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Reports & profit analysis

Read the branch dashboard, then slice revenue, cost, gross profit and margin by period, category, staff, channel, payment method and branch.

8 min readOwnerAccountantManager

The branch overview

Dashboard → Overview

  • Monthly performance at a glance for the branch you are in.
  • Best-selling products, so you know what to keep in stock.
  • Low-stock items, so a reorder does not wait for someone to notice a gap.
  • Recent orders, for a quick look at what is happening right now.

Best sellers and recent orders can be exported for your own analysis.

The profit report

Dashboard → Reports

  1. Open Dashboard → Reports.

  2. Choose the period: last 7 days, last 30 days, last 3 months or last 6 months.

  3. Narrow it with the filters you need, then read the headline figures.

The four headline numbers

FigureMeans
RevenueWhat customers paid you
CostWhat those goods cost you, from item and recipe costs
Gross ProfitRevenue minus cost
MarginGross profit as a percentage of revenue
Where every profit figure comes fromPaid orders in theperiodItem average costRetail linesRecipe ingredient costsRestaurant dishesRevenueWhat customers paidCost of goods soldGross profitRevenue − costMarginGross profit ÷ revenueSliced by period,category, brand, SKU,staff, customer,tender, channelNeeds View reports;money figures need Viewfinance

Cost flows from the catalog, not from an estimate. That is why stale average costs quietly turn a healthy-looking margin into fiction.

Read this diagram as text
  • Paid orders in the period Revenue
  • Item average cost Cost of goods sold
  • Recipe ingredient costs Cost of goods sold
  • Revenue Gross profit
  • Cost of goods sold Gross profit
  • Cost of goods sold Margin
  • Gross profit Sliced by period, category, brand, SKU, staff, customer, tender, channel
  • Margin Needs View reports; money figures need View finance

Profit is only as good as your costs

Cost comes from each item's average cost, and for a restaurant from its recipe ingredients. Stale costs produce a margin that looks healthy and is not. Receiving stock through purchase orders keeps costs current.

Slicing the data

Filter by

  • Category — which parts of the range earn their shelf space.
  • Brand and product family — how a supplier's range performs as a block.
  • SKU or variant — whether the large size is really the profitable one.
  • Inventory item — a single line's whole story.
  • Staff — revenue by the waiter or cashier who took the sale.
  • Customer — what your best accounts are worth.
  • Payment method — how much of your trade is cash, card, M-Pesa or another tender.
  • Sales channel — dine-in, takeaway or delivery.

Breakdowns on the same page

  • Revenue by channel — where the trade actually comes from.
  • Staff performance — orders and revenue per member.
  • Branch performance — locations compared over the same period.

Answering real questions

QuestionHow to get to it
Which category earns the most profit, not just the most revenue?Reports, 30 days, read gross profit and margin per category rather than revenue
Is delivery worth the effort?Filter by the delivery channel and compare margin against dine-in
Which cashier gives away the most discount?Filter by staff and compare revenue against the discount figures
Is the new branch pulling its weight?Branch performance breakdown over the same period
How much of my money arrives as cash?Filter by payment method — it also tells you how much drawer risk you carry

Who can see what

Sales, product and staff reports need the View reports permission. Revenue, cost, profit and VAT figures need View finance. Accountants hold both by default; cashiers and waiters hold neither, so your margins are not on display at the till.