Vancouver, British Columbia
Rain all week at your Vancouver cafe? Here is what it costs.
Free. No sign-up.
Labor is set to BC's $18.25 minimum wage: two people for 8 hours is $292.00. The $7 average sale is only an example. Change any number.
Rent, insurance, subscriptions, loan payments
What you pay staff on a normal day
What one customer spends, on average
Food and drink cost as a % of the check
30 = open every day. 26 = closed one day a week. 22 = closed two.
Customers to break even today
154 customers
That is $1,078 in sales.
Your costs today
$754
$462 fixed + $292 labor
Each customer contributes
$4.90
What is left after cost of goods
We divide your monthly fixed costs by the 26 days you open. Then we add one day of labor cost. Each customer covers only what is left after cost of goods. That is why the number is higher than your costs divided by the average sale.
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The free fix, from KANJIN (kanjin.app), a digital stamp card and back office for small shops: Free digital stamp card.
Give your regulars a reason to come in when it rains
Put a stamp card on every customer's phone number at the register. A regular who is one stamp from a free coffee will walk through the rain for it. Free, with no time limit. No app. No paper cards.
Free plan, no time limit. No card needed.
Short answer
How many customers does my cafe need on a rainy day to cover the day?
Why a rainy day costs more than it looks
Rent does not drop when it rains. The machine still runs, and the people on the schedule still get paid.
Sending someone home early saves less than you think. In BC, an employee who reports for work gets at least 2 hours of pay. If they were scheduled for more than 8 hours, it is at least 4.
So most of a wet day's cost is fixed before you unlock the door. The part you can change is how many people walk in.
Count tips apart from sales
In BC, tips belong to the person who served the customer. You cannot hold them back, except in a pool shared by the staff who earned them.
So keep tips out of your sales number. Tips are not what pays the rent.
The rain stamp: give the wet day a reason
Your best customers already like you. They just come on dry mornings, like everyone else.
A stamp card turns each visit into progress. Tell regulars at the register that a stamp earned in the rain counts the same. Some of them will come.
Count your wet-day customers for two weeks before and two weeks after. That is the only honest way to know if it worked.
The local numbers, with sources
- BC general minimum wage
- $18.25 an hour, from 1 June 2026
- Source: Province of British Columbia, Minimum wage, checked 2026-11-06.
- BC minimum daily pay
- At least 2 hours of pay for an employee who reports for work, and at least 4 hours if they were scheduled for more than 8 hours
- Source: Province of British Columbia, Minimum daily pay, checked 2026-11-06.
- BC tips and gratuities
- Tips go to the person who served the customer; an employer cannot withhold them, except to pool them for the staff who shared in earning them
- Source: Province of British Columbia, Tips and gratuities, checked 2026-11-06.
How to work out what a rainy day costs your cafe
- 1
Add up one day of fixed costs. Take your monthly rent, insurance and bills, and divide by the days you open.
- 2
Add the day's wages. Hours on the schedule times the hourly pay. In BC that is at least $18.25 an hour for most staff.
- 3
Find what one sale leaves. Your average sale, minus the cup, milk and beans in it.
- 4
Divide and round up. The day's costs divided by what one sale leaves. That is how many customers you need to cover the day.
Common questions
- What is the minimum wage in BC now?
- $18.25 an hour, from 1 June 2026. BC raises it each year by the same percentage as the provincial consumer price index.
- Can I send staff home early on a slow day in BC?
- You can, but you still pay for at least 2 hours once they report for work, or 4 hours if they were scheduled for more than 8. If the employee asks to leave, you pay only for the time worked, and you should be able to show they asked.
- Who keeps the tips at a BC cafe?
- The person who served the customer. An employer cannot withhold tips, except to pool them for staff who shared in earning them.
- Does the stamp card cost anything?
- The KANJIN stamp card is free, with no time limit. Customers join with their phone number, and there is no app to download.
An Excel sheet to count the register each night, so you can see which days run slow.