Works with the AI tools you already use

    Claude CodeClaude CodeCursorCursorCodex CLICodex CLIMuseMuseDotsDots+22 more

    Annual Operating Plan Builder

    2

    Turn strategic priorities, prior-year results, and board guidance into a reconciled annual operating plan with owners, scorecards, and contingencies.

    $9

    Secure checkout via Stripe

    30-day refund guarantee

    Converts to your local currency at checkout

    Security scanned
    Annual Operating Plan Builder

    Annual Operating Plan Builder

    Example session with this skill installed

    Build our annual operating plan for FY2027 (January-December 2027). It goes to the board for approval on 10 December 2026; CFO Nora Lindgren owns the process. Corporate level with brand detail.

    Company: Copperline Hospitality Group, multi-brand restaurant operator, 118 company-owned restaurants.

    Approved 2026-2028 strategic priorities:

    1. Grow Harvest Table (fast casual) unit count.
    2. Off-premise and catering to 25% of sales by 2028.
    3. Labor productivity through kitchen technology.
    4. Fix or exit underperforming Ember & Oak (full-service) units.

    FY2026 forecast vs plan:

    • Revenue $268M vs plan $281M (-$13M). Reasons: Ember & Oak traffic down 6%; 4 Harvest Table openings slipped into 2027.
    • By brand:
      • Harvest Table $142M (64 units)
      • Ember & Oak $96M (32 units)
      • Little Saffron (quick service) $30M (22 units)
    • By channel: dine-in $193M, off-premise $56M, catering $19M.
    • Restaurant-level margin 15.8%. EBITDA $23.6M (8.8%).
    • Hourly labor 32.6% of sales.

    Board guidance (August 2026 meeting):

    • Revenue growth 7-10%.
    • EBITDA margin 9.0-9.8%.
    • Capex $18-22M.
    • Net new units 8-10.
    • Corporate headcount flat (currently 142).
    • Hourly labor at or below 31.5% of sales.

    Capital requests

    • 10 new Harvest Table units at $1.45M each: $14.5M (includes the 4 slipped openings).
    • 6 Ember & Oak remodels at $0.9M each: $5.4M.
    • Kitchen display and automation rollout: $3.1M.
    • New POS and loyalty platform: $2.4M.

    Assumptions

    • Food cost inflation 3.5% (purchasing, based on signed supplier contracts).
    • Menu price increase 3% from 1 February (CMO proposal).
    • Minimum wage increases in two of our states effective 1 January 2027, +$1.10 an hour (payroll provider bulletin).

    Brand leaders

    • Harvest Table: Jamal Whitaker, President.
    • Little Saffron: Corinne Abara, President.
    • Ember & Oak: President role vacant since August; the COO is covering.
    • Off-premise and catering: VP Off-Premise Dana Kowalczyk.
    • Kitchen technology: CIO Felix Amador.

    Open question for the board: whether to close 3-5 of the weakest Ember & Oak units in 2027. No decision yet.

    I need the full AOP: financial plan with bridges, capital plan, people plan, quarterly scorecard and downside scenarios.

    • Read your context and instructions
    • Compiled the annual operating plan
    • Generated the data export

    I've drafted the FY2027 AOP, but it doesn't set targets yet. It reconciles your baseline, works out what the board's guidance requires, and shows the bridges, but the plan figures (revenue, margins, EBITDA) are marked TO BE SET. Every number in it is either one you gave me or a calculation from those, with the working shown. A separate script recomputes every figure and checks that the totals add up; it ran cleanly. Where I'd need a guess (opening dates, traffic by brand, food spend, labor hours in the two states, unit P&Ls, probabilities), the plan says TO BE SET or NOT PROVIDED rather than inventing it.

    Issues to resolve before the board pack

    Capex is over guidance. The four requests total $25.4M against the $18–22M range, $3.4M over the top. There's also no maintenance capex for the 118 existing restaurants. I've laid out five options (A–E) and proposed a sixth, "C+": $20.0M firm, plus up to $1.8M for two Ember & Oak remodels released only after the closure decision. The maximum is $21.8M.
    2.

    Closures break the net-new-unit guidance. 10 openings minus 3–5 closures leaves 5–7 net new units, below the 8–10 floor. Any closure beyond 2 units breaks it, unless the board excludes closures from the measure.
    3.

    The off-premise target is already met. Off-premise plus catering is $75M, or 28.0% of FY2026 sales, against a 25%-by-2028 goal. Off-premise alone is 20.9%. Priority 2 needs its definition settled before it can have a year-one target.
    4.

    Remodels and closures overlap. Six remodels plus 3–5 closures touch 9–11 of the 32 Ember & Oak units, and the closure list doesn't exist yet. Remodeling a unit that then closes strands $0.9M, so the closure decision should come first.
    5.

    Cash is tight. At the bottom of the EBITDA guidance ($25.8M), funding every request leaves about $0.4M before interest, tax and closure costs. At FY2026 EBITDA it's −$1.8M.
    6.

    Most of the labor gap comes from price. The 3% increase alone takes hourly labor from 32.6% to about 31.73%, if hours and wage rates stay flat. About 23 bps more, plus whatever the minimum-wage rise costs, has to come from kitchen technology and scheduling.
    7.

    What a plan inside guidance needs. Price adds about $7.4M. Traffic, new units and mix, net of any closures, must add $11.4M–$19.4M more to land in the $286.8M–$294.8M window.
    8.

    Little Saffron has no strategic priority. I've treated it as a base business; you may want to confirm that's intended.
    9.

    Ownership gaps. The Ember & Oak turnaround depends on the COO covering a vacant president role. POS/loyalty, purchasing and HR have no named owner, and the COO, CMO and CEO weren't named.

    Decisions for you and Nora

    • Which capital option to take.
    • Whether closures count against net-new-unit guidance.
    • How the off-premise target is defined.
    • Whether the 3% price increase applies uniformly, given Ember & Oak's traffic decline.
    • Whether the closure decision goes to the 10 December board or to Q1 2027.

    The full list of 21 open questions is at the end of the plan, grouped by the date each is needed.

    The calendar dates, variance thresholds and initiative milestones are my proposals for Nora to confirm. Scenario probabilities are left blank because none were provided. Finance needs to sign off the financials, and any closure or workforce action needs HR and employment-counsel review before it goes to the board.

    Files

    All in your working folder

    FileLast modifiedWhat it contains
    Copperline_FY2027_AOP_DRAFT.md2026-10-01 22:20The full draft plan in 12 sections
    aop_fy2027_calcs.py2026-10-01 22:17Recomputes every figure and checks the totals
    aop_fy2027_calcs_output.txt2026-10-01 22:20Output of the latest run, which matches the draft

    These files sit in a temporary scratch folder, so copy them somewhere permanent. I can also convert the plan to Word or build a spreadsheet model once the missing inputs come in.


    The file it wrote: Copperline_FY2027_AOP_DRAFT.md

    Copperline Hospitality Group: FY2027 Annual Operating Plan

    Plan year: January–December 2027 ·

    Level: Corporate, with brand detail ·

    Process owner: Nora Lindgren, CFO ·

    Approval: Board of Directors, 10 December 2026

    DRAFT v0.1 (prepared 1 October 2026). This draft sets out the structure, reconciles the baseline, does the guidance arithmetic and states the trade-offs. It does

    not set targets. Every figure is either a supplied input or a calculation from supplied inputs; the calculation is shown here and repeated in aop_fy2027_calcs.py, which re-runs every number and checks the totals. Anything that needs a leadership decision or data we don't have yet is marked

    TO BE SET,

    NOT PROVIDED,

    OWNER NOT PROVIDED or

    PROPOSED. Finance must sign off the financials before the board pre-read goes out.


    Executive Summary

    FY2026 is forecast to close at

    $268.0M revenue, 4.6% below the $281.0M plan. The two reasons are Ember & Oak traffic (down 6%) and four Harvest Table openings that slipped into 2027. EBITDA is forecast at $23.6M (8.8%), which is

    below the board's FY2027 margin floor of 9.0%. Hourly labor is 32.6%,

    110 bps above the 31.5% ceiling.

    MetricPrior Year (FY2026F)Plan (FY2027)Changevs. Guidance
    Revenue$268.0MTO BE SET. The guidance window is $286.8M–$294.8MNeeds +$18.8M to +$26.8M7–10% growth. Price supplies about $7.4M of it (see bridge)
    Restaurant-level margin15.8% ($42.3M)TO BE SET—No board guidance. If below-RLM costs stay flat in dollars, the EBITDA range needs 15.45%–16.25% at midpoint revenue
    EBITDA$23.6MTO BE SET. The window is $25.8M–$28.9MNeeds +$2.2M to +$5.3MWindow = 9.0–9.8% applied to the 7–10% revenue range
    EBITDA margin8.8%TO BE SETNeeds +19 to +99 bps9.0–9.8%. FY2026 is below the range
    Hourly labor % of sales32.6%≤31.5% (board ceiling, adopted as plan)−110 bpsAt the ceiling. The minimum-wage headwind can't be sized yet (hours NOT PROVIDED)
    CapexFY2026 actual NOT PROVIDEDRequests total $25.4M—⚠ ABOVE RANGE: $3.4M over the $22M ceiling and $5.4M over the $20M midpoint. No maintenance capex has been requested
    Restaurant openings4 FY2026 openings slipped10 Harvest Table—Gross openings fall within 8–10
    Net new unitsNOT PROVIDED10 with no closures / 7 with 3 closures / 5 with 5 closures—⚠ Any closure above 2 units puts net new below the 8-unit floor, unless the board excludes closures from the measure
    Year-end units118128 / 125 / 123+10 / +7 / +5—
    Corporate headcount1421420Flat: within guidance
    Off-premise + catering, % of sales28.0% ($75.0M)TO BE SET—No board guidance. ⚠ Already above the 25%-by-2028 strategic target. The definition needs confirming (see Open Questions)

    Four decisions the board pack has to settle (owners and options are in the sections below):

    Bring capital inside $18–22M. The requests total $25.4M. Option C+ (PROPOSED) approves $20.0M firm, plus up to $1.8M for two Ember & Oak remodels released only once the closure decision is made. The maximum is $21.8M (Capital Plan).
    2. Ember & Oak closures (3–5 units): decide, and decide how they count against net-new guidance. The decision also determines which units get the six remodels. Remodeling a unit that later closes strands $0.9M.
    3.

    Define the off-premise and catering target. Combined, the channels are already at 28.0%. Off-premise alone is 20.9%. Until the definition is settled, Priority 2 has no year-one target that means anything.
    4.

    Price by brand. The proposed 3% increase from 1 February applies to Ember & Oak too, which lost 6% of its traffic in FY2026. The CMO and brand leaders need to confirm whether the increase is uniform.

    What a plan inside guidance requires (arithmetic, not a target): the price increase is worth about

    $7.4M before any traffic response. Volume, new units and mix, net of any closures, must therefore add

    $11.4M–$19.4M (4.25%–7.25% of the FY2026 base). On labor, price leverage alone brings hourly labor to about 31.73% if hours and wage rates stay flat. Kitchen technology and scheduling must deliver the remaining

    ~23 bps, plus enough to absorb the minimum-wage increase and new-unit ramp-up.


    Planning Framework and Calendar

    Planning hierarchy

    2026–2028 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES (approved)
      1 Grow Harvest Table units  2 Off-premise & catering to 25%  3 Kitchen-tech labor productivity  4 Fix or exit Ember & Oak
            ↓
    FY2027 ANNUAL OPERATING PLAN (this document): corporate, with brand detail
      Financial · Operational (brands + functions) · Investment (capital) · People
            ↓
    QUARTERLY OBJECTIVES AND SCORECARD (owner per metric; reviewed by the board each quarter)
            ↓
    MONTHLY / WEEKLY EXECUTION (monthly operating review; weekly traffic, labor and opening trackers)
    

    What must be true at year-end FY2027 for the strategy to be on track (PROPOSED for executive confirmation):

    • Harvest Table at 74 units, with the FY2028 opening pipeline secured (pipeline target TO BE SET).
    • The off-premise and catering target is defined, and FY2027 performance is tracking the 2028 goal.
    • Hourly labor is at or below 31.5%, and kitchen technology is installed on the schedule set by the CIO.
    • The fix-or-exit decision on Ember & Oak is made and carried out, and a permanent Ember & Oak President is in post.

    Calendar (PROPOSED: CFO to confirm)

    Today is Thursday 1 October 2026. The board meets on Thursday 10 December, ten weeks from now.

    PhaseDates (2026)ActivitiesDeliverableLead
    1. DirectionThu 1 Oct – Fri 9 OctIssue the planning-assumptions memo (the Assumptions Register below). Confirm the guidance windows, the capex envelope and the off-premise definition. Start the Ember & Oak unit-level reviewAssumptions memoCFO
    2. DevelopmentMon 12 Oct – Fri 30 OctBrand plans (Harvest Table, Little Saffron, Ember & Oak). Off-premise and catering plan. Business cases for kitchen technology and POS/loyalty. Dated opening schedule. Unit P&Ls for Ember & Oak closure candidatesDraft brand and functional plansBrand presidents, COO, VP Off-Premise, CIO
    3. IntegrationMon 2 Nov – Fri 13 NovFP&A consolidates. First pass against guidance. Capital ranking. Labor bridge by brandIntegrated draft vs. guidanceCFO
    4. IterationMon 16 Nov – Wed 25 NovTrade-offs. Ember & Oak closure recommendation. Final targets set by accountable executives (Thanksgiving falls on Thu 26 Nov)Final draftCFO + executive team
    5. ApprovalMon 30 Nov – Thu 10 DecFinance sign-off and executive sign-off by Wed 2 Dec. Board pre-read sent Thu 3 Dec. Board approval Thu 10 DecApproved AOPCFO; CEO (name NOT PROVIDED)
    6. LaunchFri 11 Dec – Thu 31 DecCascade to brands and restaurants. Load minimum-wage rates into payroll for 1 January. Prepare menus and POS prices for 1 FebruaryLaunched planCFO, brand presidents

    Calendar risk: the minimum-wage change (1 January) and the price increase (1 February) need payroll and menu work in December. That work starts before the plan is approved. Treat both as base-business actions that go ahead regardless of the approval outcome. The pricing decision, though, still has to be made (Decision 4).

    Component owners

    ComponentOwner
    Financial plan, capital plan, processNora Lindgren, CFO
    Harvest Table brand plan and opening programJamal Whitaker, President, Harvest Table
    Little Saffron brand planCorinne Abara, President, Little Saffron
    Ember & Oak brand plan and fix-or-exit reviewCOO (interim cover; name NOT PROVIDED). The President role has been vacant since August
    Off-premise and catering planDana Kowalczyk, VP Off-Premise
    Kitchen technology planFelix Amador, CIO
    POS and loyalty platformOWNER NOT PROVIDED (confirm whether the CIO owns it)
    PricingCMO (name NOT PROVIDED)
    Food cost and purchasingOWNER NOT PROVIDED
    People planOWNER NOT PROVIDED (no HR leader named)
    New-unit development and constructionOWNER NOT PROVIDED (Jamal Whitaker owns the opening outcomes)

    Governance (PROPOSED)

    Monthly operating review: chaired by the CFO, in the first week of each month. Covers the flash P&L by brand, the labor percentage, the opening tracker, Ember & Oak traffic and initiative status.

    • Quarterly business review: brand presidents and functional owners. Deep dives, reallocation and reforecast.
    • Board: a quarterly report against plan, plus approval for Tier 3 contingency actions (see Contingency Scenarios).
    • Mid-year reforecast: in July, after Q2 closes. Any material change goes to the board.

    Strategic Context and Annual Objectives

    Where FY2026 leaves us

    BrandFY2026F revenueShareUnitsRevenue per unit*
    Harvest Table (fast casual)$142.0M53.0%64$2.22M
    Ember & Oak (full service)$96.0M35.8%32$3.00M
    Little Saffron (quick service)$30.0M11.2%22$1.36M
    Total$268.0M100%118$2.27M

    * FY2026F revenue ÷ units at FY2026 year-end. If any units opened partway through the year, this understates the true run-rate. FP&A should replace it with average-unit-volume (AUV) figures for comparable units.

    ChannelFY2026FShare
    Dine-in$193.0M72.0%
    Off-premise$56.0M20.9%
    Catering$19.0M7.1%
    Total$268.0M100%

    Priority-by-priority translation

    Priority 1: Grow Harvest Table unit count. Executive sponsor: Jamal Whitaker.

    • Intent: Harvest Table is already 53% of revenue. Growing its footprint shifts the portfolio toward the brand the strategy is betting on.
    • Year-one objective: open all 10 units, including the 4 slipped from FY2026, and secure the FY2028 pipeline.
    • Key results: lagging: units opened (10); Harvest Table revenue (TO BE SET); new-unit sales against pro forma (pro forma NOT PROVIDED). Leading (PROPOSED): leases signed, permits issued, construction starts and general managers in seat before opening. Quarterly targets TO BE SET once the dated schedule exists.
    • Initiatives: the 10-unit opening program ($14.5M capex) and the FY2028 pipeline.
    • Risk: four openings slipped in FY2026, so this plan cannot carry undated openings. Each unit-quarter of slip costs about $0.55M of revenue ($2.22M ÷ 4).

    Priority 2: Off-premise and catering to 25% of sales by 2028. Executive sponsor: Dana Kowalczyk.

    • Intent: grow the channels that use capacity without needing more seats.
    • ⚠ Definition gap: the two channels together are already

    28.0% of FY2026 sales ($75.0M ÷ $268.0M). Either the target is defined differently (off-premise alone is 20.9%; a narrower or brand-specific definition is possible), or the 2028 target has already been met and needs rebasing.

    The year-one objective is TO BE SET until this is resolved.

    • Key results (PROPOSED metrics, targets TO BE SET): off-premise revenue and share by brand; catering revenue; share of orders that are digital; loyalty members once POS/loyalty goes live.
    • Initiatives: the off-premise and catering growth plan (opex TO BE SET); the POS and loyalty platform ($2.4M capex).

    Priority 3: Labor productivity through kitchen technology. Executive sponsor: Felix Amador. The hourly-labor metric is owned by the COO (name NOT PROVIDED).

    • Intent: structurally lower the labor needed per dollar of sales, so that wage inflation doesn't erode margin.
    • Year-one objective: hourly labor at or below 31.5% (board ceiling); kitchen display and automation rolled out on the schedule the CIO sets.
    • Key results: lagging: hourly labor % by brand. Leading (PROPOSED): kitchen-display units installed; labor hours per $1,000 of sales; schedule adherence; ticket times.
    • Initiatives: the kitchen display and automation rollout ($3.1M capex); a labor-scheduling program (opex TO BE SET).
    • The arithmetic: see the labor bridge in the Financial Plan. Price leverage gives about 87 bps. That leaves about 23 bps, plus enough to absorb minimum wage, merit increases and new-unit ramp-up, to come from productivity.

    Priority 4: Fix or exit underperforming Ember & Oak units. Executive sponsor: COO (interim;

    name NOT PROVIDED). The President role is vacant.

    • Intent: stop the drag from full service. Traffic fell 6% in FY2026, and Ember & Oak was one of the two causes of the $13M miss.
    • Year-one objectives: (1) a board decision on closing 3–5 of the weakest units; (2) a traffic-recovery plan for the units kept; (3) remodels only at units that are kept; (4) a permanent President appointed.
    • Key results: Ember & Oak traffic and comparable sales (targets TO BE SET); a unit-level margin ranking of all 32 units (data NOT PROVIDED); decision date (PROPOSED: the 10 December board or the first board meeting of Q1 2027).
    • Initiatives: unit portfolio review and decision; fix plan; remodels ($5.4M capex, conditional on the decision); President hire.

    Dependencies, conflicts and sequencing

    IssueBetweenWhat it meansProposed handling
    Capital exceeds guidanceAll four prioritiesRequests are $25.4M against an $18–22M rangeRank the requests and approve with conditions (Capital Plan)
    Remodels vs. closuresPriority 4 internal6 remodels plus 3–5 closures touch 9–11 of the 32 Ember & Oak units, and the closure list doesn't exist yetMake the closure decision before naming the remodel list
    Closures vs. net-new-unit guidancePriority 4 vs. board guidance10 openings minus 3–5 closures gives 5–7 net, below 8–10Board to decide whether closures count in the net-new measure
    Price vs. trafficBase business vs. Priority 4A 3% increase in a brand already losing 6% of its trafficCMO and brand leaders to set price by brand
    Two restaurant-system rollouts at oncePriorities 2 and 3Kitchen display and POS/loyalty land in the same 118–128 restaurants. The CIO leads kitchen technology; POS ownership is unconfirmedCIO to set the sequence of both rollouts and the per-restaurant change load
    Flat corporate headcount vs. more workAll priorities10 openings, two technology rollouts, closures and an executive hire, all with 142 corporate staffReallocate roles; see People Plan
    Little Saffron isn't covered by any priorityPortfolio$30M (11.2%) and 22 units with no strategic objective of their ownCorinne Abara's plan runs as a base-business plan contributing to Priorities 2 and 3. Executives to confirm this is intended

    Financial Plan

    Revenue by brand

    BrandFY2026FPrice (3% from 1 Feb, 11 months)Traffic / volumeNew unitsClosuresFY2027 PlanOwner
    Harvest Table$142.0M+$3.9MTO BE SETTO BE SET (10 units)—TO BE SETJamal Whitaker
    Ember & Oak$96.0M+$2.6MTO BE SET (FY2026 trend: −6%)—TO BE SET (0–5 units)TO BE SETCOO (interim)
    Little Saffron$30.0M+$0.8MTO BE SET——TO BE SETCorinne Abara
    Total$268.0M+$7.4MTO BE SETTO BE SETTO BE SETTO BE SET. Must land in $286.8M–$294.8MNora Lindgren

    The price column applies 3% uniformly across brands, before any change in traffic: $142.0M × 3% × 11/12 = $3.905M; $96.0M = $2.640M; $30.0M = $0.825M; total $7.37M. If price is set by brand (Decision 4), this column changes.

    Revenue by channel

    ChannelFY2026FFY2027 PlanOwner
    Dine-in$193.0MTO BE SETBrand presidents
    Off-premise$56.0MTO BE SETDana Kowalczyk
    Catering$19.0MTO BE SETDana Kowalczyk
    Total$268.0MTO BE SET (must equal the brand total)Nora Lindgren

    Revenue bridge, FY2026F to FY2027 Plan

    FY2026 forecast revenue                                         $268.0M
      + Menu price, 3% from 1 Feb (11/12 × 3% × $268.0M), before    +$7.4M    calculated
        any traffic response
      ± Comparable traffic: Harvest Table                         TO BE SET
      ± Comparable traffic: Ember & Oak                           TO BE SET   (FY2026 −6% repeated = −$5.8M)
      ± Comparable traffic: Little Saffron                        TO BE SET
      ± Channel and menu mix                                      TO BE SET
      + Carry-over of units opened in FY2026                      TO BE SET   (the FY2026 opening count is NOT PROVIDED)
      + 10 new Harvest Table units                                TO BE SET   ($0.185M per unit-month at $2.22M/unit;
                                                                              ceiling $22.2M if all 10 opened 1 Jan)
      − Ember & Oak closures (if approved)                        TO BE SET   (ceiling −$9.0M to −$15.0M if 3–5 units
                                                                              at the $3.0M brand average closed 1 Jan;
                                                                              the weakest units are likely lower)
    FY2027 plan revenue                                           TO BE SET   guidance window $286.8M – $294.8M
    

    Gap test: once price is counted, the non-price lines must net to

    +$11.4M (low end) through +$19.4M (high end). That is +4.25% to +7.25% of the FY2026 base. There is no plug line: until those lines are filled in, the total stays TO BE SET.

    Cost structure

    LineFY2026F% of salesFY2027 PlanDriver and source
    Hourly labor$87.4M32.6%≤31.5% of salesBoard ceiling. Minimum wage +$1.10/hr in two states from 1 Jan (payroll provider bulletin)
    Food, beverage, management labor, occupancy and other restaurant costs$138.3M51.6%TO BE SETBreakdown NOT PROVIDED. Food inflation 3.5% (purchasing; signed supplier contracts)
    Total restaurant operating costs$225.7M84.2%TO BE SET
    Restaurant-level margin$42.3M15.8%TO BE SET
    Below-RLM costs (G&A, pre-opening, other), implied$18.7M7.0%TO BE SETCalculated as RLM dollars minus EBITDA. Breakdown NOT PROVIDED. Corporate headcount flat at 142
    EBITDA$23.6M8.8%TO BE SET

    Cost sensitivities (calculated):

    • Food: 3.5% inflation costs $0.35M per $10M of food spend. Each point above 3.5% costs another $0.10M per $10M. Total food spend is NOT PROVIDED.
    • Minimum wage:

    $1.10M per million hourly labor hours worked in the two states, before payroll taxes and knock-on increases for staff already paid above the minimum. Hours affected are NOT PROVIDED.

    • Each 10 bps of hourly labor is about $0.29M at midpoint revenue ($290.8M).
    • Each $1M added to below-RLM costs is about 34 bps of EBITDA margin at midpoint revenue.

    Restaurant-level margin bridge

    FY2026 restaurant-level margin                                  15.8%
      + Price, gross (+$7.4M with costs held flat in $)              +2.25 pts   calculated; gross before offsets
      − Food cost inflation, 3.5% on food spend                   TO BE SET     (food spend NOT PROVIDED)
      − Minimum wage, +$1.10/hr in two states                     TO BE SET     (hours NOT PROVIDED)
      − Other wage and benefit inflation                          TO BE SET
      + Kitchen-technology and scheduling productivity            TO BE SET     (CIO business case)
      − New-unit ramp-up inefficiency (10 units)                  TO BE SET
      ± Ember & Oak closures / fix plan                           TO BE SET     (unit P&Ls NOT PROVIDED)
      ± Fixed-cost leverage or deleverage from traffic            TO BE SET
    FY2027 restaurant-level margin                                TO BE SET
    

    The +2.25 pt price line is the mechanical effect of $7.4M of extra revenue with no extra cost. It is not a forecast: the cost lines below it all offset it. For reference, the EBITDA range of 9.0–9.8% at midpoint revenue needs

    RLM of 15.45%–16.25% if below-RLM costs stay at $18.7M. Pre-opening costs for 10 units would push that requirement up.

    Hourly labor bridge (Priority 3)

    FY2026 hourly labor                                             32.6%    $87.4M
      − Price leverage (labor $ flat, sales +$7.4M)                  −0.87 pts  → 31.73%   calculated
      + Minimum wage, two states                                  TO BE SET
      + Merit / market wage increases                             TO BE SET
      + New-unit ramp-up (10 units)                               TO BE SET
      − Kitchen display and automation                            TO BE SET  (CIO)
      − Scheduling and deployment                                 TO BE SET  (COO)
    FY2027 hourly labor                                            ≤31.5%   board ceiling
    

    Labor dollar envelope: at 31.5%, hourly labor may total $90.3M (at +7% revenue) to $92.9M (at +10%). That allows growth of +$3.0M to +$5.5M (+3.4% to +6.3%) over FY2026. That growth has to cover the crews for 10 new units, the minimum-wage increase and merit increases.

    P&L summary

    LineFY2026FFY2027 PlanGuidance
    Revenue$268.0MTO BE SET$286.8M–$294.8M (+7–10%)
    Restaurant operating costs$225.7M (84.2%)TO BE SETHourly labor ≤31.5%
    Restaurant-level margin$42.3M (15.8%)TO BE SET—
    Below-RLM costs (implied)$18.7M (7.0%)TO BE SETCorporate headcount flat
    EBITDA$23.6M (8.8%)TO BE SET9.0–9.8% ($25.8M–$28.9M)
    D&A, interest, tax, net incomeNOT PROVIDEDNOT PROVIDED—

    Cash flow

    The full cash-flow statement can't be built yet: D&A, interest, tax, working capital, debt service, opening cash and closure costs are all NOT PROVIDED. The proxy below (EBITDA less capex) shows how tight the capital request is:

    CaseEBITDACapexEBITDA − capex (before interest, tax, working capital and closure costs)
    FY2026 EBITDA, all requests funded$23.6M$25.4M−$1.8M
    Guidance floor (9.0% on +7%), all requests funded$25.8M$25.4M+$0.4M
    Guidance floor, capex at the $22M ceiling$25.8M$22.0M+$3.8M
    Guidance top (9.8% on +10%), capex at the $18M floor$28.9M$18.0M+$10.9M

    Implication: funding every request leaves almost no cash cover before interest and tax, even if EBITDA lands inside guidance. Closures would add one-off cash costs (lease exits, severance), not yet sized. The funding source (cash on hand, revolver capacity) and any debt service are NOT PROVIDED and are needed before finance can sign off.

    Working capital metrics: inventory days, payables days and the cash conversion cycle are NOT PROVIDED. TO BE SET by the CFO.

    Risks and opportunities

    RiskRevenue impact (calculated)ProbabilityMitigationOwner
    Ember & Oak traffic repeats −6%−$5.8MTO BE SETFix plan; brand-specific pricing; closure decisionCOO (interim)
    All 10 openings slip one quarter−$5.5M (−$0.55M per unit-quarter)TO BE SETDated schedule; leading-indicator trackerJamal Whitaker
    The 4 slipped openings slip again by one quarter−$2.2MTO BE SETOpen these first (PROPOSED)Jamal Whitaker
    Price taken at 2% instead of 3%−$2.5M (falls almost entirely to EBITDA)TO BE SETTest price by brandCMO
    Price delayed 3 months (to 1 May)−$2.0M ($0.67M per month)TO BE SETLock menus and POS prices in DecemberCMO
    Hourly labor 10 bps over ceiling−$0.29M EBITDA per 10 bpsTO BE SETWeekly labor tracking; scheduling programCOO
    Food inflation above 3.5% on uncontracted spend−$0.10M per point per $10M of spendTO BE SETShare of spend under contract NOT PROVIDEDOWNER NOT PROVIDED
    OpportunityImpactProbabilityActionOwner
    Closing loss-making Ember & Oak units improves EBITDA even though revenue fallsTO BE SET (unit P&Ls NOT PROVIDED)TO BE SETUnit-level review in Phase 2COO (interim)
    Openings ahead of schedule+$0.185M per unit-monthTO BE SETFront-load the 4 slipped unitsJamal Whitaker
    Off-premise and catering grow fasterTO BE SETTO BE SETPlan due in Phase 2Dana Kowalczyk
    Kitchen technology installed earlyEach 10 bps ≈ $0.29MTO BE SETRollout scheduleFelix Amador

    Operational Plans by Function

    All targets below are TO BE SET by the named owner in Phase 2 unless the board has already fixed them.

    Harvest Table: Jamal Whitaker

    • Mission: be the growth engine. Open on time and run new units to pro forma.

    Objectives: units 64 → 74 (owner Jamal Whitaker); revenue $142.0M → TO BE SET; hourly labor TO BE SET (must support ≤31.5% overall); off-premise share TO BE SET.

    • Initiatives: 10-unit opening program; FY2028 pipeline.

    Resources: $14.5M capex. Pre-opening opex NOT PROVIDED. Development and construction staff (corporate, within 142) NOT PROVIDED.

    • Risks: repeat slippage; new units ramping below the brand average.

    Dependencies: construction and real estate (owner NOT PROVIDED); HR for hourly hiring; IT, so that new units open with kitchen display and the new POS rather than being retrofitted later.

    Little Saffron: Corinne Abara

    • Mission: run quick service profitably as a base business.

    Objectives: revenue $30.0M → TO BE SET; hourly labor TO BE SET; off-premise share TO BE SET. Units stay at 22: no openings or closures were requested.

    • Initiatives: no strategic initiative was submitted. Kitchen technology and POS/loyalty roll out here too.
    • Risk: without its own priority, the brand gets little management attention.

    Ember & Oak: COO (interim), President vacant

    • Mission (FY2027): settle fix-or-exit; stabilize the units that stay.

    Objectives: closure decision date (PROPOSED: board, Q1 2027 at the latest); traffic TO BE SET (FY2026 was −6%); unit-level margin ranking of all 32 units by the end of Phase 2 (PROPOSED); President appointed (date TO BE SET).

    • Initiatives: unit portfolio review; fix plan; up to 6 remodels; President search.
    • Resources: $5.4M remodel capex (conditional). Closure costs NOT PROVIDED.

    Risks: the COO carrying a brand turnaround on top of company-wide operations; remodel capital stranded at units that later close; closure obligations to employees (HR and employment counsel review needed).

    Off-Premise and Catering: Dana Kowalczyk

    • Mission: grow the channels that need no extra seats.

    Objectives: off-premise $56.0M → TO BE SET; catering $19.0M → TO BE SET; combined share 28.0% → TO BE SET once the target is defined.

    • Initiatives: off-premise and catering growth plan; requirements and launch for POS and loyalty.

    Dependencies: POS/loyalty platform (owner NOT PROVIDED); kitchen display, for throughput at peak off-premise times.

    Technology: Felix Amador, CIO

    • Mission: deliver kitchen technology that measurably lowers hourly labor.
    • Objectives: installed-restaurant count by quarter TO BE SET; labor-savings business case TO BE SET.

    Initiatives: kitchen display and automation rollout ($3.1M). POS and loyalty ($2.4M) if the CIO is confirmed as owner.

    • Risk: two concurrent rollouts in the same restaurants with flat corporate headcount.

    Marketing and pricing: CMO (name NOT PROVIDED)

    Objective: 3% price from 1 February, a CMO proposal not yet approved. The pricing decision is by brand (Decision 4).

    • Metrics (PROPOSED): price realization; traffic response by brand after 1 February.

    Purchasing: OWNER NOT PROVIDED

    • Objective: hold food inflation at 3.5% (signed contracts). The share of spend under contract is NOT PROVIDED.

    Finance: Nora Lindgren, CFO

    Objectives: AOP approved on 10 December; monthly reporting against plan from January; cash-flow plan completed (inputs NOT PROVIDED).

    People / HR: OWNER NOT PROVIDED

    Objectives: corporate headcount at 142; Ember & Oak President hired; crews staffed for 10 openings; minimum-wage compliance from 1 January; closure-related workforce actions reviewed by counsel.

    Cross-functional fit tests

    TestStatus
    Revenue vs. opening capacityAt risk. New-unit revenue depends on 10 dated openings, and FY2026 slipped 4. The size of the development team is NOT PROVIDED
    Technology roadmap vs. delivery resourcesAt risk. Two restaurant-system rollouts at once with flat corporate headcount
    Kitchen capacity vs. off-premise demandUnknown. Off-premise growth target TO BE SET; kitchen display is the main lever on throughput
    Hiring vs. HR capacityUnknown. Crew hiring for 10 units and possible closure transitions in the same year, with no HR leader named

    Key Initiatives

    The plan holds

    11 strategic initiatives, inside the 10–15 discipline. Quarterly milestones are PROPOSED for owner confirmation; counts and dates are TO BE SET by the owner.

    #InitiativePriorityOwnerInvestmentQ1Q2Q3Q4
    1Harvest Table 10-unit opening program (includes the 4 slipped)P1Jamal Whitaker$14.5M capex; pre-opening NOT PROVIDEDOpenings: TO BE SET (PROPOSED: open the 4 slipped units first)Openings: TO BE SETOpenings: TO BE SETAll 10 open (cumulative = 10)
    2FY2028 Harvest Table pipelineP1Jamal WhitakerNOT PROVIDEDSite criteria confirmedSites identifiedLeases signed (count TO BE SET)FY2028 schedule to board
    3Off-premise and catering growth planP2Dana KowalczykOpex TO BE SETTarget definition settled; plan approvedLaunch by brandScaleMeasure against 2028 path
    4POS and loyalty platformP2OWNER NOT PROVIDED$2.4M capexVendor and designPilotRolloutLoyalty live; measure
    5Kitchen display and automation rolloutP3Felix Amador$3.1M capexPilot restaurantsRollout wave 1Rollout wave 2Complete; savings measured
    6Labor scheduling and productivity to ≤31.5%P3COO (name NOT PROVIDED)Opex TO BE SETMinimum-wage rates live 1 Jan; schedules re-basedTrack weeklyTrack weekly≤31.5% full year
    7Minimum-wage implementation (two states)P3OWNER NOT PROVIDEDCost TO BE SET (hours NOT PROVIDED)Live 1 Jan; offsets in place———
    8Ember & Oak unit portfolio review and closure decisionP4COO (interim)Closure costs NOT PROVIDEDBoard decision (if not taken 10 Dec)Carry out decision (with counsel)CompletePost-closure review
    9Ember & Oak fix plan for retained unitsP4COO (interim), then the Ember & Oak PresidentOpex TO BE SETPlan approvedExecuteExecuteTraffic against target
    10Ember & Oak remodels (up to 6, retained units only)P4COO (interim)$5.4M capex requested; see Capital PlanHold until decisionRelease approved remodelsConstructionReopen; measure uplift
    11Ember & Oak President hireP4OWNER NOT PROVIDED (CEO?)Compensation NOT PROVIDEDSearchAppoint (date TO BE SET)Onboard; own the fix plan—

    Base-business plan drivers (not strategic initiatives, so no priority mapping):

    DriverOwnerEffectiveValue
    Menu price +3% (CMO proposal; not yet approved)CMO (name NOT PROVIDED)1 February 2027+$7.4M revenue (11 months)
    Food cost contracts at +3.5%OWNER NOT PROVIDEDPer contract (dates NOT PROVIDED)$0.35M per $10M of food spend

    Capital Plan

    Summary by category

    CategoryBudget (requested)ProjectsKey Investments
    Growth$14.5M110 Harvest Table units at $1.45M (P1)
    Efficiency$3.1M1Kitchen display and automation (P3)
    Strategic: platform$2.4M1POS and loyalty (P2)
    Strategic: turnaround (conditional)$5.4M6Ember & Oak remodels at $0.9M (P4)
    MaintenanceNOT PROVIDED—⚠ No maintenance capex requested for 118 existing units
    Total requested$25.4MBoard range $18–22M: $3.4M over the ceiling

    Scoring (PROPOSED; executives to confirm)

    RequestStrategic alignmentFinancial returnRiskResource availabilityProposed rank
    Harvest Table units, $14.5MHigh: P1, and 4 units already slippedBusiness case NOT PROVIDED. Brand revenue per unit ($2.22M) is 1.53× the build costMedium: slippage historyDevelopment team size NOT PROVIDED1
    Kitchen display and automation, $3.1MHigh: P3, plus the board labor ceilingSimple payback: 10.7 yrs at 10 bps sustained saving; 4.6 yrs at 23 bps; 3.6 yrs at 30 bps; 2.1 yrs at 50 bps (≈$0.29M per 10 bps)Medium: concurrent rolloutCIO capacity shared with POS2
    POS and loyalty, $2.4MMedium–High: enables P2Business case NOT PROVIDEDMedium: system change in every restaurantOwner NOT PROVIDED3
    Ember & Oak remodels, $5.4MMedium: P4 "fix", but the "exit" side is undecidedEach remodel costs 30% of brand revenue per unit; uplift NOT PROVIDEDHigh: stranded capital if the unit later closesCOO is interim4 (conditional)

    Options to fit guidance (calculated)

    OptionFY2027 capexHeadroom to $22MTrade-off
    A. Fund all requests$25.4M−$3.4MOutside guidance; thin cash cover
    B. Fund 2 remodels; defer 4 to FY2028$21.8M+$0.2MTwo remodel sites chosen before the closure decision
    C. Defer all 6 remodels to FY2028$20.0M+$2.0MWeakens the "fix" side of Priority 4
    D. Defer POS and loyalty to FY2028; defer 2 remodels$21.2M+$0.8MDelays the Priority 2 enabler
    E. Fund 8 Harvest Table units (2 to FY2028), all else$22.5M−$0.5MStill over; net new drops to 8 before any closures
    C+ (PROPOSED): C, plus up to $1.8M for 2 remodels released only after the closure decision and only at retained units$20.0M firm, max $21.8M+$0.2M at maximumKeeps P1–P3 whole; sequences P4 correctly. Maintenance capex, once sized, competes for the same headroom

    Recommendation for CFO consideration (PROPOSED, not decided): C+. It funds the three priorities that are free of decision risk in full. It avoids putting $0.9M into a unit that may close. It stays inside the board range. The capital allocation is the CFO's and the board's call.

    Business-case requirements before the board pre-read (3 Dec)

    InvestmentMust showCurrently
    Harvest Table unitsNew-unit AUV, RLM, cash-on-cash return, payback; dated scheduleNOT PROVIDED
    Kitchen display and automationLabor bps saved per restaurant, rollout schedule, paybackNOT PROVIDED
    POS and loyaltyOff-premise and loyalty revenue uplift; retirement cost of the current platformNOT PROVIDED
    Ember & Oak remodelsUplift at retained units; site list after the decisionNOT PROVIDED
    Ember & Oak closures (non-capex)Unit P&Ls, lease exit costs, one-off cash, impairmentNOT PROVIDED

    People Plan

    Corporate headcount bridge

    Count
    Start of FY2027142
    + New rolesTO BE SET
    + BackfillsTO BE SET
    − AttritionTO BE SET
    − Restructuring / roles eliminatedTO BE SET
    End of FY2027 (board guidance: flat)142

    Constraint: to stay flat, every new role must be offset by a role that is eliminated or left unfilled. Whether the vacant Ember & Oak President role is already counted inside 142 is

    NOT PROVIDED.

    Where the work grows, and where it has to come from

    Investment area (more work in FY2027)DriverFunding
    New-unit development and opening support10 openingsReallocation (TO BE SET)
    Kitchen technology and POS deploymentTwo rolloutsReallocation, or vendor or implementation partner (cost TO BE SET)
    Off-premise and cateringPriority 2Reallocation (TO BE SET)
    Ember & Oak leadershipPresident vacancyBackfill

    Efficiency areas (where corporate roles can be released): TO BE SET by executives.

    Restaurant (hourly) workforce

    Hourly headcount isn't covered by the corporate headcount guidance. It's governed by the

    ≤31.5% labor ceiling, which gives a $90.3M–$92.9M envelope. Hourly headcount, the crew size per new unit and the staff at closure candidates are NOT PROVIDED.

    Critical hires

    RolePriorityTimingStatusOwner
    President, Ember & OakP4. Critical: owns the fix planTO BE SET (PROPOSED: appointed by end of Q2)Vacant since August 2026OWNER NOT PROVIDED
    General managers and crews for 10 Harvest Table unitsP1Ahead of each openingCounts NOT PROVIDEDJamal Whitaker

    Organization changes

    ChangeTimingNote
    Appoint Ember & Oak President; COO returns to company-wide roleTO BE SETRemoves the single-point-of-failure on Priority 4
    Confirm a named owner for POS/loyalty, purchasing and HRPhase 1 (by 9 Oct)Required for one owner per metric
    Ember & Oak closures (if approved)After the board decisionRequires HR and employment-counsel review before dates are set, including notice obligations under federal and state plant-closing laws and any lease or franchise-law constraints

    Compensation budget

    ComponentFY2026FY2027
    Merit poolNOT PROVIDEDTO BE SET
    Promotion budgetNOT PROVIDEDTO BE SET
    Bonus poolNOT PROVIDEDTO BE SET (PROPOSED: tie to EBITDA and labor % against plan)
    EquityNOT PROVIDEDTO BE SET
    BenefitsNOT PROVIDEDTO BE SET
    Minimum wage (hourly, two states)—+$1.10/hr from 1 Jan. Cost = $1.10M per million hours affected (hours NOT PROVIDED)

    People metrics (PROPOSED metrics; baselines NOT PROVIDED; targets TO BE SET)

    Corporate headcount (≤142 at every quarter-end) · hourly turnover by brand · general-manager retention · days to staff a new unit before opening · time to fill critical roles.


    Performance Framework

    Quarterly scorecard

    Quarterly figures are

    TO BE SET: FP&A will phase them using FY2026 monthly seasonality, which was NOT PROVIDED. Each row's quarters must add up to its full-year value, and the scorecard check enforces that before the pre-read goes out.

    Financial

    MetricQ1Q2Q3Q4Full YearOwner
    Revenue: totalTBSTBSTBSTBSTBS ($286.8M–$294.8M window)Nora Lindgren
    Revenue: Harvest TableTBSTBSTBSTBSTBSJamal Whitaker
    Revenue: Ember & OakTBSTBSTBSTBSTBSCOO (interim)
    Revenue: Little SaffronTBSTBSTBSTBSTBSCorinne Abara
    Restaurant-level margin %TBSTBSTBSTBSTBSCOO
    EBITDATBSTBSTBSTBSTBS ($25.8M–$28.9M window)Nora Lindgren
    Capex (cumulative against approved)TBSTBSTBSTBS≤ approved (guidance $18–22M)Nora Lindgren

    Operational

    MetricQ1Q2Q3Q4Full YearOwner
    Hourly labor %TBSTBSTBSTBS≤31.5%COO
    Price realization (3% from 1 Feb)2 of 3 months liveFullFullFull11 monthsCMO
    Ember & Oak traffic vs. prior yearTBSTBSTBSTBSTBSCOO (interim)
    Off-premise + catering shareTBSTBSTBSTBSTBS (pending definition)Dana Kowalczyk
    Corporate headcount (quarter-end)≤142≤142≤142≤142142OWNER NOT PROVIDED

    Strategic

    MetricQ1Q2Q3Q4Full YearOwner
    Harvest Table openings (in quarter)TBSTBSTBSTBS10Jamal Whitaker
    Restaurants with kitchen display (cumulative)TBSTBSTBSTBSTBSFelix Amador
    POS/loyalty restaurants live (cumulative)TBSTBSTBSTBSTBSOWNER NOT PROVIDED
    Ember & Oak closure decisionDecided (if not on 10 Dec)Carried out——CompleteCOO (interim)
    Ember & Oak President in seat—TBS——YesOWNER NOT PROVIDED

    Variance thresholds (all PROPOSED; CFO to set)

    MetricYellowRedResponse
    Revenue, year to date vs. plan−2% (≈$5.8M full-year equivalent at midpoint)−4% (≈$11.6M)Yellow: owner's recovery plan within 10 business days. Red: CFO review; Tier 2 menu
    EBITDA, year to date vs. plan−5%−10%Red: CEO review; board notified
    Hourly labor % vs. plan+20 bps+50 bpsBrand-level scheduling review
    Opening date vs. schedule4 weeks late8 weeks lateRecovery plan; reforecast revenue
    Project capex vs. approved+5%+10%CFO approval needed to proceed
    Ember & Oak traffic vs. plan−1 pt−3 ptsEscalate the fix plan; revisit the closure scope

    Review cadence and variance response

    Monthly operating review (CFO) → quarterly business review (brand presidents and functional owners) → quarterly board report → July reforecast. For any yellow or red:

    identify at the monthly close →

    root cause within 5 business days →

    recovery plan within 10 business days →

    execute →

    track at the next review. All PROPOSED.


    Contingency Scenarios

    Probabilities are

    TO BE SET: none were provided, and this draft does not assign any. Revenue deltas are calculated from supplied figures. EBITDA deltas need FP&A's decremental-margin assumptions, except where noted.

    ScenarioTrigger (PROPOSED)AssumptionsProbabilityRevenue delta vs. planEBITDA delta
    Base—Plan as approvedTO BE SET——
    UpsideOpenings ahead of schedule; off-premise share above plan; closures remove loss-making unitsPer opportunity tableTO BE SET+$0.185M per unit-month early; others TO BE SETTO BE SET
    Downside 1: Ember & Oak decline persistsEmber & Oak traffic ≤ −6% YoY for 2 consecutive monthsFY2026 trend repeatsTO BE SET−$5.8MTO BE SET
    Downside 2: openings slipAny construction start more than 4 weeks lateAll 10 units slip one quarterTO BE SET−$5.5M (−$2.2M if only the 4 slipped units slip)TO BE SET; pre-opening cost may also move
    Downside 3: price resistanceTraffic after 1 Feb below plan by more than the yellow threshold2% realized instead of 3%TO BE SET−$2.5MUp to −$2.5M (price carries almost no variable cost; FP&A to confirm)
    Downside 4: labor overrunLabor % above plan by more than +20 bps for 2 monthsKitchen technology late; minimum wage not offsetTO BE SET—−$0.29M per 10 bps
    Stress: D1 + D2 + D3 togetherTwo or more downside triggers at onceAll three revenue downsidesTO BE SET−$13.8M (−4.7% of midpoint)TO BE SET

    Stress context: applied to the guidance midpoint ($290.8M), the stress case would leave revenue at about $277.0M. That is +3.4% on FY2026,

    below the 7% floor. The plan's response menu needs to be ready before Q1.

    Tiered action menu (PROPOSED; savings TO BE SET unless calculated)

    TierTriggerActionsSavingsTimingDecides
    1. Early warningAny yellow thresholdFreeze discretionary G&A; pause non-critical corporate backfills; tighten labor scheduling; reallocate marketing to the brands that are workingTO BE SETImmediate to 2 weeksCFO + COO
    2. Course correctionAny red threshold, or Downside 1–4 triggeredDefer unstarted Ember & Oak remodels ($0.9M capex each); defer POS/loyalty to FY2028 ($2.4M capex); re-cut price by brand; slow Harvest Table units not yet under construction ($1.45M capex each, which also reduces FY2027 revenue)Capex as stated; opex TO BE SET2–6 weeksCEO (name NOT PROVIDED); board notified
    3. Significant actionStress case, or EBITDA tracking below the 9.0% floor after Tier 2Widen Ember & Oak exits beyond the approved set; cut capex to maintenance plus committed projects; restructure corporate cost (HR and employment-counsel review required before any workforce action)TO BE SET1–3 monthsBoard approval

    Early-warning dashboard (PROPOSED)

    IndicatorFrequencyGreenYellowRedOwner
    Ember & Oak traffic YoYWeeklyAt or above plan−1 pt vs. plan−3 pts vs. planCOO (interim)
    Harvest Table opening tracker (lease, permit, construction start, GM hired)WeeklyOn schedule4 weeks late8 weeks lateJamal Whitaker
    Check average vs. the 3% priceWeekly from 1 Feb≥ planBelow plan2% or lessCMO
    Hourly labor % by brandWeekly≤ plan+20 bps+50 bpsCOO
    Food cost vs. contractMonthlyAt contract+0.5 pt (PROPOSED)+1 pt (PROPOSED)OWNER NOT PROVIDED
    Off-premise + catering shareMonthly≥ planBelow planTBSDana Kowalczyk
    Capex committed vs. approvedMonthly≤ approved+5%+10%Nora Lindgren

    Assumptions Register

    AssumptionValueBasisOwner
    Food cost inflation3.5%Purchasing, from signed supplier contractsOWNER NOT PROVIDED (purchasing)
    Menu price increase3% from 1 Feb 2027 (worth 2.75% for the year)CMO proposal (not yet approved)CMO (name NOT PROVIDED)
    Minimum wage+$1.10/hr in two states from 1 Jan 2027Payroll provider bulletinOWNER NOT PROVIDED (HR/payroll)
    FY2026 baseline$268.0M revenue; 15.8% RLM; $23.6M EBITDA; 32.6% hourly laborFY2026 forecast. Q4 actuals will rebase itNora Lindgren
    Price applies uniformly across brands3% eachInferred from the CMO proposal; confirmCMO
    Comparable traffic by brandNOT PROVIDED—Brand presidents
    Price elasticity (traffic response)NOT PROVIDED—CMO
    Opening dates for 10 Harvest Table unitsNOT PROVIDED—Jamal Whitaker
    New-unit sales, ramp-up and marginNOT PROVIDED—Jamal Whitaker
    Ember & Oak unit P&Ls; closure candidates and costsNOT PROVIDED—COO (interim)
    Food spend ($) and share under contractNOT PROVIDED—OWNER NOT PROVIDED
    Hourly hours in the two minimum-wage statesNOT PROVIDED—OWNER NOT PROVIDED
    Merit and wage inflationNOT PROVIDED—OWNER NOT PROVIDED
    Kitchen-technology labor savings and rollout scheduleNOT PROVIDED—Felix Amador
    POS/loyalty benefitsNOT PROVIDED—OWNER NOT PROVIDED
    Off-premise and catering growthNOT PROVIDED—Dana Kowalczyk
    Occupancy and rent inflationNOT PROVIDED—Nora Lindgren
    Below-RLM costs: G&A and pre-openingNOT PROVIDED (implied total $18.7M)—Nora Lindgren
    D&A, interest, tax rate, debt service, working capital, opening cashNOT PROVIDED—Nora Lindgren
    Maintenance capexNOT PROVIDED—Nora Lindgren
    Monthly seasonality (for quarterly phasing)NOT PROVIDED—Nora Lindgren
    Scenario probabilities and variance thresholdsNOT PROVIDED (thresholds PROPOSED above)—Nora Lindgren

    Open Questions

    Needed by the end of Phase 1 (Fri 9 Oct), because they block structure:
    1.

    Off-premise target definition. Off-premise plus catering is already 28.0% of sales against a 25%-by-2028 target. Is the target off-premise only (20.9% today), brand-specific, or does it need rebasing? (Dana Kowalczyk / CFO)
    2.

    Net-new-unit measure. Do Ember & Oak closures count against the 8–10 net-new guidance? With 10 openings, any closure above 2 units breaks the floor. (CFO, with the board chair)
    3.

    Named owners for POS/loyalty, purchasing and food cost, the people plan and HR, new-unit construction, and the hourly-labor metric. Also the names of the COO, CMO and CEO.
    4. Capex envelope and maintenance capex. No maintenance request was submitted for 118 restaurants. (CFO)
    5. Whether the vacant Ember & Oak President role sits inside the 142 corporate headcount.

    Needed by the end of Phase 2 (Fri 30 Oct), because they block the numbers:
    6. Dated opening schedule for the 10 Harvest Table units, plus new-unit sales and margin assumptions (Jamal Whitaker).
    7. Comparable traffic assumptions by brand (brand presidents).
    8. Ember & Oak unit-level P&Ls for all 32 units; closure candidates; lease-exit and one-off costs (COO).
    9. Pricing by brand, and the elasticity assumption, especially for Ember & Oak (CMO).
    10. Hourly labor hours in the two minimum-wage states (payroll/HR).
    11. Food spend in dollars and the share under contract (purchasing).
    12. Kitchen-technology business case: bps saved, schedule and sequencing against POS (Felix Amador).
    13. POS/loyalty business case and owner.
    14. Off-premise and catering growth plan (Dana Kowalczyk).
    15. Below-RLM budget: G&A, pre-opening, merit, bonus and benefits (CFO).
    16. Cash-flow inputs: D&A, interest, tax, debt service, working capital, opening cash, funding source for capex (CFO).
    17. FY2026 monthly seasonality for quarterly phasing (FP&A).

    Needed by the end of Phase 4 (Wed 25 Nov), because they block approval:
    18. Ember & Oak closure recommendation: whether to close, how many (3–5) and when. Whether the decision goes to the 10 December board or to Q1 2027.
    19. Capital option: A–E or C+ (CFO).
    20. Scenario probabilities and final variance thresholds (CFO).
    21. Strategic role of Little Saffron: confirm it runs as a base business with no priority of its own.

    Reviews required before anything leaves the building: finance sign-off on all financials (CFO); HR and employment-counsel review of any closure or workforce action; the user's review of the full document before the board pre-read on 3 December.


    It also wrote aop_fy2027_calcs.py, aop_fy2027_calcs_output.txt (not shown here).

    annual-operating-plan-builder.csv

    CSV · data export

    Generated

    Example file from a real run - the skill writes it into your workspace.

    Connects securely to your tools. The creator never sees your data.

    What you get

    Translate multi-year strategy into 12 months of resourced commitments.Build reconciled revenue and margin bridges from prior-year results.Identify cross-functional resource conflicts before the fiscal year begins.Create trigger-based contingency plans for financial and operational risks.

    About this skill

    For CFOs, FP&A leads, COOs, and business-unit heads who must turn an agreed strategy into next year's commitments. Give it your strategic priorities, prior-year plan versus actual, board guidance ranges, and capital and headcount requests, and it drafts the plan: strategy-to-objective translation, revenue and margin bridges, a P&L and cash flow summary, functional plans with cross-functional checks, a prioritized capital plan, a people plan, a quarterly scorecard with variance thresholds, and base, upside, downside, and stress scenarios with a tiered action menu. Every figure is either yours or calculated from yours with the working shown. Totals and bridges are reconciled, metrics outside guidance are flagged, and missing assumptions or owners are labelled and returned as questions. Your executives set the targets, and finance signs off before the plan reaches the board.

    What's in the zip

    • SKILL.md: the skill.
    • references/recipe.md: the full step-by-step recipe (about 9,600 words) with templates and worked examples.
    • evals/: three test cases you can run to check its behavior.
    • LICENSE.txt: single-purchaser license; use it in your own work, including for clients.

    Part of the Executive & Board Pack (10 skills). The demo below is a real run on a fictional company: Claude's reply, then the full document it wrote.

    How to install

    Works the same in every agent - Claude, Cursor, Codex, Copilot and 20+ more.

    ~30 seconds
    1. 1

      Download the ZIP

      Free skills download straight away. Paid skills unlock right after purchase.

    2. 2

      Unzip into your skills folder

      Every agent reads skills from one folder on your machine. Drop the unzipped folder in there.

    3. 3

      Ask your agent to use it

      Restart the agent if it was already running. It picks the skill up automatically - no config needed.

    Skills folder by agent

    Click the path to copy it. Create the folder if it does not exist yet.

    Reviews

    No reviews yet

    Be one of the first to try it. Every listed skill passes our trust checks below.

    Security scanned

    Passed our 8-point scan before listing

    Fresh listing

    Recently published to Agensi

    30-day refund

    Not a fit? Get your money back

    Trust & safety

    Security scanned

    Verified clean 1 day ago

    • Passed all security checks, Safe to install

    Listed1 day ago

    What's inside

    Frequently Asked Questions