The 'Contribution Method' refers to the contribution that the sale of each menu item should make toward covering the production costs and profit.  Profit, when using this method, is to be treated as an expense that is to be covered by sales. The amount is calculated by dividing profit or Total Contribution (Gross food sales - Cost of food sold) by the number of customers.  'Contribution Cost or Margin’ appears in the lower left hand corner and the suggested list price of each item is calculated by adding this figure to the plate cost. See Percentage Method  Menu Engineering - The Contribution Method is part of the CookenPro Suite.   See the Calendar Menu