Reporting, labor and menu engineering

Most POS systems offer dozens of reports. Owners who get value from them usually read four or five, at the same time each day or week, and act on what changes. This guide covers which reports to read, how labor and scheduling fit in, and how to use sales data to engineer your menu.

The daily five

1. Sales summary: net sales, guest count, average check, by daypart.
2. Payments: card, cash, gift card and online, and the cash count against expected.
3. Labor: hours and cost as a share of sales.
4. Exceptions: voids, comps, refunds and discounts, by employee and manager.
5. Top and bottom items: what sold and what didn't.

Read them on your phone at the same time every morning. A number that moves is worth a question; a number that doesn't can wait.

Labor as a share of sales

Labor percentage is labor cost divided by sales for the same period. The POS calculates it if staff clock in and out on it and pay rates are entered.

A Tuesday with $4,200 in sales and 70 staff hours at an average $15 an hour has $1,050 of labor, 25% of sales. A Saturday with $9,800 in sales and 120 hours has $1,800 of labor, about 18%. Comparing days shows where the schedule doesn't match the business.

Time clock and scheduling

• Clock-in at the POS with individual PINs, with breaks recorded.
• Schedules built from forecast sales by day and hour.
• Alerts before an employee reaches overtime. Federal law requires overtime pay "for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay", and some states add daily overtime rules.
• Shift swaps and time-off requests on staff phones.
• An export of hours and tips for payroll.

Payroll inside the POS

Some vendors sell payroll that uses the POS's hours and tips directly. Published examples, checked October 1, 2026: Square Payroll from $35 a month plus $6 per person paid, and a Toast payroll bundle at $69 a month plus $9 per employee. Compare with your current payroll provider, and check that tips and service charges are handled the way your accountant needs. See the tip management guide.

Menu engineering with the menu-mix report

Menu engineering sorts items by two measures: how many sell (popularity) and how much each earns after ingredient cost (contribution margin). Four groups result:

A burger sells 400 a month at $15 with $5 of ingredients ($10 margin each, $4,000 a month). A salmon dish sells 90 at $26 with $11 of ingredients ($15 margin each, $1,350). The salmon earns more per plate but sells less: a candidate to promote. A pasta selling 350 at $14 with $7 of ingredients earns $7 each: popular but lower margin, a candidate for re-pricing.

The POS supplies counts and prices; ingredient costs come from recipes. See inventory and waste.

Upselling and seasonal menus

• Suggested add-ons on the order screen and kiosk, tracked in reports, show which suggestions guests accept.
• Seasonal items with start and end dates go on and off the menu automatically.
• Compare a seasonal item's sales with the item it replaced before deciding to keep it.

Exceptions: voids, comps and refunds

Exception reports by employee and manager are where shrinkage shows up. A void after the kitchen has made the food, or a refund at the end of a shift, deserves a reason and an approval. Look for patterns over weeks, not single events.

What to ask in a demo

1. Can I see yesterday's five key numbers on my phone in one screen?
2. Does the time clock calculate labor percentage by hour?
3. Does it warn before overtime?
4. Can I export a menu-mix report with item cost?

For several locations, see multi-location.