Four logins before the first coffee
The owner wants to know how Saturday went. Takings are in the till's back office. Covers and no-shows are in the booking system. Labour hours are in the rota tool. Tips and card settlements are in the card provider's portal. Each needs a login, and each shows its figures in its own way, for its own date range.
On a busy week, the owner checks one or two of them and gets a partial picture. Problems, such as a night where labour was high against takings, or a run of no-shows, show up only at month end.
The numbers exist, they just are not together
Each of your systems does its own job well. None of them is designed to show you the whole night. The useful numbers, spend per head, labour against sales, covers against bookings, need figures from more than one system, so they are rarely worked out.
- Takings are in the till, covers in the booking system, hours in the rota.
- Useful ratios need figures from two or more systems.
- Each system has its own login and reporting screens.
- Nothing flags an unusual night; you have to go looking.
A worked example: a Wednesday has decent takings, which looks fine in the till. But the rota shows the floor was fully staffed for a quiet book, and three tables no-showed. Labour against takings was poor. None of the three systems on its own would have shown that.
What not seeing the whole night costs
Decisions about staffing, deposits, menus and opening hours are made on a feeling rather than figures. Problems run for weeks before anyone sees them. The owner spends time pulling reports when they do look, and often does not look at all.
Managers are in the same position: they cannot see how their shifts compare, so they cannot improve them.
Owners who are away from the restaurant feel it most. On a day off or a holiday, the only way to know how things are going is to ring the manager, who has to stop what they are doing and look things up in the same four places. A short summary arriving by itself answers the question without the call.
How we build a morning summary
- We connect to your till or EPOS, reservations system, rota tool and card provider through their APIs or scheduled exports.
- Each morning, last night's figures are pulled and combined: covers, takings, spend per head, food and drink split, labour hours and cost, no-shows and cancellations, tips.
- Ratios you care about are calculated, such as labour against takings and covers against booked.
- The summary is sent by email or shown on a phone page, with the same night last week and the average for that day alongside.
- Anything outside the range you set, such as labour high against takings or a run of no-shows, is highlighted.
- A weekly and monthly view builds up from the same data, for trends and your accountant.
| Number | Source | Compared with |
|---|---|---|
| Covers and no-shows | Booking system | Same night last week |
| Takings and spend per head | Till | Average for that day |
| Labour hours and cost | Rota or time clock | Takings for the night |
| Card tips and settlements | Card provider | Till figures |
What the numbers mean for your business, and what to do about them, is your call. The summary puts them in one place.
A morning with the full picture
The owner reads one short summary with their coffee, sees what went well and what did not, and asks the right question of the right person. Managers get the same summary for their shifts. Trends are visible week by week, not only at month end.
If a system changes, such as a new till, only the connection to it changes; the summary stays the same.
Signs you need a morning summary
- Checking last night means logging into several systems.
- Spend per head and labour against takings are rarely worked out.
- Problems show up at month end.
- Managers do not see how their shifts compare.
- You make staffing decisions on feel.