POS (point of sale) Reports for your Catering Business

November 15, 2021 Edition

As we prepare to give thanks for earth's abundance, let's look at the abundance of information available in your POS reports to help you identify trends and make better business decisions.

Your POS system is command central of your business, the central repository of day-to-day information as well past business transactions.

Today we're going to look at three reports available with most POS systems and how you can use them to identify trends and make better business decisions.

SALES REPORTS

Sales are the life blood of your business. You need to track current and historical data to identify strengths and areas for improvement.

STRENGTH: Identify your most frequently ordered menu items; the big money-makers. Offer variations on these and complementary menu items to capitalize on customer interest.

IMPROVE: Remove the least selected items from your offerings to cut down on inventory costs. Replace them with other options to give customers a more positive ordering experience.

INVENTORY REPORTS

You want to fine-tune your inventory so that just like Goldilocks you have Not too much, Not too little, Just enough (even if porridge isn't on the menu).

STRENGTH: Identify your most-ordered items

IMPROVE: Include offerings that use rarely-ordered ingredients in novel ways. Offer promotions on these until your stock is used up.

CUSTOMER REPORTS

STRENGTH: Identify your repeat customers, the ones that keep your business going.

IMPROVE: Offer perks – to one-time customers to convert them to repeaters, to all customers for word-of-mouth referrals, and to new customers to keep them coming back for more.