What is point of sale report ?
The point of sale report is a type of retail industry report that may be used to track sales information. It is also called a sales figures report, itemized order report, or return policy report. The term 'point of sale' refers to the point at which a customer makes a purchase for an item. The point of sale can be in stores, over the phone, through websites, or even on social media.
5 Key Metrics Your Restaurant Point of Sale Report Should Analyze
What is a POS System?
Any large or small business needs a system which can help daily transactions for a smooth functioning of the workflow. A point of sale or POS system can help a retail business by automating and simplifying the daily operations.
A POS system is an end-to-end solution for restaurant management which can help restaurant owners or managers with order and table management, inventory management, employee management and customer relation management apart from payment processing.
It is a cloud based system that also offers integration with third party applications such as online ordering, loyalty programs, reduces manual labour and simplifies daily workflow in a restaurant.
A POS system should be user friendly, flexible and customisable. A POS software should have mobile app ordering features, security features to prevent data breaches and theft, good technical and customer support.
What Does a Restaurant POS System do?
A POS system is of great help in automating and simplifying the daily workflow of a restaurant operation, be it a quick service, fine dining or fast casual restaurant. Here are some of the ways a POS system can help the restaurant workflow-
1. Billing operations- A point of sale system can help a restaurant improve the billing process and enhance customer experience by allowing the customer to view the menu and pay the bill at the table itself which reduces the turnover time and increase customer satisfaction. A good POS software also allows for split billing.
2. Inventory management- A good inventory is the backbone of a smooth functioning restaurant. A business needs just enough stock to fulfil customer demands without tying up money and space to hold extra stock. A POS software sends you an alert whenever any item needs to ne reordered.
3. Better customer relationship management- A strong relationship with customers ensures that they come back again and again and this results in steady sales. With the help of POS system, you can manage your customer database and create customised marketing campaigns for the customer and build optimal loyalty programs.
4. Manage multiple locations- A restaurant POS system can help manage multiple locations and also help expand the business expansion by providing detailed sales reports, available stock and comparison of sales reports across all outlets. It can also help track trends in the market which can help you expand your business.
5. Real time reports- A restaurant POS system can provide you with real time POS reports which can help you track daily operations of your business. A cloud based POS system can provide detailed reports of operations across all outlets. A POS software also allows for customizing POS reports.
You run a great operation, but you now want to slice and dice your data for higher profits.
A point of sale report can give you that. All you need is a good POS system that can analyze your data the way you want it. This article rounds up options for you.
What is a Point of Sale Report?
A POS system can help a restaurant get detailed Business Analytics data on billing, inventory, sales and customers through its point of sale system. This is known as a POS report. A restaurant can get information on which menu items are best sellers, profit margins on popular dishes and even pilferage via the POS reports. POS reports are created using POS data which has been recorded by the system automatically. The POS reports can be used to analyze everything from sales to payroll and taxes. POS reports can help retailers in tracking revenue, analyzing sales, auditing employee performances and inventory orders. Here are some key insights gained from POS reporting-
POS reports help provide detailed insights into performance of your restaurant or retail store.
POS reports can give an overview of your sales data and inventory tracking.
POS reporting can help determine purchase orders, promotions and future growth prospects.
5 Metrics a POS Report Should Analyse
The POS system is a hub of information for the restaurant as it keeps track of sales data, inventory, menu and pricing and much more. The POS software make the POS data it available through easy-to-digest reports which are known as POS reports. Here are the key metrics that should be tracked on a regular basis and included in POS reporting-
Sales reports- A POS software can help track your sales data and restaurant's transactions which can help you optimize staffing and marketing decisions. A sales report includes detailedsales data which includes total sales totals, daily sales, sales classified by section, table, and category, sales via delivery apps, discounts and sales by wait staff. Thesales report can help you figure out which is the most profitable table and section and also which wait staff functions well under pressure which helps in staffing decisions, to inform seating and staffing assignments. Thesales data also helps figure out sales from takeouts which can be used to better promote those revenue streams.
Payments reports- POS reporting can also give you a better understanding of customers' preferred payment methods by providing POS data on payments and refunds, payments by section and credit card payments and refunds. This POS data can be used to understand customers' preferred payment methods and upgrade your process by offering mobile payments or find best deals on processing fees. Find out patterns for returns and ensure that the mistakes are not repeated.
Employee reports- A restaurant spends nearly 30% of its budget on its staff. POS reports can help keep your payroll costs in check and better staffing decisions. Point of sale data can help track employee shifts and hours, how much pay and tips they accrued, if they deleted any items from the order screen and value of those items and also how many times the cash drawer is opened for no sales'. The POS data helps you track tips and payment for tipped staff to cover difference between tipped minimum wage and untipped minimum wage. The POS reports also help identify if any staff members are stealing through deleted items and no sales reports.
Inventory reports- As discussed, a POS software helps automate a restaurant's inventory management function as POS reports can help you order the minimum required stock for daily operations. A POS report on inventory data helps you track how much of each inventory item you have in stock, a list of menu items, prices and their cost of production, cost of good sold and modifications required by customers and their frequency. The POS data is useful in knowing when to order new supplies, reduce over- and under-ordering, identify best selling items to help with decisions like promotions and menu management.
Customer reports- A POS report also helps a restaurant know its customers better by track their order history to find out what they ordered, who served them, the total spend and tips, reservations history and if they are a part of the loyalty program and how often they engage. The POS reporting can help create personalized marketing offers and improve the customer's experience.
Benefits of Implementing a Point of Sale Report
POS reports generated by POS systems are goldmine of information for restaurants or retail stores as the
Business Intelligence they provide can help make informed decisions which help the business to run smoothly and increase the revenue and profits. Here are some benefits of installing a POS system to run POS reports-
1. Help in staffing decisions- POS reports can help restaurant management identify staff who can perform well under pressure or have a talent for upselling. Such POS data can help a manager create better staff schedules like scheduling better performing employees during peak hours. The POS data can also help you determine how many employees are needed per shift and reduce labour costs by avoiding over- or understaffing.
2. Make purchasing decisions- As a POS system can automate inventory management for a restaurant the POS reports on inventory can help you place optimal purchase orders at the right time, preventing stockouts or getting stuck with obsolete or slow moving inventory.
3. Compare sales data- A POS system can help owners operate several restaurants or retail stores and track sales by comparing location based performance which help in making sales and marketing decisions. POS reports comparing store performance can also help figure out staff you need based on demand.
4. Improve marketing strategy- POS data from a POS software can help you improve marketing and outreach campaigns which will ensure you target the right customers. The built in customer management tools can give insights about customers and their purchasing decisions and histories which can help plan promotion and marketing campaigns.
5. Help growth plan- A POS software can help you not only retain old customers but also bring in new ones. POS data can help gauge how well the system works. If there are less repeat customers it may mean that you need to focus on improving products and customer service you provide. If you have a lot of repeat customers, it may be a sign you need to innovate to get new customers.
Your restaurant is experiencing a decline in sales and you're not sure why.
It’s time you paid closer attention to your point of sale report. This article tells you why it’s important and how it can change your business.
3 POS Software Solutions With Superior Analytics
We have discussed how a point of sale system is the core for any business like a restaurant or a retail store to function smoothly. A sleek and user-friendly POS software is necessary to provide a smooth purchasing process and can change a customer's perception of a business. Here are some top software options which provide best analytics and POS reports to help efficient business management.
1. PlumPOS by Hubworks- PlumPOS is an feature rich app in the Hubworks business management app store. Plum POS collects POS data and produces real time analytics and POS reports that can be used to view sales performance, predict customer foot traffic and reduce operating costs. The POS software can also simplify online ordering and delivery, create promotions and loyalty programs and payments via QR code or credit card. The POS software offers ease of integration with other applications like tools for staff scheduling, inventory management and more.
2. Toast POS- The POS software helps identify trends with a well-designed POS reporting platform. It can compare sales across multiple locations in a single report and also sends a daily report of key business metrics directly to your email address.
3. TouchBistro- The POS system provides insights on customer behavior and spending patterns to help you make informed decisions about how to increase profits. The POS reports help you track staff performance and manage scheduling and promotions.
POS System FAQs
What are the uses of a POS system?
A restaurant can use a POS software to-
Manage the online store from the terminal as all data can be accessed from one place
Generate POS reports and send them directly accounting software
Create a customer loyalty program to offer rewards/incentives to customers to encourage continued business.
Store all data securely on the cloud which can provide 24/7 remote access to your system and adds a layer of protection.
What is the cost of POS system?
One should ensure that the point of sale system a restaurant opts for is suited for their business needs. A POS software will cost between $79 - $150 per month and the restaurant has to pay one-time fixed cost for hardware with options that start at $799. It can cost around $1,400 per terminal bundle which has terminal, case, stand, credit card reader, receipt printer, cash drawer and cabling.
You’re in the market for a point of sale system, but you’re not sure how to go about buying one.
Opt for a system that can produce actionable point of sale reports. These will help you stem your losses and raise profits. Here’s where you can learn more about them.