How much does a coffee shop make? What is left for a Ukrainian FOP

The formula: what a coffee shop leaves its owner

People asking how much a coffee shop makes usually mean revenue. But revenue is the money that went through the till, not the money that stayed with you. Expenses and taxes sit in between. For a Ukrainian sole proprietor (FOP) on the simplified tax system, the formula is: revenue − expenses − single tax − ESV − military levy = take-home Revenue: everything guests paid during the month, in cash and by card. Expenses: food and drinks for sale, staff wages together with payroll taxes, rent, utilities, the bank’s card acquiring fee, equipment repairs, packaging, small purchases. Single tax, ESV (the unified social contribution) and military levy: mandatory FOP payments whose size depends on your tax group. The figure at the bottom is the real answer to how much you make. Not what a coffee shop makes on average across the country, but what your own venue leaves you. Other people’s averages tell you little here: rent downtown versus the outskirts, takeaway coffee versus a 30-seat room, all give completely different results.

A month in hryvnias at 2026 rates

Here is an illustrative example. It is not an average coffee shop income, just a way to show how the formula works. Plug in your own numbers. Revenue for the month: 234,150 UAH. Expenses (food, wages, rent, utilities, other): 156,980 UAH. Single tax, group 3, 5% of revenue: 11,707.50 UAH. Military levy, group 3, 1% of revenue: 2,341.50 UAH. ESV for yourself, minimum: 1,902.34 UAH. Take-home: 234,150 − 156,980 − 11,707.50 − 2,341.50 − 1,902.34 = 61,218.66 UAH. So out of every 100 UAH that went through the till, the owner kept about 26 UAH. The rest went on food, people, rent and taxes. Note that group 3 taxes are charged on revenue, not on profit. If the month ran at a loss, the 5% and 1% are still due. That is why unrecorded expenses hurt twice: first as money, then as a picture of the business that is simply wrong. The rates here are as of 2026, with the minimum wage at 8,647 UAH. Check they are still current on the tax service website before you run your own numbers: they move together with the minimum wage.

FOP group 2: fixed payments

Group 2 suits food service venues that sell to the public and to other single tax payers and have up to 10 employees. The income cap for 2026 is 7,211,598 UAH a year. Payments here are fixed and do not depend on revenue: single tax up to 1,729.40 UAH a month (your local community sets the exact rate, up to 20% of the minimum wage); military levy 864.70 UAH a month; ESV for yourself from 1,902.34 UAH a month. That is at most 4,496.44 UAH a month, whether you sold 100 thousand or 400 thousand. In the example above, group 3 tax and levy took 14,049 UAH; in group 2 the same month would have cost no more than 2,594.10 UAH. But there are limits: the income cap, the headcount and who you can sell to. Go over the cap and you have to move to group 3 and pay a higher rate on the excess. That is why it pays to watch revenue not only month by month but as a running total for the year.

FOP group 3: a percentage of revenue

Group 3 puts no limit on headcount, and the income cap is higher: 10,091,049 UAH a year in 2026. Payments: single tax 5% of income (or 3% if you are registered for VAT); military levy 1% of income; ESV for yourself from 1,902.34 UAH a month. The percentage applies to all revenue, so the more you sell, the more you pay, even when expenses grew along with sales. So why do coffee shops stay in group 3? Headcount, the income cap, sales to companies on the general tax system that group 2 cannot sell to, or simply because that is how they registered once and never ran the numbers again. Once a year it is worth sitting down and comparing both options on your own figures. Agree the choice of group with an accountant: there are details that do not fit on one page, from permitted activities to switching deadlines.

Why the money never adds up

Most often the owner sees healthy revenue in the till and far less in the bank at the end of the month. These are the usual reasons. Small cash expenses. Milk from the shop next door, napkins, a light bulb, a delivery. Each one feels too small to write down, and over a month they add up to thousands. Taxes paid quarterly. In group 3 the single tax is paid once a quarter, so two months look better than they are and the third one comes as a nasty surprise. Count the tax every month, even if you pay it later. Personal money in the same pocket. The owner takes cash from the till for personal needs and does not record it. The venue seems to have earned less, when part of the profit has simply been spent already. Card acquiring fees. The bank keeps a percentage of every card payment before it reaches your account. The money is in revenue but never lands in the bank. One-off large payments. A coffee machine repair, two months of rent in advance, new tableware. Spread them across months, otherwise one month looks like a disaster and the ones around it look too good.

Seeing this number every month without typing in revenue

You can keep the spreadsheet by hand: once a week, enter revenue from the till report and expenses from receipts. It works as long as you do not skip weeks. In Stolik the Month screen does this. Daily revenue appears there on its own, from closed bills, so you only enter expenses. Each expense goes in as a line under a category: products, salaries, rent or other. At the bottom the screen calculates single tax at your percentage rate, subtracts ESV (1,902.34 UAH by default, and you can change it) and shows what is left for you. There is no separate line for the military levy: enter it as an expense under Other. For group 2 with its fixed tax, set the rate to 0% and enter the tax the same way, as an expense line. The Month screen is available from the Business plan (399 UAH a month). The first 15 days are free, no bank card needed. Stolik is not a fiscal register and does not replace a PRRO or an accountant: it keeps the venue’s books and shows the money the way an owner sees it.

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How much does a coffee shop in Ukraine make on average?

There is no reliable average, and we will not make one up. The result depends on rent, seats, the share of takeaway, prices and staff. Two coffee shops with the same revenue can leave their owners very different amounts. It is more useful to run your own venue through the formula above.

What are the ESV and military levy rates in 2026?

ESV for yourself: at least 1,902.34 UAH a month, which is 22% of the 8,647 UAH minimum wage. Military levy: 864.70 UAH a month for groups 1 and 2, 1% of income for group 3. The figures come from the tax service for 2026; check they are still current before you calculate.

Which is better for a coffee shop, group 2 or group 3?

With meaningful revenue, group 2 is usually cheaper because the payments are fixed. But it caps headcount (up to 10), annual income and who you can sell to. Compare both on your own figures and agree the choice with an accountant.

Do I pay tax if the month made a loss?

In group 3, yes: the 5% and 1% are charged on revenue, not profit. In group 2 the fixed payments do not depend on the result either. ESV for yourself is due even in months with no sales, except in cases the law explicitly provides for.

How do I get the spreadsheet?

Tap the button below: it opens the Stolik bot in Telegram. The bot asks you to subscribe to the Stolik channel and sends an xlsx file in Ukrainian or Russian. The spreadsheet is free and needs no Stolik account.

How much does your venue actually leave you?

A free spreadsheet for Ukrainian sole proprietors (FOP): revenue, expenses, single tax, social contribution and military levy, with what is left for you at the bottom. In Ukrainian or Russian.

Free for Stolik channel subscribers.

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