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The Operating Audit
One property. Two weeks. Half a day on site. A written operating picture you can act on, whether or not we work together afterward.
- Fixed price
- $3,500
- Scope
- One property
- Engagement
- Two weeks
- On site
- Half a day
Seven deliverables
What you receive.
Measured yield
Yield per protein, measured on your equipment against the product you buy.
True portion cost
Portion cost calculated from your invoice pricing and measured yield.
Ranked cost gaps
The operating gaps that cost the most, listed first.
Top three findings
Dollar estimates on the three largest findings, with the assumptions stated.
Pit capacity
Your production capacity compared with actual service volume.
30 / 60 / 90 fix list
A sequence of actions with owners, so the findings have somewhere to go.
Documentation inventory
The controls and instructions you have, and the ones the operation still needs.
A working document
Operating Audit — Findings
| Protein | Purch lb | Trimmed | Cooked | Yield | $/4oz | Menu | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisket, packer | 14.2 | 11.1 | 6.4 | 45.1% | 3.86 | 9.00 | — |
| Brisket, packer1 | 14.2 | 10.0 | 5.2 | 36.6% | 4.75 | 9.00 | -0.89 |
| Pork butt | 8.8 | 8.8 | 5.1 | 58.0% | 1.42 | 7.00 | — |
| Spare rib, St. Louis | 3.4 | 2.7 | 1.9 | 55.9% | 2.94 | 13.00 | — |
| Chicken, half2 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 69.2% | 1.11 | 11.00 | — |
| # | Finding | Est. annual |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brisket yield variance across cooks3 | $31,400 |
| 2 | Overproduction Sun–Tue, no forecast | $12,900 |
| 3 | Catering quoted below true portion cost | $8,200 |
- 1Same spec, same box, different cook. The trim is where the money leaves, and nobody is weighing it.
- 2Yield is fine. Price is not. This one is a menu conversation, not a pit conversation.
- 3Ranked by dollars, not by how easy it is to fix. You decide the order; we tell you the size.
Format demonstration. Figures are illustrative, not a client result.
How the two weeks run.
Colby leads the site work and the findings review. The Audit covers Observe and Assess, the first two steps of the Smoke Line Method.
Review the operation
Invoices, menu, sales mix, production records, recipes and the controls already in use. We agree the site date and written scope.
Observe and measure
Half a day with the cooks, pits, prep, holding and service. Measurements are tied to your products and equipment.
Set the next actions
A written report and a 90-minute review. Work through the ranked findings and the 30 / 60 / 90 fix list.
After the findings.
You can act on the report with your own team. Recipe development, purchasing systems, training and implementation are separate work, scoped after the findings.
There is no obligation to continue beyond the Audit.