Shaved Ice Stand Profit Calculator

Will this fair pay for the shaved ice stand?

Enter your prices, cup recipe, staff and the booth fee. You get the margin on each cup size, the cups you must sell to break even, the profit on a hot, normal and rainy day, and the most booth fee the event can bear, before you sign for the weekend.

Calculated in this browser tab. No account, no upload. The example numbers are made up. A planning aid, not tax or financial advice. Works for lemonade, snow cones, slushies and other cup-based stands.

Your numbers

Prices, per size

Small price ($)

Medium price ($)

Large price ($)

Ice and syrup per cup (ounces)

Small ice oz

Medium ice oz

Large ice oz

Small syrup oz

Medium syrup oz

Large syrup oz

What you sell (percent of cups)

Small %

Medium %

Large %

Costs per cup

Cup and lid ($)

Straw or spoon ($)

Ice cost per lb ($)

Syrup cost per oz ($)

Waste and melt %

Card fee %

Share of sales paid by card %

The event

Selling hours

Cups per hour on a normal day

People working

Hourly wage ($)

Flat booth fee ($)

Percent of sales to the organiser %

Generator fuel and supplies ($)

Other fixed costs: parking, permit ($)

Profit you want on a normal day ($)

Weather (sales as a percent of a normal day)

Hot, busy day %

Normal day %

Cool or rainy day %

Edit the numbers or load the example, then click Work it out.

What this counts, and what it leaves out

Margin per cup = price minus ice, syrup, cup and straw (plus waste) minus the card fee on the card share of sales.
Fixed costs = booth fee + labour for every hour you are open + fuel and supplies + other fixed costs.
A percent-of-sales booth fee is taken off every cup, so it raises the break-even cups instead of adding a lump.
Not modelled: sales tax, income tax, equipment purchase or depreciation, setup and teardown hours unless you add them to labour, and the chance an event is cancelled.

Common questions

How much profit is in a shaved ice stand?

It depends far more on weather and booth fee than on ingredients. Ice and syrup usually cost well under a dollar a cup, so the margin per cup is high, but labour, the booth fee and a rainy day decide whether the event pays. This calculator shows the cups you must sell to break even and the profit on a hot, normal and cool day.

How many cups do I need to sell to break even?

Divide the day's fixed costs (booth fee, labour, fuel and supplies) by the average margin per cup after ingredients, cups, waste and card fees. The result appears at the top of the report, along with the cups per hour it implies.

Is a flat booth fee or a percentage of sales better?

A flat fee is better on a big day and worse on a slow one. The tool shows the percentage your flat fee equals on a normal day: a percentage fee below that number beats the flat fee, above it loses.

Which cup size should I push?

The one with the highest margin per cup, not the highest margin percent. The report names it from your prices and the ounces of ice and syrup you put in each size.

How do I allow for waste and melt?

Enter a waste percentage. It is added on top of the ice, syrup and cup cost for every serving, so spills, melt and dropped cups reduce your margin.

Is my data uploaded?

No. Everything runs in your browser tab and nothing is sent anywhere. There are no accounts.