Getting every line item on the page first
This calculator does not supply dollar figures. It gives you the line-item structure and you enter the amounts. Buildout cost per square foot, equipment packages and lease terms swing enormously by city, by building condition, by contractor and by year, so a published average would send you into a plan built on someone else's numbers. Use your own contractor bids and your signed or offered lease terms.
A note for anyone comparing with Korean or Japanese guides: there is no US equivalent of the key-money payment made to a previous tenant. A US lease normally means a refundable security deposit of a few months' rent, possibly prepaid first and last month, plus CAM or triple-net charges billed monthly on top of base rent. Put those monthly charges into the operating cost line so your working capital reserve is not short.
The most commonly missed item is working capital. Until sales settle, rent, payroll and utilities come out of your own pocket rather than revenue, so multiply monthly operating cost by the number of months you want covered. The contingency line covers what only appears once demolition starts - electrical capacity, plumbing, ADA and code work.
Written as of September 2026. Treat this as a planning worksheet and confirm lease terms, permits and bids with your broker, contractor and accountant.
Frequently asked questions
This page deliberately does not name a figure. The same square footage costs very differently depending on demolition scope, whether the space was previously a food business, and how much millwork you want. Collect two or three bids and run each one through the calculator.
There is no fixed answer - cover the period you expect it to take for sales to stabilize. Run the calculation again with a longer runway to see how much the total requirement moves.