Minna no Tokugi

Subject guide · 店舗運営 Store management

Store management (店舗運営): sales per labour hour and cost ratio, labour law, ABC analysis and fire safety

店舗運営 (tenpo un’ei, store management) is, together with hygiene, the heaviest of the four subjects in the Tokutei Ginou 2 restaurant exam: 80 of 250 points, or 32%, at 4 points per academic question and 8 per practical one. It does not exist in the Tokutei Ginou 1 exam: it tests the numbers, the law and the people skills expected of someone who assists the store manager.

This page covers the questions and points, the key ideas of each chapter of the official study text, three example questions from Minna no Tokugi’s practice set with all three options explained, and how to study. The Japanese terms are kept alongside the English, because the exam is in Japanese without furigana.

Last updated 2026-11-11 · By Minna no Tokugi, an independent study app not connected with OTAFF

Store management (店舗運営) on the exam: questions and points

10 academic questions at 4 points and 5 practical questions (3 judgement, 2 planning) at 8 points: 80 points in all. Planning questions give you the formula, and a calculator is on the screen. The pass is judged on the combined score, with no minimum per subject.

Questions and points for Store management. The practical part is 3 judgement and 2 planning questions
Part Questions Points each Subtotal
Academic (学科) 10 4 40
Practical (実技) 5 8 40
Total 15 — 80
  • 店舗運営 Store management80 pts · 32%

Scope (our summary of Appendix 3 of the guidelines)

Numerical management (sales per labour hour, cost), ordering and receiving, ABC analysis, customer management, employment management and the Labour Standards Act, hiring and OJT, fire and disaster prevention, business permits and notifications. The practical part also tests judging the right action in a situation.

Source: MAFF implementation guidelines (revised April 2026, checked 2026-09-03). The scope summary is ours; the original wording is in the guidelines.

Key ideas, chapter by chapter

The study text volume 店舗運営 has eight chapters (plus reference material), and Minna no Tokugi has one lesson per chapter. Here are the key ideas in chapter order.

  1. Running a restaurant: QSCA+H 外食産業の店舗運営とQSCA＋H

    The restaurant business is a location business with a limited trading area (商圏), so repeat visits are the basis of survival. Success needs QSC (quality, service, cleanliness) plus atmosphere, QSCA, and hospitality (H), taking the guest's joy as your own: QSCA+H. The shift manager (時間帯責任者) stands in for the store manager in their slot, with two duties: keep the QSC standard and manage, including developing staff.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 1 総論 外食産業の店舗運営 (PDF p. 5)

  2. Shop numbers: sales per labour hour, cost ratio and labour share 店の数字：人時売上高・原価率・労働分配率

    Sales = customers × spend per customer (客単価); sales per labour hour (人時売上高) = sales ÷ total labour hours; gross profit per labour hour (人時生産性) = gross profit ÷ hours. The labour share (労働分配率) is labour cost over gross profit, 35 to 40% in food service. Keep the gap between standard and actual cost ratio (原価率) within ±0.5%, and suspect portions, waste or stocktaking errors beyond that. Monthly labour hours: sales budget ÷ spend ÷ customers per labour hour where spend is ¥1,200 or less, sales budget ÷ sales per labour hour above ¥1,800.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 2 店舗運営に必要な計数管理 (PDF p. 7)

  3. Ordering, stocktaking and receiving 発注・棚卸し・検収のきほん

    Too much stock means waste and strained cash flow; too little means running out and a lost sales opportunity (チャンスロス). Order quantity is proper stock minus stock on hand, resting on a daily physical stocktake (実地棚卸し), done strictly by two people at month end. At receiving (検収), compare the quantity ordered, the delivery-note quantity, and the quantity and quality of the actual goods, including freshness, temperature, origin and size, then store first in, first out.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 3 発注管理と検収（検品と収納）管理 (PDF p. 17)

  4. Sales management: finding what sells 売れ筋を見きわめる販売管理

    Sales management (販売管理) measures and manages promotions so sales reach the plan. ABC analysis (ABC分析) lines menu items up by sales or count: the cumulative top 70% are A, up to 90% are B, the rest are C, and C items are candidates for removal at the next menu revision. A set discount sells items together for less; when lunch orders concentrate on a set, dishes go out faster and table turnover (回転率) rises.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 4 販売管理 (PDF p. 20)

  5. Customer management: building regulars 常連を増やす顧客管理

    Customers split into regulars (固定顧客), semi-regulars and new customers, and falling numbers usually mean a slow loss of regulars and semi-regulars. Customer management turns semi-regulars into regulars and new customers into either. Remember faces and preferences and add "いつもありがとうございます" to your greeting; for new customers, raise QSC. Coupons go out at payment, not at the door, and with a point scheme they build repeaters.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 5 顧客管理 (PDF p. 21)

  6. Working hours, breaks and paid leave 労働時間・休憩・有給休暇のきまり

    Working hours are, as a rule, 8 a day and 40 a week (44 for a restaurant with fewer than 10 regular workers). Going beyond needs an Article 36 agreement (36協定) filed with the Labour Standards Inspection Office, with extensions of 45 hours a month and 360 a year as a guide. Overtime pays 25% or more, late-night (22:00 to 05:00) 25% or more, both together 50% or more; overtime past 60 hours a month is 50%, 75% or more with late-night. Breaks: 45 minutes past 6 hours, 60 past 8, mid-shift. Paid leave starts at 10 days after 6 months and 80% attendance.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 6 雇用管理 (PDF p. 22)

  7. Developing people: OJT and the four steps of training 人を育てる：OJTとトレーニングの4ステップ

    Before teaching, settle seven things: purpose, method, tools, order, scope, finish and standard time. Training combines on-floor OJT with off-floor OFFJT; OJT keeps three principles: short segments, one to one, and until the trainee can do it alone. The four steps are introduction (draw out the wish to learn), demonstration (show the model while explaining why), application (let them do it and watch), and checking.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 7 人材の育成指導 (PDF p. 24)

  8. The fire prevention manager and being ready for a fire 防火管理者と火事への備え

    Every store appoints a fire prevention manager (防火管理者) who has taken the course, holds the qualification and is filed with the fire authority, and who runs drills and checks under the fire plan. Fire needs three things, fuel, oxygen and a heat source (燃焼三要素), and cutting any one puts it out. Burning fryer oil is smothered with a blanket or sheet. Fires kill by burning and toxic gas, so when escaping keep your face near the floor.

    Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 8 防火・防災管理 (PDF p. 26)

The key ideas and example questions are written and edited by Minna no Tokugi from the study text 外食業特定技能2号技能測定試験 学習テキスト published by the Japan Food Service Association. They are not a reproduction of the original, were not produced or endorsed by the association, and Minna no Tokugi is responsible for their content. Page numbers refer to the published PDF.

Three example questions, every option explained

Two academic questions from the numbers chapter and one judgement question from fire safety. As in the app, read why each wrong option is wrong, not only which one is right. The calculation questions of the planning part are practised in the app with numbers that change every time.

Academic format (学科試験)

人時売上高の説明として、正しいものはどれですか。

Which description of sales per labour hour (人時売上高) is correct?

  1. 1日の客数を、その日の総労働時間で割った数字である。

    It is the day's number of customers divided by the total labour hours of that day.

    Not correct

    Customers divided by total labour hours is customers per labour hour (人時接客数): how many customers one person served in one hour. For sales per labour hour you divide sales, not the number of customers.

  2. 1日の売上高を、その日の総労働時間で割った数字である。

    It is the day's sales divided by the total labour hours of that day.

    Correct

    Sales per labour hour shows how much sales one person made in one hour of work. With the same sales, fewer total labour hours make it larger. Every calculation in the shop starts from sales.

  3. 1日の粗利益を、その日の総労働時間で割った数字である。

    It is the day's gross profit divided by the total labour hours of that day.

    Not correct

    Gross profit divided by total labour hours is gross profit per labour hour (人時生産性). Gross profit is sales minus cost, so when cost rises, gross profit per labour hour falls even if sales per labour hour stays the same.

From Minna no Tokugi’s practice questions. Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 2 (PDF p. 7)

Academic format (学科試験)

店での原価率の管理について、正しいものはどれですか。

Which statement about managing the cost ratio (原価率) in a shop is correct?

  1. 標準原価率と実際原価率の差は、±5%以内なら適正である。

    The gap between the standard and the actual cost ratio is fine as long as it is within ±5%.

    Not correct

    The standard for the gap is ±0.5%. A gap of 5% means a large loss is happening. When the gap goes beyond the standard, the shop manager's job is to find the cause and stop it happening again.

  2. 原価率を守るポイントは、ポーションを守る、廃棄ロスを減らす、棚卸ミスをなくすの3つである。

    The three points for keeping the cost ratio are: keep to the portion, cut disposal loss, and avoid stocktaking mistakes.

    Correct

    Using more than the set portion is a loss and pushes the cost ratio up. Disposal loss comes from cooking mistakes, order mistakes, overstocking and so on. A stocktaking mistake makes the amount used look larger than it really was, so the actual cost ratio comes out wrong.

  3. 標準原価率は、月末の棚卸額と当月の仕入額から計算する。

    The standard cost ratio is calculated from the month-end stock value and the month's purchases.

    Not correct

    Stock values and purchases give the actual cost ratio. The standard cost ratio comes from multiplying each menu item's sales count from the register by its standard cost, adding them up, and dividing by the month's sales.

From Minna no Tokugi’s practice questions. Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 2 (PDF p. 9)

Practical: judgement format (判断試験)

調理中にフライヤーの油へ火が移り、炎が上がりました。まずどうするのがよいですか。

While you are cooking, fire spreads to the oil in the fryer and flames rise. What should you do first?

  1. 毛布やシーツのような布をかぶせ、空気を遮る。

    Lay a blanket or a sheet over it to shut off the air.

    Correct

    For burning oil, the method given is smothering: cut off the oxygen. Laying a cloth over it settles the fire at once. At the same time, calling the fire service and guiding customers out proceed along the manuals already agreed.

  2. 大きな鍋で水を運んできて、上からかける。

    Fetch water in a big pot and pour it over from above.

    Not correct

    Cooling with water is the thinking behind aiming an extinguisher at the seat of the fire. For burning oil, the method given is to lay a cloth over it and cut off the oxygen. Reaching for a cloth first is the surer move.

  3. まず窓を大きく開けて、煙を外へ逃がす。

    Open the windows wide first to let the smoke out.

    Not correct

    Opening a window does not put the fire out, and the air coming in makes oxygen easier to reach. A fire needs oxygen to keep burning, so the air is what you cut off first. Smoke is dealt with by keeping low as you evacuate.

From Minna no Tokugi’s practice questions. Written from the study text volume 店舗運営, chapter 8 (PDF p. 27)

OTAFF publishes no sample questions for this exam. The questions here are practice questions written by Minna no Tokugi; they are not the real exam questions.

How to study this subject

Think of three pillars: numbers, law and people. With five practical questions at 8 points each, the arithmetic is worth the time.

  1. Write the formulas by hand until they are yours

    Sales per labour hour (人時売上高) = sales ÷ total labour hours; gross profit per labour hour (人時生産性) = gross profit ÷ hours; cost ratio (原価率) = cost ÷ sales × 100; actual cost ratio = (opening stock + purchases − closing stock) ÷ sales. The planning questions give you the formula, but knowing where each number goes saves the minutes you need.

  2. Learn the benchmark numbers

    Labour share 35 to 40%; standard versus actual cost ratio within ±0.5%; ABC cut-offs at a cumulative 70% and 90%; labour hours from customers per labour hour when the spend is ¥1,200 or less, from sales per labour hour above ¥1,800.

  3. The Labour Standards Act as a table

    8 hours a day, 40 a week (44 under 10 workers); the Article 36 agreement with 45 hours a month and 360 a year; premiums of 25% for overtime, 25% for late-night, 50% when they overlap, 50% past 60 hours a month (75% with late-night); breaks of 45 minutes past 6 hours and 60 past 8; paid leave of 10 days after 6 months at 80% attendance. The overlapping-rate cases are what gets asked.

  4. People and safety as fixed patterns

    The three OJT principles (short segments, one to one, until they can do it alone), the four training steps (introduction, demonstration, application, checking), the three elements of combustion and smothering (a cloth over an oil fire), the fire prevention manager’s qualification and filing. In judgement questions, the option that follows the pattern is the right one.

In Minna no Tokugi, up to 20 practice questions a day and mock exam 1 are in the free plan; the store-management lessons are part of the paid plan.

Points from the MAFF implementation guidelines (checked 2026-09-03). The order is our suggestion and is no guarantee of a pass.

The other subjects

The points of all four subjects and the overall study plan are in the exam guide.

Back to the exam guide

Make the heavy store-management subject safe, starting with the numbers.

Minna no Tokugi has eight store-management lessons, practice questions that explain every option (including calculation questions whose numbers change every time), timed mock exams in the real 55-question, 70-minute format, and Toku, an AI tutor who explains in English. Free to download; practice questions (20 a day) and mock exam 1 are in the free plan.

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