Built by a food truck operator

Most food operators don't know if last week was profitable.

CostGuard watches your cash, food cost, tax position, and events — so you always know exactly where you stand. Built by a food truck operator. For food truck operators.

Start knowing your numbers → See pricing

Already have an account? Sign in

No credit card needed to start

Costs less than one late GST penalty

Canada · US operators welcome

📦 Pantry

All purpose flour

14.4 kg $1.12/kg

Ground beef

3.2 kg $8.40/kg

Shredded cheese

0.6 kg $11.60/kg

📋 Recipe costing

Bannock Taco $4.18 / serve

Bannock dough (180g)$0.20

Ground beef (120g)$1.01

Shredded cheese (40g)$0.46

Seasonings & packaging$2.51

Total recipe cost $4.18

📊 Menu food cost %

💰 Cash Runway: 47 days 🧾 GST Owing (est.): $1,284 🍽 Food Cost %: 31.2% 📅 Next Filing: 11 days 📈 Last Event P&L: +$2,140 🌮 Bannock Taco cost: $4.18 ⚓ Status: Watching quietly 💰 Cash Runway: 47 days 🧾 GST Owing (est.): $1,284 🍽 Food Cost %: 31.2% 📅 Next Filing: 11 days 📈 Last Event P&L: +$2,140 🌮 Bannock Taco cost: $4.18 ⚓ Status: Watching quietly

How it works

Your financial watch
officer, always on duty

Import your bank statement. Snap a receipt. CostGuard does the watching — you only hear from us when something needs your attention.

🏦

Import your bank

Drop in a CSV from any major Canadian or US bank. CostGuard detects the format, categorizes transactions, and builds your cash picture in minutes.

📸

Capture receipts

Snap a photo of any receipt. Our OCR engine extracts the vendor, amount, and tax — then matches it against your bank transactions automatically.

⚓

CostGuard watches

Sit back. CostGuard monitors cash runway, tax owing, food cost, and penalties — and only buzzes your phone when something needs your attention.

Food cost intelligence

Know your cost.
Down to the penny.

CostGuard connects your pantry to your recipes to your menu — so you always know what every dish actually costs to make, and what that means for your margin.

📦 Pantry

All purpose flour

14.4 kg $1.12/kg

Ground beef

3.2 kg $8.40/kg

Tomatoes

6.8 kg $3.20/kg

Shredded cheese

0.6 kg $11.60/kg

Lettuce

9 heads $1.80/ea

📋 Recipe costing

Bannock Taco $4.18 / serve

Bannock dough (180g) $0.20

Ground beef (120g) $1.01

Shredded cheese (40g) $0.46

Lettuce (30g) $0.18

Tomato (60g) $0.19

Seasonings & packaging $2.14

Total recipe cost $4.18

📊 Menu food cost %

2–5%

Typical food cost savingsonce operators see their actual numbers

$750

Savings per monthon a $15K/month food truck at 5% reduction

$99

First Mate planpays for itself in the first week of visibility

Know before you go. Know after you're back.

The only tool that closes
the loop on every event.

Plan your labour and fuel cost before a market. Attach your receipts and sales after. CostGuard tells you which events are worth returning to — and which ones aren't.

📋

Pre-event planning

Set expected attendance, ticket average, staff hours, fuel, and fees before you load the truck.
🧾

Attach receipts & labour

Link your actual receipts, sales, and clock-ins. Everything reconciles against the plan.
📊

Planned vs actual P&L

See what you projected vs what actually happened — by category, by event, by season.

⚡

Doing a revenue-sharing event?

Put in their percentage. CostGuard shows you which menu items go underwater, what you keep after the cut, and what you'd need to charge to protect your margin.

Event intelligence on First Mate & Captain plans.

Event P&L · Saturday Farmers Market

Planned revenue

$1,800

Actual revenue

$2,140

Food & supplies $618

Labour · 3 staff · 8h $320

Fuel & transport $84

Event fee & permits $116

Net · 56% margin

$1,202

+$340 vs plan ↑

3 receipts attached
Labour confirmed

June summary: 4 events · $4,810 net · Regina Farmers Market your top performer

The coast guard philosophy

Watches quietly.
Speaks when
it matters.

Most software shouts at you constantly. CostGuard is different — silent when things are steady, flags only what's worth your attention.

🔕

Silence is the default

No daily alerts, no gamified dashboards. If your numbers are fine, you won't hear from us.
👁

Observational, never prescriptive

CostGuard tells you what it sees — "food costs have been creeping up" — never "you should raise your prices."
🔒

You confirm every entry

Nothing gets written to your books automatically. Every transaction is reviewed and confirmed by you.

Live Dashboard · Tonight

Cash Runway

47 days

GST Owing (estimated)

$1,284

Food Cost %

31.2%

Watching quietly — no flags tonight

GST filing due in 11 days

🚫

We don't shame

Bad months happen. CostGuard presents data — never judgment.

🤫

We don't panic

Numbers surfaced with context. No alarm bells for small fluctuations.

📋

No perfect paperwork

Partial data is better than none. CostGuard works with what you have.

🤝

Your data is yours

Export everything, anytime. No lock-in. You own your books.

The notification that pays for itself

The 1 AM buzz
that saves you $400

CostGuard tracks your tax obligations and estimates what a late filing would cost. When a deadline approaches, you get a quiet nudge — not a lecture.

CostGuard

1:06 AM

GST filing due in 3 days. Remitting on time avoids -$17.43 in estimated penalties.

"Costs less than one late GST penalty" — that's not marketing. That's math.

Built from the inside

Why I built
CostGuard

"Eight years on the road and I still got blindsided. Late penalties. Inventory I didn't know I was losing. The numbers were always there — I just had no way to see them."

CostGuard is what I needed and couldn't find. Financial visibility built for operators who are too busy running their business to chase their books.

Pamela

Founder, CostGuard · Owner, The Bannock House Food Trailer

Years operating

$400+

Average late GST/HST penalty

Setup fee. Ever.

"I finally know what each catering job actually made me. Before CostGuard it was just a gut feeling."

Rolling Pin Catering — Regina, SK

Simple, honest pricing

One price. All locations.

No per-location fees below Captain. No setup charges. No surprises.

Deckhand

Solo operator. Know your numbers for less than a late GST penalty.

$59/mo

✓ Bank statement import (6+ banks)
✓ Cash waterline & runway tracking
✓ Tax position + penalty estimator
✓ Push notifications (coast guard watch)
✓ Receipt capture + OCR
✓ Events, sales entry, daily margin
✓ Supplier & vehicle tracking

Start free trial

Most food operators don't know if last week was profitable.

Your financial watchofficer, always on duty

Know your cost.Down to the penny.

The only tool that closesthe loop on every event.

Pre-event planning

Attach receipts & labour

Planned vs actual P&L

Watches quietly.Speaks whenit matters.

Silence is the default

Observational, never prescriptive

You confirm every entry

The 1 AM buzzthat saves you $400

Why I builtCostGuard