POS Reporting & Analytics Guide
Your POS system generates mountains of data. Most of it is noise. A few key reports can transform your business—if you know which ones to watch and how to act on them. This guide cuts through the jargon and shows you the reports that actually matter.
Sales Summary Reports: Your Daily Dashboard
Sales summary reports show total sales, transaction count, and average ticket size by day, week, or month. This is your daily check-in report. Watch for trends: are sales growing? Is average ticket increasing? Big drops indicate problems—staff issues, competitor opening, menu/pricing problems. Run this report daily for the first 90 days, then weekly once you know your baseline.
- •Key metrics: Total sales, transaction count, average ticket, sales per hour
- •Daily review: Compare to same day last week, identify anomalies
- •Growth indicators: Week-over-week growth, month-over-month trends
- •Red flags: Sudden 20%+ drops, declining average ticket, slower transaction volume
Product Mix Reports: What's Selling (and What's Not)
Product mix reports rank items by sales volume and revenue. This tells you what customers actually want versus what you think they want. Your top 20% of products typically generate 60-80% of revenue. Focus energy on promoting top sellers and improving or cutting underperformers. Restaurants use this to refine menus. Retail uses it for inventory buying decisions.
- •Sort by: Revenue (what makes money), Quantity (what's popular), Profit margin
- •80/20 rule: Top 20% of products = 80% of revenue, focus here
- •Menu engineering: High-profit, high-volume items are stars—promote them
- •Dead weight: Items selling <1/week should be discontinued or promoted
Hourly Sales Reports: Staff and Inventory Timing
Hourly sales reports show when you're busy and when you're slow. Use this to schedule staff efficiently—overstaffing during slow hours burns money, understaffing during rush loses sales. Restaurants use hourly reports for kitchen prep timing. Retail uses them for shift scheduling. Run this report weekly and adjust schedules monthly.
- •Peak hours: Schedule your best staff and ensure full inventory
- •Slow hours: Reduce staff, use for prep/cleaning, consider early close
- •Labor cost: Aim for 25-35% of sales (varies by industry)
- •Seasonal changes: Re-run this report quarterly as patterns shift
Inventory Reports: Turns, Waste, and Reorder Points
Inventory reports track stock levels, cost of goods sold (COGS), and inventory turnover. Inventory turns measure how quickly you sell through stock—higher is better (less cash tied up). Most retail should turn inventory 4-6 times per year. Restaurants turn perishables weekly. Low turns indicate overstocking or slow-moving products. High turns risk stockouts.
- •Inventory turn formula: Annual COGS ÷ Average Inventory Value
- •Target turns: Retail 4-6/year, Restaurants 50-100/year (weekly turns)
- •Reorder points: Set alerts when stock hits 1-2 weeks of sales
- •Waste tracking: Food businesses should track spoilage separately
Labor Cost Reports: Productivity and Profitability
Labor reports show total wages, hours worked, and labor as percentage of sales. Labor percentage is critical—it varies by industry but restaurants target 25-35%, retail 10-15%. Track by employee to identify productivity differences. High performers generate more sales per hour. Low performers may need training or reassignment. Modern POS systems show labor cost in real-time.
- •Labor %: Total Wages ÷ Total Sales (aim for industry benchmark)
- •Sales per labor hour: Total Sales ÷ Total Labor Hours
- •By employee: Identify top performers and training needs
- •Real-time tracking: Adjust staffing mid-shift if labor % is high
Customer Reports: Retention and Lifetime Value
Customer reports track new vs. returning customers, visit frequency, and lifetime value. Acquiring new customers costs 5-10x more than retaining existing ones. Track your repeat rate—healthy businesses see 30-60% repeat customers. High lifetime value customers should receive VIP treatment. These reports require customer identification (loyalty program, phone number, email at checkout).
- •Repeat rate: % of customers who return within 90 days
- •Visit frequency: How often regulars return (target: monthly or better)
- •Lifetime value: Average customer spends over their relationship with you
- •Requires: Customer identification at checkout (loyalty, email, phone)
Payment Type Reports: Cash vs. Card Trends
Payment reports show breakdown of cash, credit, debit, and contactless payments. This informs cash-handling procedures and forecasts processing fees. Cash is declining 10-15% annually. If 80%+ of your sales are card-based, you can reduce cash drawer float and bank trips. Track processing fees as percentage of card sales—should be 2.3-3% for most businesses.
- •Cash decline: Most businesses see 10-20% cash, 80-90% card in 2025
- •Processing fees: Track actual % paid vs. quoted rates
- •Contactless growth: Apple Pay, Google Pay now 30-50% of card transactions
- •Cash handling: Less cash = fewer bank trips, lower theft risk
Discount and Comp Reports: Control Revenue Leakage
Discount reports track promotional discounts, employee comps, and voids. These should be less than 5% of sales for most businesses. Higher percentages indicate fraud, excessive generosity, or poorly designed promotions. Track by employee—some staff over-comp to increase tips. Modern POS systems require manager approval for large discounts and voids.
- •Healthy range: Discounts + comps <5% of total sales
- •Red flags: >10% discounts, individual employees with 2x average comp rate
- •Controls: Require manager approval for discounts >20%
- •Promotion tracking: Tag discounts by campaign to measure ROI
How Often to Review Each Report
Don't drown in data. Establish a reporting cadence. Sales summary: daily. Product mix: weekly. Labor and inventory: weekly. Customer metrics: monthly. Deep dives: quarterly. Most business owners spend 15-30 minutes daily on reports, 1-2 hours weekly, and half a day quarterly for strategic planning. Consistency matters more than depth.
- •Daily (5-10 min): Sales summary, compare to last week
- •Weekly (30-60 min): Product mix, labor %, inventory levels
- •Monthly (1-2 hours): Customer retention, payment trends, discount analysis
- •Quarterly (half day): Strategic review, menu/product changes, pricing adjustments
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Reviewing reports but not taking action
Data is worthless without decisions. If your slowest 10 items aren't selling, remove them from the menu or store.
Comparing absolute numbers instead of percentages
A $100 daily sales drop means different things for a $500/day business vs. $5,000/day business. Use percentages.
Ignoring labor cost until it's a crisis
Labor cost creeps up slowly. Weekly monitoring prevents it from hitting 50% of sales before you notice.
Over-relying on averages without looking at distribution
Average ticket size hides the fact that half your customers spend <$10 and half spend >$50. Look at ranges, not just averages.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which single report is most important?
Sales summary with sales, transaction count, and average ticket. This daily report gives you the pulse of your business. Everything else is important but secondary.
Do I need to track every metric my POS offers?
No. Focus on 5-7 core metrics: total sales, average ticket, labor %, top products, inventory turns, repeat customer rate, and processing fees. Ignore the rest until you've mastered these.
How do I know if my numbers are good?
Compare to your own historical data first (week-over-week, month-over-month). Then research industry benchmarks. Square and Toast publish industry reports with average metrics by business type.
Can I automate report delivery?
Yes. Most POS systems can email daily/weekly reports automatically. Set this up so you review reports consistently. Square, Toast, and Shopify all support scheduled reports.