POS Reports Explained: How to Read Them and Which Ones Actually Matter
The Rezku Team
POS Reports Explained: How to Read Them and Which Ones Actually Matter
Point of sale reporting isn’t about useless paperwork—it’s about having control. Restaurants generate mountains of important data, but only a small percentage of operators truly use POS reports to actively govern labor, menu performance, and revenue leakage.
The difference between a struggling restaurant and a profitable one is rarely a matter of effort. It’s clarity of data. POS reports turn daily transactions into operational signals that tell you where to lean in, where to pull back, and where money is quietly escaping.
This guide breaks down which POS reports matter, how to read them, and—most importantly—what decisions they’re meant to drive.
POS Reporting Starts With the Right Question
Most operators make the same mistake: they open a report and ask, “What does this say?”
The better question is, “What decision is this report supposed to inform?”
Good point of sale reporting supports five core operational decisions:
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Where revenue is actually coming from
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Which menu items deserve to exist
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How much labor each hour of sales can support
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Whether discounts and comps are controlled—or abused
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Where process breakdowns are happening before they become losses
If a POS report doesn’t help answer one of those, it’s noise.
The 5 POS Reports Every Operator Should Review Weekly
Modern POS systems generate dozens of reports. Only a handful should command your attention every week.
1. Sales Summary Report
Decision it supports: Are sales trends healthy—or drifting?
This is your top-line reality check. It shows gross sales, net sales, guest counts, taxes, and tips across days and shifts.
How to read it:
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Compare week-over-week, not just day-to-day
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Watch guest count trends separately from revenue
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Look for consistent underperforming days, not one-offs
Action to take:
If Tuesdays are consistently soft, that’s not a mystery—it’s a planning opportunity. Adjust hours, promotions, or staffing to match reality.
2. Product Mix (PMIX) Report
Decision it supports: Which menu items are earning their keep?
The PMIX report shows what’s selling, how often, and how much revenue each item generates. On its own, it shows popularity. Paired with food cost, it shows profitability.
How to read it:
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Sort by quantity sold, then by revenue
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Flag high-volume items with low contribution
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Identify items that sell rarely but carry strong margins
Action to take:
Every menu item should justify itself. Promote high-margin under-performers. Rework or remove items that sell poorly and cost money to prep, stock, and train around.
3. Labor Report
Decision it supports: Are you staffing for sales—or for comfort?
Labor is the largest controllable expense in a restaurant. POS labor reports connect hours worked directly to revenue earned.
Key metrics to focus on:
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Labor Cost Percentage = Total labor ÷ total sales
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Sales Per Labor Hour (SPLH) = Total sales ÷ total labor hours
How to read it:
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Review by hour, not just by day
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Look for overstaffed slow periods
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Compare SPLH across shifts and roles
Action to take:
If SPLH collapses during specific windows, the schedule—not the staff—is the problem. Adjust start times, use split shifts, or reduce overlap.
4. Payment Summary Report
Decision it supports: Are transactions settling cleanly—and predictably?
This report shows how guests pay: cash, card types, gift cards, and digital wallets. It’s critical for reconciliation and fee awareness.
How to read it:
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Watch for sudden shifts in payment mix
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Compare expected vs actual cash totals
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Track processing fee exposure over time
Action to take:
Unexplained cash drops or irregular payment patterns should trigger a process review—not assumptions.
5. Void and Discount Report
Decision it supports: Are controls working—or being bypassed?
This is one of the most underused POS reports and one of the most valuable. It tracks voids, comps, and discounts by employee, time, and reason.
How to read it:
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Look for patterns, not single events
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Compare activity during peak vs slow hours
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Watch repeat behavior tied to specific users
Action to take:
High void or discount rates usually signal training gaps or permission creep. Address it early with data-backed conversations.
How to Use POS Reports to Engineer a More Profitable Menu
POS reporting becomes powerful when PMIX data is combined with plate costs.
This allows menu items to be classified into four operational categories:
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High profit / High popularity → protect and feature
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High profit / Low popularity → reposition or promote
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Low profit / High popularity → optimize ingredients or pricing
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Low profit / Low popularity → remove
What operators miss:
Keeping a low-performing item doesn’t just cost margin—it increases inventory complexity, prep time, training overhead, and waste.
Small changes compound. A $0.25 improvement on a high-volume item can translate into thousands annually.
Using POS Reports to Control Labor—Without Burning Out Staff
POS labor data removes emotion from scheduling decisions.
Instead of reacting to how busy a shift felt, reports show:
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Exactly when sales spike
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How long demand actually lasts
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Which roles generate the most revenue per hour
Modern POS platforms like Rezku surface hourly sales trends and integrate with scheduling tools so labor plans are built from real demand, not habit.
Result: Fewer frantic shifts, fewer dead hours, and more predictable margins.
POS Reports as an Early Warning System
Some of the most valuable POS insights aren’t about sales—they’re about risk.
Red flags worth monitoring weekly:
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Excessive voids tied to one employee
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Discounts clustered during peak hours
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Frequent “no-sale” drawer opens
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Consistent over/short cash patterns
These aren’t accusations. They’re signals. POS reporting gives operators the ability to intervene early, before small leaks become material losses.
How Often Should POS Reports Be Reviewed?
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Daily: Sales summary and cash-out
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Weekly: Sales, PMIX, labor, payment, void/discount
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Monthly: Trend analysis and year-over-year comparison
The goal isn’t more reporting—it’s tighter feedback loops.
The One POS Metric That Matters Most
If only one metric could be monitored, it should be labor cost percentage.
Labor expands instantly when sales dip. POS reporting is the only way to keep that relationship balanced in real time. Restaurants that actively manage labor with POS data survive downturns and scale faster during growth.
Final Takeaway
POS reports aren’t accounting artifacts. They are operational controls.
When used correctly, point of sale reporting replaces guesswork with governance—over menus, labor, staff performance, and revenue integrity. The restaurants that win aren’t drowning in data; they’re decisive because they know which numbers matter and what to do next.
A POS system that makes these reports accessible, clear, and actionable—like Rezku—turns reporting from an afterthought into a competitive advantage.
POS Reporting FAQ
What are POS reports?
POS reports are structured summaries of transaction data captured by a point of sale system. They show sales, labor, payments, discounts, and employee activity in formats designed to support operational decisions—not just accounting. When used correctly, POS reports function as control mechanisms for labor, menu performance, and revenue leakage.
What point of sale reports do restaurant owners actually need?
Most restaurants only need to master five core POS reports:
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Sales Summary
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Product Mix (PMIX)
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Labor
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Payment Summary
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Void and Discount
These reports answer the majority of operational questions around revenue, staffing, menu performance, and loss prevention. Everything else is secondary until these are understood and used consistently.
How do you read POS reports if you’re not “good with numbers”?
Reading POS reports isn’t about math—it’s about comparison. Focus on changes over time rather than absolute values. Compare week-over-week sales, labor percentages by hour, and item performance across periods. If a number moves consistently in one direction, it’s signaling a decision that needs to be made.
How often should POS reports be reviewed?
POS reports should be reviewed on a set cadence:
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Daily for cash reconciliation and sales totals
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Weekly for sales trends, PMIX, labor efficiency, and loss controls
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Monthly for long-term performance and year-over-year comparisons
Waiting until the end of the month to review POS data removes your ability to correct issues while they’re still small.
What is the difference between a sales report and a product mix (PMIX) report?
A sales report shows total revenue over a period. A PMIX report breaks that revenue down by individual menu items. Sales reports tell you how much you made; PMIX reports tell you what made it—and whether it was profitable.
What POS report helps reduce labor costs the most?
The labor report, when viewed alongside hourly sales data, has the biggest impact on labor control. Metrics like labor cost percentage and sales per labor hour reveal overstaffing and inefficient scheduling patterns that aren’t visible from total hours alone.
Can POS reports help prevent employee theft?
Yes. Void, discount, and cash drawer reports act as an internal audit trail. While a single void or comp is normal, repeated patterns tied to specific employees or shifts often indicate training gaps or control issues that should be addressed early.
What is a “good” labor cost percentage?
Most full-service and quick-service restaurants aim for a labor cost percentage between 25% and 35%, depending on concept and service model. The exact target matters less than consistency and responsiveness—POS reporting allows operators to adjust staffing as sales fluctuate.
Why do POS reports look different across systems?
Not all POS systems structure reports the same way. Some prioritize accounting exports, while others are built for operational decision-making. POS platforms designed for restaurant operations, like Rezku, organize reports around actionable metrics rather than raw data dumps.
What should I do if my POS has too many reports?
Ignore most of them. Start with the core five and build the habit of reviewing them weekly. Once decisions are being made confidently from those reports, additional reports can be layered in selectively—only if they answer a specific operational question.
Is Rezku the POS system you’ve been searching for?
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