At the assumed 80 completed orders per service day and $16.00 net ticket, the Illinois wage reference produces -$361.77 mature monthly EBIT before financing and income taxes. Its mathematical EBIT threshold is approximately 81.73 orders/day; 81.8 as a daily average, or 82 whole orders on every service day, clears it at unchanged inputs. Chicago adds a daily commissary return. If one planned selling day is lost in the modeled month while paid hours and fixed costs stay unchanged, monthly EBIT becomes -$1,164.33: 85.9 orders on average across the remaining service days, or 86 whole orders each day, clears that conditional threshold. Neither rate is observed demand, and the full paid mobile day must fit. Opening cash remains a reference allowance.
Single mobile food truck with a focused menu, an approved base or commissary relationship and a fully paid preparation and service crew
State benchmarks: May / July 2025 · Page prepared September 11, 2026
The Illinois wage reference loses $362 in a mature month at the assumed 80 paid orders/day, with an approximate daily-average EBIT threshold of 81.73. Chicago also requires a daily commissary return. If one planned selling day is lost in one month while fixed costs and roster remain, modeled EBIT becomes -$1,164; the remaining planned days then need 85.9 paid orders each at the same ticket and margin.
| Input | Published evidence | Planning use and remaining scope |
|---|---|---|
| License and daily return | Chicago license code: the Mobile Food Preparer fee is $1,000, generally for two years; a $25 online payment is credited to it. City servicing rule: the truck reports to its commissary at least daily. | Choose the cooking-truck category, include paid travel and servicing time, and keep the license apart from the wider $10,000 permit and professional allowance. |
| Chicago kitchen | The Hatchery: an in-city kitchen and truck-servicing facility. A third-party listing shows $15–$25 per shared-kitchen hour. | At an assumed 80 prep hours monthly, kitchen time alone would be $1,200–$2,000. Get the provider's current full quote for schedule, storage, parking, daily truck service, deposit and licensing. |
| Equipped truck | 2026 equipped-truck offer: $189,000 nationally, $54,000 above the model truck line. | The conditional $900/month depreciation change moves reference EBIT to -$1,262. Delivery, tax and Chicago equipment approval are unpriced. |
| Menu and orders | Chicago marketplace menu: burgers at $12 and $16; it does not supply a comparable side-and-drink basket. | Neither listing establishes the proposed truck's $16 net ticket or paid orders. Test the intended route after daily commissary travel and count completed receipts, refunds and paid hours. |
The calculator below uses the Illinois reference. Annual service days can be changed, but a single lost day in one particular month is the separate monthly calculation above. Change only inputs you can support for your chosen truck and route. Test the complete financial scenario →
In 2022, the Economic Census reported 26 mobile-food employer establishments and $12,372,000 in receipts for Chicago. Its unit is an employer establishment, which may serve more than one vehicle or cart. This historical total does not test demand for one proposed route. Census table · Industry definition
Decision: validate the complete paid route, including the daily commissary return. The reference needs at least 82 whole completed orders on a normal service day; the lost-day month needs 86 on each remaining planned day. Reducing selling time while keeping the roster and standing costs can overturn an already thin contribution.
Applicable local source: Chicago daily-servicing rule. The local observations and offers below retain their stated source periods and checked dates.
| Check | Decision implication |
|---|---|
| Daily servicing | Chicago’s code requires a commissary return at least once per day. Record travel and service minutes alongside preparation and selling; they consume paid hours without creating orders. |
| Missed-day contribution | One lost day removes $802.56 of contribution in the stated month, calculated as 80 orders × $16 net ticket × the retained contribution rate. It is a one-month sensitivity, not a new annual service-day forecast. |
| Kitchen scope | At the illustrative 80 prep hours, the third-party $15–$25/hour listing implies $1,200–$2,000 for kitchen time alone. Obtain a provider-confirmed servicing, parking, storage and deposit quote before changing the full base cost. |
Planning interpretation updated . Scenario amounts use the published reference inputs and source periods below.
Use the result as a test of one defined format. Single mobile food truck with a focused menu, an approved base or commissary relationship and a fully paid preparation and service crew. At unchanged price, cost shares and paid hours, an average of 81.8 completed orders per service day clears modeled EBIT break-even. This is an average across the trading calendar, not a promise that every day sells that many units. Confirm that the complete paid workload can deliver it. The negative reference month clears EBIT only if sufficient paid sales can be delivered at the same contribution, or if price and costs change. Extra opening funds do not remove an ongoing operating loss.
What the wage evidence changes. For the same paid roster, the selected Illinois wage benchmarks produce $9,965.10 loaded payroll per month, $529.03 above the national roster ($9,436.07). May 2025 BLS state OEWS supplies occupation medians; the page's paid hours and exact source rows turn them into payroll using the assumed 18% employer allowance. The medians describe employee jobs across industries. They are neither a hiring offer nor a statutory wage floor.
Apply the named local case within its scope. The Chicago example retains its cited rules, advertised prices and checked dates. Its city observations do not replace the statewide reference's opening, occupancy or sales inputs unless the stated conditional case supplies the same full cost scope. Compare the complete local case before using the state result at a chosen stop or address.
What is still assumed. Net selling yield, paid sales volume, premises and opening allowances, staffing hours, the employer load, cost shares, operating calendar, ramp and cash buffer are authored planning inputs. A scoped city fee or advertised premises subtotal does not validate all of them.
At the reference sales level, monthly EBITDA is $2,054.90, EBIT after $2,416.67 depreciation is -$361.77, and steady-month cash after $900.00 maintenance investment is $1,154.90. Opening payments of $191,434.97 plus $50,809.30 modeled reserve give $242,244.27 funding. The reserve covers the peak modeled deficit and stated buffer; funding is not a researched state startup average or owner income.
The mathematical daily-average thresholds are approximately 70.17 for EBITDA, 81.73 for EBIT and 74.47 for steady-month cash after maintenance, all in completed orders per service day at the same price and cost share. A daily average of 74.5 clears that steady-month cash boundary in this fixed-input model. The cash threshold assumes steady receivables. It does not include new working-capital movements, loan payments, income taxes, owner distributions or recovery of opening cash; the single calculator's 60-month schedule handles the reference ramp and collection timing.
The reference uses 250 service days annually, averaged over 12 months: 80 completed paid orders per service day × $16.00 realized net ticket produces $26,666.67 mature monthly revenue. The net ticket must reflect the sold menu mix, discounts and refunds; a menu item price or a booked event does not establish collected order value.
The roster provides 500 paid person-hours monthly, or 24 per assumed service day. If all three workers cover the assumed 4.5-hour selling window, 13.5 person-hours go to that window and 10.5 remain for preparation, loading, travel, setup, commissary return and close-down. This is a time budget, not measured task performance. Time every role and station, include breaks and delays, and use the lawful selling window for the selected stop. The stated 135-order ceiling assumes 30 completed orders per selling hour; permissions and physical throughput do not supply paying customers.
Of the three one-input tests below, 20% fewer paid sales units has the largest absolute EBIT effect: -$3,705.77 per mature month, a $3,344.00 change from the reference. These tests have different sizes and do not rank probabilities or all business risks.
Compare all three sensitivity tests and their fixed-input scope. Test a valid scenario in the page's calculator, then compare its opening cash and full schedule. The reference copy above keeps its stated inputs when the calculator is edited.
We examined the available wage records for this single mobile food truck with a focused menu, an approved base or commissary relationship and a fully paid preparation and service crew, checked the Census population observations and calculated the staffing implications using the stated wage benchmarks. The results below show what that completed analysis establishes.
The same roster costs $9,965 at the selected Illinois wage benchmarks versus $9,436 at national medians, including the stated employer-cost allowance. This isolates wage differences; it does not compare local rent or customer spending.
Inspect the roles and source rows →At unchanged price, cost shares and paid hours, an average of 81.8 completed orders per service day clears modeled EBIT break-even. This is an average across the trading calendar, not a promise that every day sells that many units. Confirm that the complete paid workload can deliver it.
See the calculation and cash results →| Component | What the evidence establishes | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Wage records and state population | Selected May 2025 occupational records and July 2024/2025 Census estimates, with exact fields and source rows. | Source records checked |
| Paid payroll and break-even | Calculated from observed wage benchmarks and the explicitly modeled roster, employer allowance, price and costs. | Derived result |
| Opening budget and commercial costs | Published fit-out, equipment, occupancy and other allowances define this comparison scenario. State-specific commercial quotes have not yet replaced them. | Reference assumptions |
| Revenue | $26,667 per mature month follows 80 completed orders per service day at the stated price. It is not observed sales or a researched state revenue average. | Modeled sales assumptions |
Each test changes one input from the published reference. These are sensitivity tests, not local market forecasts or probability ranges.
| Test | Monthly EBIT | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Published reference | -$362 | The stated inputs on this page |
| 20% fewer sales units | -$3,706 | 64 completed orders per service day; other inputs unchanged |
| 25% higher occupancy cost | -$812 | $2,250 per month; other inputs unchanged |
| 10% higher wage rates | -$1,358 | Same paid roster; employer allowance unchanged |
The completed research covers the source observations and analysis described here. The funding and revenue scenarios still contain commercial assumptions; they are not a completed local feasibility study. Read the evidence and its limits.
Published research and calculations support business planning and education. They are not personalized financial, investment, tax or legal advice, and they do not guarantee costs, revenue, profit or financing. Estimates depend on the stated format, location, source periods and assumptions. Check the requirements and commitments that apply to your circumstances.
This profile uses checked state wage and population records, a transparent financial scenario, and a Chicago operating example. Use the observed local fee or offer for its stated scope, then replace commercial assumptions with quotes and paid-order evidence for your own route.
| Evidence family | Published basis | What to confirm locally |
|---|---|---|
| Opening costs | Published planning inputs — replace with local quotes | premises scope, fitout, equipment, installation freight tax, deposits, preopening training, opening inventory, contingency |
| Operating costs | Published planning inputs — replace with local quotes | occupancy, utilities, insurance, materials, payment fees, marketing, software administration, maintenance |
| Paid labor and employer costs | State wage benchmark used — confirm employer costs | paid roster, wages, wage floor overtime, employer taxes, benefits leave, workers compensation, owner role |
| Revenue and collections | Published planning inputs — validate price and demand locally | realized price mix, demand volume, capacity, industry cross check, launch ramp, seasonality, collections |
| Permissions and fees | Confirm for the selected address | activity address jurisdiction, initial fees, recurring fees |
National equipment prices can support the plan where configuration, delivery and taxes match the intended purchase. Confirm rent, selling prices, demand and permissions for the actual location instead of applying a generic state adjustment.
The Census estimate for Illinois is 12,719,141 people. It grew by 16,108 between July 2024 and July 2025 (+0.13%). This statewide movement cannot identify a viable vending calendar, completed-order mix or realized ticket.
Using the same paid roster, Illinois occupational wages produce $9,965 of monthly loaded payroll. That is +5.61% relative to the identical roster priced with national occupation medians ($9,436). Only wage benchmarks change in this comparison; it does not measure a state’s overall business attractiveness.
BLS wage source · Census population source · Exact fields and workbook rows
Single mobile food truck with a focused menu, an approved base or commissary relationship and a fully paid preparation and service crew. A single commercially equipped food truck serving a focused menu through scheduled vending windows, with paid preparation, travel, service and close-down work.
The authored ceiling uses 30 whole completed orders per service hour across a 4.5-hour selling window, or 135 orders per service day. It is a planning assumption, not an observed throughput result or demand forecast. Menu mix, preparation, the bottleneck cooking or handoff station, stockouts, holding limits, payment time, the lawful selling window and the complete paid schedule can reduce it. Preparation, loading, travel, setup, close-down, commissary return and cleaning remain paid work even though they sit outside the selling window.
| Input | Reference assumption |
|---|---|
| completed orders per service day | 80 |
| Net selling price per completed customer order | $16.00 |
| Trading days / month | 20.8 |
| Variable cost share | 37.3% |
| Occupancy / month | $1,800 |
| Other fixed costs / month | $2,900 |
| Employer cost allowance | 18% above base wages |
33% ingredients, ordinary production waste and packaging plus 4.3% payment fees and other costs that move with completed orders; every crew hour remains in payroll. Truck insurance and registration $700; vehicle fuel and route running costs $900; software and administration $300; marketing $500; permit and inspection allowance $250; phone, utilities and miscellaneous standing costs $250 per month. Commissary occupancy is modeled separately at $1,800 and maintenance investment at $900 per month.
| Role / SOC | Paid hours / month | Wage benchmark / hour | P25–P75 / hour | Base wages / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paid restaurant cook35-2014 · Cooks, Restaurant · State observation | 166.7 | $18.07 | $17.00–$21.64 | $3,012 |
| Two paid counter and preparation workers35-3023 · Fast Food and Counter Workers · State observation | 333.3 | $16.30 | $15.00–$17.31 | $5,433 |
Base wages total $8,445 per month. An authored 18% allowance for employer costs adds $1,520, giving $9,965 of loaded payroll. The allowance is a planning shortcut; it is not a state-specific payroll tax calculation or benefits quote for Illinois.
Cooks, Restaurant and Fast Food and Counter Workers are broad occupational wage benchmarks. They do not establish a local hiring quote, tip treatment, driver assignment, food-safety qualification or lawful roster. The cook and both counter and preparation roles are paid for the complete operating day; no owner labor is used to create capacity. Every operating role is paid, including management or supervision. If the owner performs a modeled role, their compensation occupies that role once; no additional owner draw is included in operating profit.
The middle 50% wage interval describes the occupation’s observed wage distribution. It is not a confidence interval for this business’s total payroll. Allocate the aggregate hours across an actual roster and check wage rules, overtime, leave and employer obligations for the chosen location.
| Use of funds | Cash paid |
|---|---|
| Truck and installed focused-menu kitchen allowance | $135,000 |
| Professional, plan-review and permit allowance | $10,000 |
| Commissary access, parking and service setup | $1,400 |
| Smallwares and opening inventory | $12,000 |
| Wrap, POS and launch setup | $13,000 |
| Opening contingency | $15,000 |
| Refundable deposit (two months of occupancy) | $3,600 |
| Paid pre-opening training | $1,435 |
| Total payments before opening | $191,435 |
The equipment and premises allowances are the same in all 50 states for this operating format. They are a comparison baseline and must be replaced with local scopes and quotes. Training uses 72 aggregate paid hours at the modeled team’s weighted loaded rate. The refundable deposit is cash tied up, not an operating expense.
The cash schedule tests 60 months, with sales ramping through 40%, 55%, 70%, 82%, 90%, 96%, 100% of the volume assumption. Full payroll and fixed costs begin in month one. The reserve covers the deepest cumulative operating deficit plus the stated buffer. A buffer is retained cash, not spending and not part of project payback twice.
The reference assumes card or cash collection when an order is completed during the service day. Sales tax collected for government and voluntary tips remain outside service revenue. Event fees, deposits, refunds, chargebacks, minimum guarantees and delayed catering collections need a separate contract and cash schedule. Asset purchases are depreciated over 60 months for this scenario. No sale or deposit recovery is assumed at the end.
At the assumed 80 completed orders per service day, the reference scenario loses $362 per mature month after paid labor and depreciation. The approximate EBIT break-even threshold is 81.7 completed orders per service day. More starting cash alone does not solve that operating gap.
| Measure | Monthly amount |
|---|---|
| Revenue | $26,667 |
| Variable operating costs | $9,947 |
| Loaded payroll, including management | $9,965 |
| Occupancy assumption | $1,800 |
| Other fixed operating costs | $2,900 |
| EBITDA | $2,055 |
| Depreciation | $2,417 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | -$362 |
| Maintenance capital expenditure | $900 |
| Mature project cash flow | $1,155 |
EBIT break-even revenue is $27,244 per month: $17,082 of fixed costs plus depreciation divided by a 62.7% contribution margin. At $16.00 per completed customer order, that means 81.7 completed orders per service day and 60.5% of the stated capacity.
| Measure | Months 1–12 | Mature month |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $275,467 | $26,667 |
| Operating profit (EBIT) | -$32,264 | -$362 |
| Project cash flow | -$14,064 | $1,155 |
Project payback is not reached within the 60-month reference schedule. It measures recovery of actual pre-opening payments from cumulative project cash, with no financing or owner distributions. It does not measure cash paid back to an owner.
Access to a curb, event or recurring stop creates a selling opportunity. Revenue still depends on completed paid orders within that specific window.
More items can increase preparation, holding, stockouts and waste while slowing the station that limits whole-order throughput.
Change the assumptions to see how this format responds. The sections above remain the published reference, so you can compare your scenario with the original. Use the browser-local export buttons below to save only the scenario you are working on.
Reference scenario. JavaScript enables editing and exports.
1,666.7 completed customer orders per month × $16.00 = $26,667 revenue. Loaded payroll: $9,965 per month. Break-even uses 60.5% of capacity.
The download preserves the published scenario and its source references.
Describe the exact truck, vehicle ownership, installed cooking and fire systems, menu and preparation scope, commissary or base, water and wastewater route, food storage, service locations, hours, parking, waste, fuel or power, employees and event activity. Ask the responsible state and local offices which business, food, health, fire, vehicle, vending-location, land-use, employer and tax requirements apply to each location and operating activity.
| Workstream | Official starting points | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Business and activity | Which entity, name or activity registrations apply, and which local or specialist office also has responsibility? | |
| Tax | Which registrations and treatment apply to the actual goods or services, location and staffing arrangements? | |
| Employers | Which employer accounts, reporting steps and labor obligations apply to the planned paid roster? |
Take the activity, address, proposed equipment and staffing plan to the relevant office. Record applicability, supporting documents, fees, dependencies and renewal terms from the actual official response.
Agency routes were listed on the IRS Illinois directory when retrieved September 5, 2026. Links identify starting offices; they do not verify a permit, tax treatment, fee or opening time for this business. Open the full Illinois opening checklist →
Fix the menu, portions, production stages, holding limits, prices, refund rules and exclusions. Map preparation, loading, travel, setup, each service window, close-down, return, cleaning and records to the paid roster.
Obtain a documented vehicle and installed-equipment scope plus an actual commissary or approved-base agreement. Take the exact unit, menu, water and wastewater route, fuel or power, locations and hours to the responsible food, fire, vehicle, parking, land-use, employer and tax authorities.
Run an authorized paid service period and record completed orders, item mix, realized ticket, ingredient and packaging use, waste, stockouts, bottleneck time and every paid hour. Fund the opening ramp and ordinary downtime without assuming an event slot produces demand.
Vehicle uptime, installed systems, commissary access, lawful parking, food controls and return cleaning can each remove a planned service period.
For a selected address or service area, collect an evidence pack covering premises and equipment quotes, paid demand, staffing, collection terms and the responsible authorities. The state wage and population evidence on this page does not supply those location-specific inputs.
State: Illinois, FIPS 17. Cross-industry, ownership 1235. H_MEDIAN supplies an available hourly benchmark; H_PCT25 and H_PCT75 describe the occupational distribution. 35-2014 (Cooks, Restaurant), state workbook row 9344; 35-3023 (Fast Food and Counter Workers), state workbook row 9349. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
The national comparison uses the same paid roster and these national H_MEDIAN observations: 35-2014, national workbook row 690; 35-3023, national workbook row 699. Any national value substituted for a suppressed state value is identified separately. National observations do not become state observations.
SUMLEV 040; STATE 17; POPESTIMATE2025 and POPESTIMATE2024. July 1 estimates; change and percentage change are calculated within the same vintage. Population is context, not a customer forecast.
OEWS covers employee jobs across industries. It is a statistical benchmark, not a hiring quote or legal wage floor. Employer benefits and overtime premiums are outside the wage measure; tips can be included.
An official route to the state government and major agencies. This directory does not confirm the fees, permits or approval times for a particular address or business.
All selling prices, demand, paid hours, employer allowance, premises, startup allowances, cost shares, ramp and cash buffer are authored planning inputs. No commercial quote or researched state total is implied.
2026 code. Mobile Food Preparer license is $1,000, generally assessed every two years; the $25 online application payment is credited against the license fee.
Current code inspected September 17, 2026. Applicant identifies the commissary and storage location; the city reviews the menu and food-safety operation, requires a food sanitation manager certificate for a preparer and inspects the vehicle.
Current code inspected September 17, 2026. The linked commissary needs an approved servicing area and a mobile food truck reports there at least once daily for servicing.
Provider page inspected September 17, 2026. The provider confirms shared kitchen, storage and food-truck servicing at 135 N Kedzie Ave, Chicago, but does not publish a full truck-specific rate.
Marketplace listing inspected September 17, 2026. The marketplace lists main shared-kitchen use at $15–$25 per hour; 80 hours would be $1,200–$2,000 before separately scoped parking, storage, truck servicing or required licenses. Confirm current pricing directly with the provider.
Advertised September 17, 2026. A new 18-foot truck with griddle, fryers, cold storage, sinks and generator is advertised at $189,000 before location-specific delivery, tax, permit and equipment approval checks.
Calendar year 2022; downloaded and checked September 17, 2026. NAICS 722330 employer-establishment counts and receipts for the selected city and state geographies. The research-inputs/sector-benchmarks.json file records exact extracted values, flags and calculations.
Industry definition checked September 17, 2026. Mobile food services include vehicles and carts; an establishment represents a central servicing location rather than each truck or cart.
The stated operating format and paid roster define the scenario. Wage and population observations keep their geography and period. Replace commercial assumptions only with evidence that matches the scope, then reconcile the same inputs across earnings, cash and the delivery schedule.
Plan your next evidence check →