and have not been verified for this plan. The city sets its own rules on business licenses and on where and when a truck may vend, and private venues set their own terms. The plan has not verified those rules. Fees and rules differ by place and change over time, so the plan budgets for them generally and treats every figure as provisional until the health district and the city confirm it.
Where the truck should be by the third year
- 145 service days in 2027, of which 59 are event nights, and 232 in 2028, of which 96 are event nights.
- $358,000 of revenue in 2028, with a profit after tax.
- Thursday and Friday lunches at two more sites from June 2029.
- Equipment loan repaid on schedule by early 2032, with owner distributions beginning in 2029.
Richmond's Street-Food Market
Who else feeds an office park at noon
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a customer picks it | How Flint Dale differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fast-casual chains near office parks | A familiar menu, mobile ordering, a dining room | Speed and habit | A three-sandwich menu cooked to order and a different park each weekday |
| Deli and sandwich shops | Seating and a broad menu | Cold options and a shop to sit in | Hot food at the park, with no drive off site |
| Other food trucks | The same format | A nearby stop for some buyers | A fixed weekday schedule posted a week ahead |
| Delivery apps and packed lunches | Convenience | No walk across a car park | Food leaving the fryer, not an insulated bag |
The table describes what each alternative offers and how this truck positions itself, not a ranking. Competitors are described by category and not named, and the plan quotes no price for any of them.
Where the evening trade comes from
The brewery partners in this plan have no kitchen of their own, so they book a visiting truck for the evening. The plan books three brewery partners in Year 1, about 45 of the 59 event nights, and four from Year 2, about 80 of 96. The rest is farmers markets, festivals and city or company events, which are lumpier and busier.
What a truck earns and costs in a day
A truck sells a limited number of sessions, and each holds a limited number of orders. In Year 3 it runs 288 sessions: a lunch averages $942, an event night $1,733 and a catering job $2,916, which works out to about $1,504 a session. The same truck carries food at about 26% of sales and payroll at about 36%, including pay rises. Fixed costs that do not move with sales include the commissary, insurance, permits and loan interest. Prime cost, food plus payroll, is 90% in Year 1, 65% in Year 2 and 62% in Year 3. In this plan the crew costs more than the ingredients, so staffing decides the margin.
What a bad chicken year does
Chicken is the single biggest ingredient. If its price rises 10% and the menu stays put, direct cost climbs by about $4,500 a year at Year 3 volume, about a tenth of that year's net income. The plan's answer is the 3% menu rise each year and a portioning standard that holds the chicken cost per sandwich. A broader food-cost miss matters more: if direct costs ran 4.5 points higher than planned, Year 2 profit would fall to about $8,000 and Year 5 profit to about $44,000.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| A three-sandwich menu that one fryer line can make quickly | One vehicle: a breakdown is a lost week |
| Brewery partners who need food and send customers back | Event nights depend on weather and a calendar |
| A lead cook trained before opening | Founder pay and the lead cook's are fixed before sales arrive |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| Corporate catering from the office-park lunch regulars | Ingredient prices, chicken above all |
| Festival and market organizers who prefer a proven vendor | New trucks competing for the same brewery slots |
| A third and fourth lunch site, and the Friday plaza | Cities and venues changing vending rules or fees |
Who Lines Up at the Window
The office-park regular
An office worker with thirty minutes and no kitchen nearby, who wants something hot that arrives in under five minutes. The plan expects regulars to come back one or two days a week, which is why Tuesday and Wednesday stay at the same parks.
The brewery crowd
Groups of two to six who arrive together, in no hurry, and order separately. Each person buys a sandwich, most add fries, about half add a canned drink or lemonade, and some share a second plate. Their order is the largest on the truck: $19.75 against $16.25 at lunch.
The person who books the truck
An event planner, an office manager or a host. They want a fixed price, a deposit and a time window, and they ask for proof of insurance and a food-safety record. A catering job averages $2,700 in Year 1 and is the most valuable session the truck sells.
What they weigh
Speed, a price that sits below a sit-down lunch, and food that arrives hot. Newness is not a reason to come back, so the truck's main task is to keep the sandwiches the same.
Filling the Week
The weekly route
| Day | Service | Staff on the truck |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Commissary prep, ordering, van maintenance | Devon |
| Tuesday | Lunch at office park A | Lead cook, service crew |
| Wednesday | Lunch at office park B | Lead cook, service crew |
| Thursday | Lunch at park C from June 2029; brewery or market evening | Lead cook and second-shift crew at lunch; Devon and event crew in the evening |
| Friday | Lunch at a downtown plaza from June 2029; brewery or festival evening | Lead cook and second-shift crew at lunch; Devon and event crew in the evening |
| Saturday | Festival, market or catering job | Devon and event crew |
| Sunday | Brewery afternoon or catering job, when booked | Devon and event crew |
Service days in the model are 145 in Year 1 (eight months), 232 in Year 2, 288 in Year 3 and 329 in Years 4 and 5. A day with a lunch and an evening counts as two. A catering job takes one of the Thursday-to-Sunday slots, so more catering means fewer evening nights, not more days. Cancellations sit inside the slot counts, and between 3% and 4% of weeks is allowed for van downtime, inspections and illness.
Winter and weather
The calendar is built month by month. Event slots fall from 3.4 to 3.6 a week in May, June, September and October to 1.5 in January and February. Orders per night fall to about 62% of the peak on a cold night. Lunches are steadier but run at 82% of the peak in December and about 90% in July and August, when heat and holidays thin office parks. The plan accepts a slow winter and sizes cash for it, and holiday catering fills part of December. Years 2 to 5 are annual in the tables, so the winter shows only inside each year's total.
How prices are set
Sandwiches sit at $13.00 to $14.00, set against the sit-down lunch and the chain sandwich a buyer would otherwise pick. Prices rise 5% in Year 2 and 3% a year after. Catering is quoted per head with a minimum. Private clients pay half at booking and the balance on the day, and companies are invoiced on short terms. Prices are on the board and the ordering page, and the truck does not discount.
Booking catering
Twenty-two jobs arrive in Year 1: 8 from brewery and office-park regulars, 6 from private parties found through social posts and event listings, 5 from repeat corporate clients and 3 from festival organizers. A request gets a quote within two working days. The plan expects 40 jobs in Year 2, 46 in Year 3 and 52 by Year 5.
Getting Seen Between Stops
What the marketing budget buys
Year 1 marketing is $13,500: $7,500 of launch spend paid from start-up capital and $6,000 of running costs. That is 7.7% of Year 1 revenue, falling below 2% by Year 5 as regulars and brewery partners carry the schedule. Catering outreach, the sample trays and listings, costs $3,000 in Year 1, about $136 for each of the 22 jobs booked.
| Channel | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Brand and online ordering page (launch) | $3,000 | A page that shows the week's route and takes pre-orders |
| Tasting events and opening weeks (launch) | $2,500 | Introductions to the first brewery partners and office managers |
| Catering outreach and sample trays (launch) | $2,000 | First introductions to planners, HR and office managers |
| Social posts and a weekly route calendar | $1,800 | Telling regulars where the truck is each day |
| Office-park program | $1,500 | Tastings for park managers and a pre-order discount for regulars |
| Brewery and event partnerships | $1,200 | Flyers, co-promotion and a small sponsorship |
| Catering listings | $1,000 | Leads from event listings and word of mouth |
| Printed cards | $500 | Cards at every window |
Dates that matter
- May 2027: the truck opens and the lunch route starts at two parks.
- August 2027: three brewery partners booked, with lunches at about 40 orders.
- October 2027: the festival season peak, with $31,650 of sales.
- December 2027: 22 catering jobs closed in the year, and the first holiday bookings.
- June 2029: Thursday and Friday lunches start, and the second-shift hire is made.
Inside the Truck and the Commissary
The vehicle and the kitchen
A used step van of about 16 feet, bought and inspected for $34,000 in month 2. A mobile-kitchen builder adds a hood and fire suppression, two fryers, a flat-top griddle, under-counter refrigeration, three-compartment and handwash sinks, a generator and a POS for $46,000. The wrap and menu boards take $4,500 and a 10% contingency takes $4,600. The van's age and mileage and the builder's quote decide the real figures. A lender will want an appraisal of the van and the build before it lends against them.
A service day
Commissary prep starts the evening before or the same morning: brine, slaw, sauces, portioning. The truck leaves loaded, parks an hour before service, lights the fryers, serves, then cleans and drives back to restock. A lunch takes about six and a half hours from the commissary door to the return. An event night takes seven and a half. A Thursday or Friday with both a lunch and an evening is a long day, which is why the second-shift crew carries the lunch.
The commissary
The commissary is a month-to-month rental at $1,150 a month, then $1,200. It includes prep space, cold and dry storage and an overnight bay. The monthly figure is the plan's own, and a commissary's rates and terms vary. Devon's backup is a second commissary on a daily rate.
Fuel, power and propane
Fryers and the griddle run on propane, and the generator powers refrigeration, lights and the POS. Fuel for the van and the generator, and propane, come to 2.4% of sales. A generator failure can cost a shift, so a spare is on the maintenance list.
Insurance, permits and food safety
Commercial auto, general liability, equipment and product liability cost $8,000 in Year 1, and business-interruption cover is quoted alongside them. Permits, health inspections and vending and parking permits are budgeted at $1,500 in Year 1 and $3,000 or more later. Crew complete food handler training, and Devon completes a manager-level food safety course before opening. The permit conditions decide what certification is required.
Who supplies the chicken
Chicken and produce come from a broadline distributor on weekly delivery, with a local grocery as a backup. Bread comes from a Richmond baker on a standing order. None is hard to replace, and a price change reaches the menu within a month.
Devon and the Crew
Devon Pruitt, founder and owner-operator
Devon has eight years in restaurant kitchens in Richmond, the last four as a line supervisor. He built the menu and costed it before writing this plan. His $144,000 investment is his savings from those years. The lender will ask for bank statements that show the account and its history.
What Devon has not done yet
He has not run a mobile kitchen, has not managed payroll for others and has no catering sales experience. The plan covers these with a lead cook hired in month 4 and trained for the menu before opening, a monthly review with an accountant and a catering quote template with a fixed minimum and deposit.
A week without Devon
The lead cook can run a lunch with the service crew member and has the keys, the checklists and the commissary agreement. Event nights would pause for a week or two. The lender file holds the commissary agreement, the permit and a one-page runbook for opening and closing the truck.
The loan and the guarantee
Flint Dale, LLC is wholly Devon's. He guarantees the equipment loan personally, and the van and kitchen are the bank's security. The loan carries a covenant to deliver quarterly accounts. The lender file will also hold signed letters of intent from the office parks and breweries, the signed commissary agreement and a quote for the van and build. Owner health insurance is not in the model and sits outside the business.
The Numbers: One Truck, Five Years
The model covers five years: monthly through 2027, which opens with four pre-opening months, then yearly. Every total traces back to a count of sessions, orders and catering jobs. A session is one lunch, one evening or one catering job.
Truck, kitchen and funding
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Used step van, bought and inspected | $34,000 |
| Kitchen build-out: hood and fire suppression, fryers, griddle, refrigeration, sinks, generator, POS | $46,000 |
| Exterior wrap, menu boards and signage | $4,500 |
| Build contingency (about 10%) | $4,600 |
| Plan review, inspections, health permit and business licenses | $2,800 |
| Legal: entity, commissary agreement and insurance set-up | $3,500 |
| Launch: brand, online ordering page, tasting events and opening weeks | $7,500 |
| Opening stock of ingredients and packaging | $3,000 |
| Cash reserve for four pre-opening months and the first winter | $88,100 |
| Total uses | $194,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Devon Pruitt's savings | $144,000 |
| Equipment loan secured on the truck and kitchen | $50,000 |
| Total sources | $194,000 |
Devon's $144,000 of savings is 74% of the $194,000 raise. The other $50,000 is a five-year equipment loan at 10.0%, interest only for its first three months, secured on the van and kitchen and backed by a personal guarantee. The rate is a planning figure, not a quote. The $88,100 reserve covers a first year in which operations use $59,955 of cash: four months pass with no sales, and the first season opens at about 60% of mature volume. The lowest month-end balance in the base case falls in August 2027, at about $26,000 before the receivables allowance and about $23,000 after it. Year 1 closes at $39,270. The plan estimates the first winter, January and February 2028, at about $13,000 of cash draw, which leaves roughly $26,000 by March.
The figures behind the forecast
- The pre-opening timeline is four months. The van is bought and inspected in month 2, a mobile-kitchen builder fits it out in months 3 and 4, and plan review and the health inspection fall in the same two months. The lead cook starts in month 4 to test recipes. Selling begins on May 1, 2027. Each month the opening slips adds about $13,800 of fixed cost. A two-month slip, $27,600 in all, would take the Year 1 closing balance to about $11,700 before any lost sales are counted.
- Lunch runs Tuesday and Wednesday at two office parks from the first week. From June 2029 (month 30) a Thursday lunch at a third park and a Friday lunch at a downtown plaza are added. Thursday counts as a full lunch day and Friday as 0.7 of one, because Friday sells about 70% of a weekday's orders. Evening and weekend slots run Thursday to Sunday: 1.5 a week in January and February, 3.4 to 3.6 in May, June, September and October, and 2.0 in December. Cancelled events are inside those counts, and a further 3% to 4% of weeks comes off for van downtime, inspections and illness.
- Service days are 145 in Year 1, 232 in Year 2, 288 in Year 3 and 329 in Years 4 and 5. A day with both a lunch and an evening counts as two. Years 4 and 5 are the first with four lunch days in the week, so they carry the most service days in the plan.
- An order is one person's. A lunch averages $16.25 before price rises: a sandwich at $13.30 on average, fries at $4.50 on about 35% of orders and a canned drink or lemonade at $3.25 on about 40%. An event night averages $19.75: fries on about two orders in three, a drink on half, and a second sandwich or shared plate on about one in eight. A lunch averages 43 orders in Year 1 and about 54 from Year 3, roughly one every three minutes across a two-and-a-half-hour window. An event night averages 63 orders in Year 1 and 81 from Year 3, about 20 an hour over four hours.
- Catering bookings average $2,700 before price rises: about 100 guests at about $27 a head, or a minimum from a brewery or company. Year 1 has 22 jobs, building from the summer, and Years 2 to 5 have 40, 46, 50 and 52. Each job takes a Thursday-to-Sunday slot, so event nights fall from 96 in Year 2 to 84 in Year 5 as catering rises.
- Menu prices rise 5% in Year 2, then 3% a year. Between Year 3 and Year 5 revenue grows 16.5%. Prices account for 5.6 of those points, and the rest is catering volume and a full year of the Thursday and Friday lunches.
- Direct costs are 25.5% of lunch sales and 26.5% of event and catering sales, about 26% of all revenue. The lower percentages come from portioning and menu mix, not from price or labor: a 5.5-ounce thigh portion weighed at the fryer, brine made in fixed batches, a daily special side built on lower-cost vegetables, and drinks, which carry the widest margin on the menu, on a larger share of event orders. Chicken is about two-fifths of direct cost, so a 10% rise in its price adds about $4,500 a year at Year 3 volume before any menu change. Direct costs running 4.5 points higher than planned would cut Year 2 profit to about $8,000 and Year 5 profit to about $44,000.
- Prime cost, direct costs plus payroll and pay raises, is 90% of sales in Year 1, 65% in Year 2, 62% in Year 3 and about 60% in Years 4 and 5. Year 1 cannot sit near the usual target: the founder is paid from month 1 while the truck sells for eight months. Year 2 sits at the threshold and falls from Year 3 as the calendar fills.
- Payroll adds 27% to the founder's wage for payroll taxes, workers' compensation and a retirement match, 20% for the lead cook and 15% for the other part-time posts. Devon is paid $50,000 and works about 45 hours a week. The lead cook is paid $29,500 for 30 hours, about $19 an hour. The service and event crew posts are about $17 an hour, and the second-shift post about $16. These are the plan's own figures and should be confirmed against current postings before hiring. Minimum wage rules are set by statute and are not applied in the model. Pay rises 3% a year, charged as a separate line from Year 2.
- The shared commissary is a month-to-month rental of $1,150 a month for ten months of Year 1 and $1,200 a month from Year 2, rising about 3.5% a year. It covers prep space, cold and dry storage and an overnight parking bay. Commissary rates and terms vary, so the figure is a planning number to be replaced by quotes.
- Card processing and pre-order platform fees are 3.2% of revenue. Fuel for the van and generator, and propane, are 2.4%. Event, festival and brewery vendor fees are 4% of event-night sales: some venues charge nothing, some a flat fee and some a share of sales. Permits, licenses and vending and parking permits are $1,500 in Year 1 and $3,000 or more after. Local fees differ, so these are budget figures only.
- Repairs and tires are $5,000 in Year 1 and reach $12,000 by Year 5 as the van ages. Insurance covers commercial auto, general liability, equipment and product liability at $8,000 in Year 1 and $10,300 in Year 5. Workers' compensation sits inside the payroll on-costs.
- Income tax uses the 21% federal corporate rate and the 6% Virginia corporate rate on each year's profit. The Year 1 loss is not carried forward in the model, which overstates tax in Years 2 and 3 by roughly $14,000 combined, on a rough estimate. Federal rules limit how much of an earlier loss can offset later profit, so the carryforward stays out until an accountant confirms the treatment. If the company were taxed as a pass-through, Devon would pay on his personal return instead. Both rates may change. Local license taxes and any meals tax are not in the model.
- Owner distributions are $15,000 in Year 3, $50,000 in Year 4 and $60,000 in Year 5, paid only from cash left after the loan payments. The loan is repaid on schedule, with $1,096 outstanding at the end of Year 5. No second truck is in the model.
Sales by service
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office-park lunch service | $44,650 | $90,400 | $143,400 | $185,900 | $191,000 |
| Brewery, festival and event nights | $73,350 | $154,200 | $155,900 | $153,200 | $153,700 |
| Private catering bookings | $58,450 | $113,400 | $134,100 | $149,900 | $160,100 |
| Total revenue | $176,450 | $358,000 | $433,400 | $489,000 | $504,800 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 103% | 21% | 13% | 3% |
Event nights are the largest line in Years 1 and 2, at 42% and 43% of revenue. Catering grows from 33% of Year 1 revenue to 32% in Year 5, with volume rising from 22 jobs to 52. Lunch is the smallest line in Years 1 and 2 at 25%, passes events in Year 4 and is the largest line by Year 5 at 38%, once the Thursday and Friday lunches run for a full year. Growth is 103% in Year 2, the first full season after eight selling months, then 21%, 13% and 3%. By Year 4 the calendar is full, and what is left is price and catering.
Month by month in 2027, from a parked van to the first autumn
| Month | Office-park lunch service | Brewery, festival and event nights | Private catering bookings | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($13,810) |
| Feb 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($13,810) |
| Mar 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($13,810) |
| Apr 2027 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($13,810) |
| May 2027 | $4,450 | $6,250 | $5,500 | $16,200 | ($1,862) |
| Jun 2027 | $5,050 | $7,500 | $6,850 | $19,400 | $498 |
| Jul 2027 | $4,700 | $8,450 | $4,750 | $17,900 | ($608) |
| Aug 2027 | $5,600 | $8,800 | $5,150 | $19,550 | $608 |
| Sep 2027 | $6,400 | $13,150 | $8,700 | $28,250 | $7,025 |
| Oct 2027 | $7,150 | $15,400 | $9,100 | $31,650 | $9,533 |
| Nov 2027 | $6,300 | $9,600 | $6,050 | $21,950 | $2,379 |
| Dec 2027 | $5,000 | $4,200 | $12,350 | $21,550 | $2,084 |
Nothing sells from January to April. The model spreads a year of fixed costs evenly, so each pre-opening month shows a $13,810 EBITDA loss. Real pre-opening spend is front-loaded in the build months, and fuel and most crew pay start in May, so the EBITDA column is an annual shape rather than a month-by-month cash path. Sales are the reliable column: $16,200 in May, $28,250 in September and $31,650 in October at the festival peak, then $21,950 and $21,550 as nights turn cold, with December lifted by $12,350 of holiday catering. The lowest month-end cash in the base case falls in August 2027, at about $26,000 before the receivables allowance and about $23,000 after it. The reserve is sized against the second, tighter figure. The first full winter, January and February 2028, sits inside Year 2's annual figures, and the plan estimates it from the Year 2 calendar: about $16,200 of sales and a loss near $5,600 a month at EBITDA, taking cash from $39,270 to about $26,000 by March.
Who is on the truck
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder and owner-operator | $50,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Lead cook and shift lead (part time, about 30 hours a week) | $29,500 | Month 4 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Service crew member (part time, about 16 hours a week) | $14,000 | Month 5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Event and catering crew (part time, about 20 hours a week) | $17,500 | Month 6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Thursday and Friday second-shift crew (part time, about 20 hours a week) | $16,500 | Month 30 | – | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $112,523 | $135,125 | $146,194 | $154,100 | $154,100 |
Devon is paid from month 1 and runs the van purchase and fit-out. The lead cook joins in month 4 at 30 hours a week to test recipes before opening. A part-time service crew member starts in month 5 for the lunches, and a part-time event and catering crew member in month 6, at about 20 hours a week. Four people are on the payroll by December 2027. The model counts a part-time post as half a full-time equivalent, so that is 2.5. A second-shift post of about 20 hours a week starts in June 2029 to cover the Thursday and Friday lunches. There are no other hires. Devon works the evening events and catering jobs and runs Monday prep. The lead cook runs the lunch line from Tuesday to Friday. Devon's $50,000 wage is in the costs from month one, so every profit line is after he has been paid.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $176,450 | $358,000 | $433,400 | $489,000 | $504,800 |
| Direct costs (chicken, produce, bread, oil and packaging) | ($46,313) | ($93,964) | ($113,754) | ($128,348) | ($132,495) |
| Gross profit | $130,137 | $264,036 | $319,646 | $360,652 | $372,305 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($112,523) | ($135,125) | ($146,194) | ($154,100) | ($154,100) |
| Rent | ($11,500) | ($14,400) | ($14,900) | ($15,400) | ($15,900) |
| Utilities | ($1,800) | ($2,300) | ($2,400) | ($2,500) | ($2,600) |
| Marketing | ($6,000) | ($7,500) | ($8,000) | ($8,500) | ($9,000) |
| Insurance | ($8,000) | ($8,600) | ($9,200) | ($9,800) | ($10,300) |
| Professional fees | ($3,200) | ($3,400) | ($3,600) | ($3,800) | ($4,000) |
| Software subscriptions | ($1,600) | ($2,000) | ($2,200) | ($2,300) | ($2,400) |
| Card processing and pre-order platform fees | ($5,600) | ($11,500) | ($13,900) | ($15,600) | ($16,200) |
| Generator and vehicle fuel, and propane | ($4,200) | ($8,600) | ($10,400) | ($11,700) | ($12,100) |
| Repairs, maintenance and tires | ($5,000) | ($7,000) | ($8,500) | ($11,000) | ($12,000) |
| Event, festival and brewery vendor fees | ($2,900) | ($6,200) | ($6,200) | ($6,100) | ($6,100) |
| Health permit renewals, licenses and vending and parking permits | ($1,500) | ($3,000) | ($3,200) | ($3,300) | ($3,400) |
| Cleaning supplies, ice and laundry | ($1,500) | ($2,600) | ($3,000) | ($3,300) | ($3,600) |
| Replacement smallwares, fryer parts and signage | $0 | ($2,000) | ($2,500) | ($3,500) | ($4,000) |
| Bad debt allowance (catering invoices) | ($400) | ($1,500) | ($2,000) | ($2,300) | ($2,600) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($4,054) | ($8,903) | ($14,289) | ($19,341) |
| EBITDA | ($35,586) | $44,257 | $74,549 | $93,163 | $94,664 |
| Depreciation | ($13,586) | ($13,586) | ($13,586) | ($12,086) | ($12,086) |
| Interest | ($4,420) | ($4,016) | ($3,048) | ($1,978) | ($795) |
| Income tax | $0 | ($6,861) | ($14,907) | ($20,360) | ($21,051) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($53,591) | $19,794 | $43,008 | $58,740 | $60,732 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, licensing, launch marketing) | ($13,800) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($67,391) | $19,794 | $43,008 | $58,740 | $60,732 |
The first year ends $53,591 down before start-up costs and $67,391 down after them: four months with no sales, then a first season that opens at about 60% of mature volume. Year 2 is the first profitable year, at $19,794 after $6,861 of tax, a 5.5% margin. Year 3 earns $43,008, or 9.9%, with the Thursday and Friday lunches running for seven months. Years 4 and 5 hold at $58,740 and $60,732, 12.0% in each, as pay rises add $19,341 a year by Year 5 and tax takes $20,360 and $21,051.
Cash movements
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($59,955) | $30,139 | $55,248 | $69,833 | $72,536 |
| Truck, kitchen build-out and equipment | ($89,100) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $194,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | ($5,674) | ($9,250) | ($10,219) | ($11,289) | ($12,471) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | ($15,000) | ($50,000) | ($60,000) |
| Net change in cash | $39,270 | $20,889 | $30,029 | $8,544 | $65 |
| Closing cash | $39,270 | $60,159 | $90,188 | $98,732 | $98,796 |
Year 1 closes at $39,270 and cash climbs to $98,796 by Year 5. The $89,100 spent on the van and kitchen is paid from the savings and the loan in Year 1. Distributions begin in Year 3 at $15,000, rise to $50,000 in Year 4 and reach $60,000 in Year 5. The Year 5 balance, about three months of operating costs, sits against an engine or refrigeration failure, which the plan does not schedule, and against a second-truck decision the plan leaves out.
Balance sheet
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $39,270 | $60,159 | $90,188 | $98,732 | $98,796 |
| Accounts receivable | $2,417 | $4,904 | $5,937 | $6,699 | $6,915 |
| Ingredients and packaging on hand | $4,621 | $6,289 | $6,981 | $7,492 | $7,637 |
| Truck, kitchen build-out and equipment (net) | $75,514 | $61,929 | $48,343 | $36,257 | $24,171 |
| Total assets | $121,822 | $133,280 | $151,449 | $149,180 | $137,520 |
| Owed to food and packaging suppliers | $888 | $1,802 | $2,182 | $2,461 | $2,541 |
| Bank loan | $44,326 | $35,075 | $24,856 | $13,567 | $1,096 |
| Paid-in capital | $144,000 | $144,000 | $144,000 | $144,000 | $144,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($67,391) | ($47,597) | ($19,589) | ($10,849) | ($10,117) |
| Total liabilities and equity | $121,822 | $133,280 | $151,449 | $149,180 | $137,520 |
Margins, prime cost and break-even
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -20.2% | 12.4% | 17.2% | 19.1% | 18.8% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -30.4% | 5.5% | 9.9% | 12.0% | 12.0% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 64% | 39% | 36% | 34% | 34% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $70,580 | $143,200 | $144,467 | $163,000 | $168,267 |
| Average monthly revenue | $14,704 | $29,833 | $36,117 | $40,750 | $42,067 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $18,725 | $24,833 | $27,693 | $30,223 | $31,371 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | -3.5x | 3.3x | 5.6x | 7.0x | 7.1x |
Year 1 averages $14,704 a month against $18,725 needed, because four months have no sales. Year 2 averages $29,833 against $24,833, so sales could fall about 17% before the truck stops covering its operating costs. Year 3 is $36,117 against $27,693, a cushion of about 23%. Debt cover is negative in Year 1, 3.3x in Year 2 and above 5x after. Sales per service day are $1,541 in Year 2, $1,504 in Year 3 and $1,535 in Year 5. That is high for one truck, and it is the figure this plan is most sensitive to. The average is held down by the Friday lunch, which sells about 70% of a weekday's orders.
When sales run a fifth below plan
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $141,160 | $286,400 | $346,720 | $391,200 | $403,840 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($77,289) | $10,212 | $35,574 | $53,761 | $55,765 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($91,089) | $10,212 | $35,574 | $53,761 | $55,765 |
| Closing cash | $16,203 | $28,158 | $66,022 | $119,785 | $174,940 |
Every stream is cut by 20% in every year. Devon's response starts in month 13, after a first season has shown the shortfall. The Thursday and Friday second-shift post is not hired, part-time pay falls by a quarter through shorter shifts, and Devon's own wage falls by a fifth to $40,000. Marketing drops by a fifth from Year 2, repairs by 15%, smallwares are halved, and no distributions are paid. Card fees, fuel and event fees fall with sales from the start. The lowest year-end cash is $16,203 at the end of Year 1, before any lever has been pulled, which makes Year 1 the real test of the reserve. The plan estimates the August 2027 low at about $13,000, taking the lost margin from the base monthly figure. Before any response, Year 2 would lose about $26,000 and cash would fall below zero during that year, so the response is what keeps the plan positive. Devon would apply the levers earlier if cash fell below $20,000 at any month-end. The model applies them at month 13. Net income is $10,212 in Year 2 and $35,574 in Year 3, both below the base case. Equity ends Year 1 at $52,911. Year 5 cash is higher than the base case, $174,940 against $98,796, only because no distributions are paid.
Sources
- Virginia Tax, Corporation income tax: the Virginia corporation income tax rate is 6% of Virginia taxable income. Rates change, so confirm before filing.
- Internal Revenue Code section 11: the federal corporate income tax rate is 21%. The rate may change. The model does not carry the Year 1 loss forward, which is cautious.
- Virginia Department of Health, Food safety: general food-establishment guidance. It does not set out the permit steps for a specific mobile food unit, so those come from the local health district.
- Wages, commissary rent, the loan rate, prices, order counts, portion and food-cost targets, and fees in this plan are the plan's own figures and not sourced benchmarks. Local quotes should replace each before the plan is relied on.
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