Use sales and counts from the same orders
Here is a hypothetical example: 100 completed orders generate NOK 30 000 in sales excluding VAT. Discounts and refunds for these orders have been deducted.
The average order value is 30 000 / 100 = NOK 300.
A refund for an older order may be recorded in the same period. Leave it out when calculating the average for the 100 new orders.
Suppose all 100 orders could include a dip. A dip was purchased in 30 of them.
The share with a dip is 30 / 100 × 100 = 30 %.
If only 60 of the 100 orders could include a dip, but 30 still purchased one, the share is 30 / 60 × 100 = 50 %. Use the number of orders in which a dip was actually available when checking how many guests chose it.
Decide which figures to track
Use the same period, time zone and restaurants when comparing. Include the same ordering channels.
Distinguish the day the food is sold from the day the money is paid out.
Write down how you count cancellations and refunds. The table is a suggestion.
Adapt it to the reports you have and use the same calculation method from week to week.
| What are we tracking? | How we calculate it in this example |
|---|---|
| Sales excluding VAT | Sales excluding value added tax (VAT), after discounts and refunds recorded in the period. |
| Completed orders | Orders completed in the period. Cancellations and fully refunded orders are not included. |
| Average order value | Sales excluding VAT from the completed orders, after discounts and related refunds, divided by the number of those orders. |
| Share of orders with an add-on | Completed orders with a purchased add-on, divided by completed orders in which the guest could choose that add-on. |
| Amount left after costs per order | Sales minus the costs you have decided to include, divided by the number of orders those sales and costs relate to. Fixed costs are shown separately. |
| Time until food is ready | Time from receipt of the order until the entire order is ready. Look at typical and long waits as explained below. |
See what is left after costs
Decide which costs to deduct from sales. These may include ingredients, packaging, payment fees and ordering-service fees.
Include delivery and extra labour where relevant.
The amount left before fixed costs is called contribution. It is not profit.
Fixed costs allocated per order must be shown separately.
Also look at orders that take a long time
Look at how long guests usually wait and which orders take the longest.
The median is the waiting time in the middle when orders are sorted from the shortest to the longest wait. If there are two middle values, use their average.
The 90th percentile is a waiting time within which roughly nine out of ten orders are ready. It therefore tells you something about the longer waits.
Ask how the report calculates this figure.
Also look at individual orders that took unusually long. Investigate what happened during the shift.
See where your sales come from
Look at dine-in sales, takeaway and online ordering separately. Then look at the total.
Some online orders may previously have been placed by phone.
Increased sales may be due to new prices, longer opening hours or a promotion. They may also reflect guests buying different items.
Write down one explanation you want to investigate. Choose one change to try and agree on who will follow up.
Use the figures to make a specific task easier on the next shift.
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