Reports should answer the question an operator is trying to make a decision about. Start with the business question, then choose the report.
Core report questions
- Sales: What sold today, this week, or this period?
- Tender: How did customers pay, and does settlement look correct?
- Menu mix: Which items and categories are performing?
- Daypart: When is the store busiest or slowest?
- Staff: Which servers, shifts, or roles need attention?
- Tips: What needs review before payout or closeout?
- Closeout: Is the day ready to finalize?
How to read overview dashboards
- Check the reporting date range and store context first.
- Review revenue and order volume before drilling into exceptions.
- Compare tenders, refunds, discounts, comps, voids, and tips.
- Open menu mix or daypart reports when sales changed but the reason is not obvious.
- Use reconciliation and closeout reports before finalizing financial work.
What good reporting should feel like
An owner overview should summarize the whole business. A module dashboard should summarize the work of that module. POS, inventory, CRM, staff, display, and kitchen reports should each keep their own character while still connecting back to the same store data.