Daily, five minutes
Yesterday's sales compared to the same day last year. Labor as a percentage of sales. Voids and discounts by employee. That's it — three numbers, every morning, before anything else.
Weekly, twenty minutes
Item-level performance and what it tells you to change.
- Top ten items by units sold
- Top ten by margin contribution
- Items selling fewer than one a day
- Sales by hour to check staffing
Monthly, an hour
Effective processing rate from your statement, inventory turns and aged stock, new versus returning customer mix, and labor trend across the month. This is also when to review the item list itself and retire anything that's stopped earning its shelf space.
Reports to ignore
Anything you've looked at three times without changing a decision. If a report has never caused an action, it's decoration, and checking it is a habit worth breaking.
Building the habit
The reports that matter are only useful if someone actually opens them on a schedule. Put the daily check on a calendar reminder for the first week until it's automatic — most owners who say reporting doesn't help simply weren't looking consistently.
Comparing locations or staff fairly
If you run more than one register, till or location, compare like against like — same day of week, same hours open, same season — before drawing conclusions about performance.
Turning a report into an action
A report that shows an item barely selling isn't useful until you decide what to do about it: reprice, reposition, or drop it. Give each monthly review a short list of two or three concrete changes rather than just noting the numbers.
Getting reports off the register and onto your phone
Both major platforms offer mobile dashboards, so the daily check doesn't require being on-site. That's useful for owners who split time across locations or aren't there every morning.