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Step-by-step walkthrough

Every EquipLane guide filed under Step-by-step walkthrough. Practical, plain-English walkthroughs, ranked on what actually matters.

17 guidesBrowse all topics
A wooden service counter in a small food business with a dark point-of-sale screen on a stand, an empty glass display case, a lidded jar and stacked takeaway cups, with an espresso machine on the back barLatest in Step-by-step walkthrough
Step-by-step walkthrough

How to Buy an Existing Restaurant (8 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to buy a restaurant in 8 steps: screening sellers, valuing the cash flow, asset versus entity, due diligence, and the handover.

· 36 min readRead the guide →
Two men shaking hands across a wooden table in a sunlit room, one in an apron and one in a dark suit, with a blank sheet of paper and a pen on the table between themStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Negotiate a Restaurant Lease (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to negotiate a restaurant lease in 7 steps: triple net versus gross, the TI allowance, percentage rent, guarantees and the exit.

· 38 min read
Four cooks working a kitchen line under a row of domed hanging lamps, one of them plating at a stainless pass holding three white plates while a pan flames behind himStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Pass a Health Inspection (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to pass a health inspection in 7 steps: the inspector's route, the self-audit to run first, violation classes and re-inspection.

· 36 min read
A polished wooden bar top with a brass draft tower carrying four tap handles, backed by tall shelves of unlabeled bottles beside a bright windowStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Open a Bar (8 Steps and Real Costs)

This walkthrough covers how to open a bar in 8 steps: concept and license, premises, build-out, opening stock, pour cost, staffing, and a worked budget.

· 38 min read
A person in a dark jacket and glasses sitting at a window counter with an open notebook and a pen, looking out across an empty street toward storefronts with awnings and a few blurred pedestrians on the far sidewalkStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Choose a Restaurant Location

This walkthrough turns choosing a restaurant location into eight steps: daypart traffic, the technical screen that kills good sites, and the lease math.

· 46 min read
A cold storage room with wire shelving holding cardboard boxes and lidded containers, a ceiling-mounted cooling unit with three round fans, and an insulated door standing open onto a warmly lit spaceStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Do Restaurant Inventory (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to do restaurant inventory in seven steps: build the count sheet, standardize units, freeze the period, then read the variance.

· 44 min read
A metal bowl of vegetable trimmings on a stainless prep counter beside a digital scale, a wooden cutting board and a knife in warm window lightStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Cut Restaurant Food Waste

This walkthrough shows how to reduce restaurant food waste in eight steps: measure the three streams, fix par levels, yields and portions, then hold the gain.

· 33 min read
An empty polished dark wood bar counter with a brass tap column of four curved spouts, blurred shelves of bottles behind it, and daylight from a paned windowStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Get a Liquor License (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to get a liquor license in 7 steps: picking the class, checking quota rules, location eligibility, notice, renewals and timing.

· 34 min read
A person in an apron sitting at a wooden table in a cafe reading a printed sheet, with an open laptop, a calculator, and a cup and saucer nearbyStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Get an EIN for Your Business (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to get an EIN in 7 steps, from confirming you need one to storing the confirmation, and why applying directly costs you nothing.

· 27 min read
A cook preparing ingredients in a commercial kitchen with stainless prep tables, pans of prepped produce, and a reach-in refrigeratorStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Start a Catering Business in 8 Steps

This walkthrough covers how to start a catering business in 8 steps: pick a niche, get licensed, rent a commissary kitchen, price menus, and book events.

· 27 min read
A restaurant dining room of bare wooden tables and chairs before service, the room a hired team has to runStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Hire Restaurant Staff (7 Steps)

This walkthrough covers how to hire restaurant staff in 7 steps, from a wage budget and job post to the trail shift, onboarding and the retention that lasts.

· 29 min read
A complete commercial kitchen equipment package staged along a wall, the kind of range, refrigeration, and prep line a restaurant might leaseStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Lease Restaurant Equipment (7 Steps)

This walkthrough leases restaurant equipment in 7 steps: pick the lease type, qualify, read the terms, and plan the buyout so you avoid a costly lease.

· 34 min read
Shelves of stacked food containers inside a walk-in cooler, the stock a food inventory has to count and valueStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Calculate Food Cost Percentage (Steps)

This walkthrough shows how to calculate food cost percentage in 7 steps: count inventory, record purchases, find COGS, divide by food sales, and act on it.

· 25 min read
A small business owner sitting at a table in their own shop with a laptop, a pen, and a sheet of paper in warm amber daylightStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Get a Small Business Loan (7 Steps)

This rundown walks how to get a small business loan in 7 steps, from sizing the amount to reading the APR, so you avoid the costly one-lender mistake.

· 27 min read
A restaurant owner in an apron costing a menu at a table with a calculator, a printed sheet, and two small printed slips in warm focused lightStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Price a Restaurant Menu (7 Steps)

This rundown prices a restaurant menu in 7 steps: cost every plate, set a target food-cost percentage, and check the margin so you avoid guessing on price.

· 25 min read
A restaurant owner in an apron working at a wooden table with a laptop, a coffee, and printed forms he is marking with a pen in warm amber lightStep-by-step walkthrough

Restaurant Business Plan: How to Write One (Steps)

A restaurant business plan, section by section: a worked illustrative example, the financial pages a lender reads first, plus a one-page landlord version.

· 62 min read
Interior of a full-service restaurant before opening, with chairs set around bare tables and a stainless service pass behind, in warm amber lightStep-by-step walkthrough

How to Open a Restaurant (8-Step Guide)

This rundown walks how to open a restaurant in 8 steps: validate the concept, plan the budget, fund it, sign a lease, pass permits, equip it, and soft-open.

· 26 min read