What is sales report ?
Sales reports are a regular report that give business owners a detailed breakdown of revenue and expenses over a period of time. They can also help with forecasting future revenue and expenses to be able to make better decisions. By looking at how much profit is generated, business owners can decide if it's worth the cost to keep running their company.
5 Benefits of Using Restaurant Management Software to Generate Sales Reports
What is a Sales Report?
A sales report is a document that summarizes the sales activities of a business. It includes information on sales volume, new accounts, leads, costs, and revenue for a given time period.
Sales reports provide insights into the sales performance of businesses, predict future sales, the success/failure of sales pitches, and also provide an understanding of the performance of the sales reps and agents in terms of the calls made and proposals sent.
Sales reporting information gathered, for instance, from the point of sale (POS) system may be used to identify the overall sales trends of the industry so that the organization can undertake measures to improve its performance in relation to its competitors.
Sales data provide a business with an in-depth appraisal of its sales methodology, sales approach, and other growth initiatives, and help in the identification of areas of improvement. Sales data, therefore, give a fillip to prudent decision-making by businesses.
Types of Restaurant Sales to Consider When Drawing up Sales Reports
1. Dine-in sales- This involves selling food and beverages to patrons who visit the restaurant, leaf through the paper or digital menu card, and place orders for plated, sit-down a la carte meals served by waiters or may choose a buffet style of dining in which food is placed in a public place for the guests to serve themselves. Every sale of food or beverage is recorded in the POS system, and this data can be used to draw up sales reports.
2. Catering sales- Today, restaurant owners are increasingly looking to catch business opportunities beyond their dining rooms. Catering for parties and get-togethers on the occasion of weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, or business conferences, luncheons, and holiday gatherings is one such opportunity.
Catering by restaurants can be both on-premise and/or off-premise. Under the former, customers gather in the restaurant for the special occasion, while under off-site catering, restaurants take the food either to their customers' homes or to a location that does not serve food. In both cases, the menu would be pre-decided and the responsibility for payment rests with one individual/family or company.
3. Online sales- Online food ordering has become more and more popular in the wake of the Covid pandemic with customers feeling safer taking delivery of food in their homes.
A customer may opt for online ordering and delivery through the restaurant's website, app, or third-party platforms like Chowly, UberEats, GrubHub, DoorDash, PostMates, and others. Often POS systems are integrated with the ability to accept online orders. Payment for online orders may either be in cash or through debit/credit cards.
Papa John's was one of the first foodservice businesses in the US to set up its online systems to accept and deliver food.
4. Curbside pickup sales- Food may also be ordered online and parcels may be picked up from the restaurant by the customers themselves. Curbside pickup involves a restaurant employee bringing the food parcel directly to the customer, who is waiting in his/her car parked in the curb in the front of the restaurant or another designated pickup area.
You're not getting the sales reports you need because it's too time-consuming to create them manually.
Restaurant management software is a great option for restaurants that want to maintain accurate, actionable sales reports.
How Often Should Sales Reports be Created?
Sales data should be tracked at regular and frequent intervals to evaluate sales performance and identify and address problem areas. Often the faster an issue gets reported the faster it gets resolved.
Real-time sales reporting becomes important when the organization wants to track key performance indicators (KPIs) like calls made and sales closed by a sales rep. This is needed for immediate decisions and actions and is used to push employees if they fall short of their targets.
Sales reports may also be created and tracked on an hourly or a daily basis. While hourly reports help an organization stay in tune with its daily targets, the organization must opt for daily reports when it has to monitor progressive sales against a monthly target.
The company cannot wait till the end of the month to generate and view this report, because it may find that it had missed the monthly target by a huge margin with no time left to salvage the situation. Daily reports would, however, have allowed the organization to strike while the iron was hot so to speak.
A company can also have a weekly sales report or a monthly sales report, but the higher the reporting frequency the more agile the organization is.
Why are Sales Reports Important?
1. Sales reports help in shortening the sales funnel or the customer's journey from the early brand discovery to the final purchase of the product or service. Sales reports provide feedback on the sales leads and their quality.
Indeed not all leads are worth the organization's time. Some of the leads' contact/response rates may be lower than those of others, and there may be sources that repeatedly bring in low-quality leads.
With the feedback generated by sales reports, the organization would get rich data to prioritize high-quality channels/leads/queries, alert sales teams regarding possible leakage in terms of assigned and contacted leads and recommend increasing/lowering of budgets for various channels.
2. Sales reports produce critical business intelligence reporting data that provide sales managers detailed actionable insights on various questions like who the regular customers are, how many prospects are there in the pipeline, what the state of cash flow is, which areas of the business generate the biggest revenue, what issues are the sales team concentrating on, which were the busier/slower business days of the month, what lags are to be amended, and so on.
This information allows a sales manager to make strong business decisions, monitor the organization's performance and customer base, and identify and solve problems before they get out of hand.
3. Reports on employee performance sets standards that the sales reps should be aiming to attain, and when performance is linked to rewards, employees can be motivated to up their game. This results in greater productivity of the sales team and higher total sales volume.
4. Sales reports help an organization in making its sales process and products more focused, saving time and resources in the bargain.
For example, sales reports would tell a business owner which leads need not be cultivated because their response rates may be abysmal, and which are the leads that are high-value ones and must be pursued at all costs. Sales reports also reveal the organization's loyal customers, who can then be targeted with promotions and rewards.
How was a Restaurant's Sales Performance Traditionally Tracked?
For a business that has not yet adopted sales management software, sales tracking spreadsheets may work just fine. A rudimentary sales report template is an ideal fit, especially for a small business whose sales volume is low, the sales team is small, and cash flow is limited.
Spreadsheets are simple representations of the sales process and bring reports together in one place. Spreadsheet-based sales tracking can also be customized fully to the needs of the customers, and a spreadsheet is easy to manage when the sales volume is less.
The Daily Planner Template, Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, Weekly Sales Activity Report, Marketing and Sales Lead Goal Calculator, Sales Leads Template, and the Sales Tracker Template are some of the sales activity tracking spreadsheets that businesses can look at.
The flip side of using spreadsheets to track sales reports is that they need a great deal of manual management. Moreover, the insights produced are very basic in nature and it is also hard to share documents with multiple users.
Restaurant owners want to know how to improve profits, but without proper sales records it's not easy for them to identify areas that need improvement.
With the right software you can maintain records and create sales reports that are actionable and accurate.
5 Benefits of Tracking a Restaurant's Sales Performance with Software
1. High-quality data- A restaurant sales software like Zip POS Dashboard, which is available on the Hubworks app store, helps in consolidating the POS data and drawing meaningful insights.
Information on metrics like net sales, sales per labor hour, and so on have to be interpreted to allow robust decision-making to grow the business.
The Zip POS Dashboard software provided by Hubworks includes hourly, daily, weekly, monthly and yearly reports, automatically-generated graphs and charts, and KPI in considerable detail. These reports can be interpreted by the business owners to make smarter decisions.
2. Real-time reporting and analysis- A restaurant management software gives users real-time and instant access to a wide range of data gathered from the POS system.
The performance of the restaurant can be tracked by the business owner in real-time using a cloud-based platform like Zip POS Dashboard, even when the entrepreneur is miles away from his restaurant.
If the entrepreneur runs stores across multiple locations, data tracking can be done without the entrepreneur having to visit every store. Mobile apps allow reports to be accessed and analyzed anytime on the go, using a handheld device.
3. Eliminates error- By fully automating the data reporting and analysis processes, restaurant management software eliminates errors that a manual process may bring in. For instance, the restaurant's inventory updates automatically as sales are entered into the POS system. This is a foolproof process, but manual stock-taking inherently carries the risk of the calculation going awry.
4. Saves data history- A restaurant management software like Zip POS Dashboard stores information in the cloud, which can be retrieved as and when required. The sales and transaction data stays secure even if a file is damaged, lost, deleted by mistake, or if the system crashes. Any amount of information can be processed by cloud-based systems without the information being distorted or lost.
5. Saves time and effort- A restaurant management software ensures that the generation of a point of sale report is an automatic process. This prevents tracking of sales from becoming tedious, cumbersome, and boring. Also, reports can be seen and analysis made quickly with the help of built-in aids like data visualization tools. Automatic reporting and analysis liberate the restaurant employees to focus on customer service.
Sales Management FAQs
1. What is a sales funnel?
Sales funnel refers to a visual representation of a customer's journey from the initial brand discovery to the final purchase of a product or service. In other words, a sales funnel depicts the sales process from awareness to action.
2. What is meant by cold calling?
Cold calling refers to a call made to identify and contact prospective clients/customers with whom the sales representatives have had no earlier interaction. The sales agent making the call speaks to the customers to know their requirements and try to convince them about how the company can address those requirements. Cold calling typically entails solicitation by phone or telemarketing, but may also involve in-person visits.
3. What is the difference between upselling and cross-selling?
Upselling refers to the practice of persuading customers to purchase a comparable upscale product, while cross-selling encourages customers to buy complementary or related items. Therefore, when a sales rep manages to convince a customer, who had just selected a mobile phone, to instead buy a model that is more expensive and has greater features, that is upselling. However, simply encouraging the customer to buy a protective case along with the phone is an example of cross-selling.
4. What are the three key elements of sales management?
The three main aspects of sales management are sales operations, sales strategy, and sales analysis.
5. What does setting sales quotas entail?
Once sales objectives, processes, and the strategy to get leads are identified, sales quotas have to be set. It entails specifying activities like the number of calls to be made or emails to be sent during a particular period of time. Sales quotas may also be performance-based, with minimum requirements fixed for revenue or deals that must be produced. With the help of sales quotas production requirements are assigned for incentivizing individual performance and for fixing accountability for sales agents.
Without the right sales records, it’s hard to know what’s working and what isn’t.
Restaurant management software will generate sales reports that help you make the improvements your business needs.
Point of sale report
5 Key Metrics Your Restaurant Point of Sale Report Should Analyze
Business intelligence reporting
Business Intelligence Reporting- What is it and Why it Matters
Frequently Asked Questions
How is sales report done?
Sales reports are important to companies because they provide managers with a way to monitor sales data and identify trends. They also provide relevant information for marketing strategy. If you're not familiar with what a sales report is, here's a brief overview. Sales reports are produced from customer order data and other financial transactions. They give managers access to information about their company's customers, such as the number of units sold or average order size. It is important to remember that these numbers can be used in many different ways--some of which may be contradictory--so keep this in mind when looking at your own sales report.Sales reports are important to companies because they provide managers with a way to monitor sales data and identify trends. They also provide relevant information for marketing strategy. If you're not familiar with what a sales report is, here's a brief overview. Sales reports are produced from customer order data and other financial transactions. They give managers access to information about their company's customers, such as the number of units sold or average order size. It is important to remember that these numbers can be used in many different ways--some of which may be contradictory--so keep this in mind when looking at your own sales report.Sales reports are important to companies because they provide managers with a way to monitor sales data and identify trends. They also provide relevant information for marketing strategy. If you're not familiar with what a sales report is, here's a brief overview. Sales reports are produced from customer order data and other financial transactions. They give managers access to information about their company's customers, such as the number of units sold or average order size. It is important to remember that these numbers can be used in many different ways--some of which may be contradictory--so keep this in mind when looking at your own sales report.Sales reports are important to companies because they provide managers with a way to monitor sales data and identify trends. They also provide relevant information for marketing strategy. If you're not familiar with what a sales report is, here's a brief overview. Sales reports are produced from customer order data and other financial transactions. They give managers access to information about their company's customers, such as the number of units sold or average order size. It is important to remember that these numbers can be used in many different ways--some of which may be contradictory--so keep this in mind when looking at your own sales report.
What are the important of sales report?
It is important for every company to have a sales report. This is because it helps the company identify what products are performing well, which might need a change in marketing strategy. It also helps with planning and forecasting, as well as identifying where there may be opportunities for growth. It's important to review the data each month and see how you can improve your current strategy and plan accordingly. A good sales report will show the business's progress, but it won't be able to predict everything that could happen in the future.It is important for every company to have a sales report. This is because it helps the company identify what products are performing well, which might need a change in marketing strategy. It also helps with planning and forecasting, as well as identifying where there may be opportunities for growth. It's important to review the data each month and see how you can improve your current strategy and plan accordingly. A good sales report will show the business's progress, but it won't be able to predict everything that could happen in the future.It is important for every company to have a sales report. This is because it helps the company identify what products are performing well, which might need a change in marketing strategy. It also helps with planning and forecasting, as well as identifying where there may be opportunities for growth. It's important to review the data each month and see how you can improve your current strategy and plan accordingly. A good sales report will show the business's progress, but it won't be able to predict everything that could happen in the future.It is important for every company to have a sales report. This is because it helps the company identify what products are performing well, which might need a change in marketing strategy. It also helps with planning and forecasting, as well as identifying where there may be opportunities for growth. It's important to review the data each month and see how you can improve your current strategy and plan accordingly. A good sales report will show the business's progress, but it won't be able to predict everything that could happen in the future.
What are sales reports called?
Sales reports are also referred to as sales information, when you're in the business world. They tell a company about its sales, profits, and loss for a given period of time. There are many different types of reports that can be created by using the data available to a business. Sales reports include transactional reports, inventory control reports, production reports, and financial reports.Sales reports are also referred to as sales information, when you're in the business world. They tell a company about its sales, profits, and loss for a given period of time. There are many different types of reports that can be created by using the data available to a business. Sales reports include transactional reports, inventory control reports, production reports, and financial reports.Sales reports are also referred to as sales information, when you're in the business world. They tell a company about its sales, profits, and loss for a given period of time. There are many different types of reports that can be created by using the data available to a business. Sales reports include transactional reports, inventory control reports, production reports, and financial reports.Sales reports are also referred to as sales information, when you're in the business world. They tell a company about its sales, profits, and loss for a given period of time. There are many different types of reports that can be created by using the data available to a business. Sales reports include transactional reports, inventory control reports, production reports, and financial reports.