Daily reports are meant to give you control, not eat up your time. Many restaurant owners make them too detailed and don't read them because of it. In this article you'll learn how to get all the crucial figures you need for good decisions in just 5 minutes a day.
Focus on the 5 key figures
A good daily report contains a maximum of 5 figures. No more. These figures should tell you directly whether your day went well and where you need to take action.
💡 Example daily report (5 lines):
- Revenue: €2.840 (last week: €2.650) ✅
- Covers: 87 (last week: 82) ✅
- Average check: €32,60 (last week: €32,30) ✅
- Food cost: 31% (budget: 29%) ⚠️
- Waste: €45 (last week: €28) ⚠️
Action: Check why food cost and waste are higher.
Always compare with last week
Figures on their own say little. Is €2.840 in revenue good or bad? You only know that if you compare it with the same day last week. Not with yesterday (different day of the week), not with last month (different season).
⚠️ Note:
Never compare a Tuesday with a Saturday. Compare Tuesday with Tuesday from last week. That's how you see if you're growing or shrinking.
Use colors and symbols
Make your report visual. Green for good, orange for attention, red for alarm. That way you see at a glance where your attention needs to go.
- Green (✅): Figure better than last week
- Orange (⚠️): Figure 5-10% worse than last week
- Red (🚨): Figure more than 10% worse than last week
Automate where possible
The less you have to fill in manually, the greater the chance you'll stick with it. Many POS systems can automatically send revenue and covers. Food cost and waste usually still need to be tracked manually.
💡 Example automation:
From POS system (automatic):
- Revenue: €2.840
- Covers: 87
- Average check: €32,60
Fill in manually (2 minutes):
- Waste: €45
- Notes: New wine sold out
One action per day
A good daily report always ends with one concrete action. Not three, not five. One. Otherwise nothing happens. This action should be something you can do tomorrow.
- Good: "Check why we had €45 in waste"
- Good: "Order extra wine, new one is popular"
- Wrong: "Improve everything" (too vague)
- Wrong: "Check food cost, waste and suppliers" (too much)
Keep it in one system
Don't write on loose papers or in different Excel files. Use one system where you can find everything. In a month you'll want to see how your performance is developing.
💡 Example trend analysis:
After 4 weeks you see patterns:
- Tuesday: always low revenue, but good margin
- Friday: high revenue, but lots of waste
- Saturday: top day, everything runs perfectly
Action: Focus marketing on Tuesday, better planning Friday.
How do you create a powerful daily report? (step by step)
Choose your 5 key figures
Determine which 5 figures are most important for your business. Usually these are: revenue, covers, average check, food cost and waste. More than 5 becomes confusing.
Set up a template
Create a fixed format with your 5 figures, space for last week for comparison, and colors/symbols for status. That way you don't have to think about the layout every day.
Automate what you can
Connect your POS system for revenue and covers. Calculate average check automatically. Only track food cost and waste manually - that takes 2 minutes a day.
Compare with last week
Put the figure from the same day last week next to each number. Use colors: green for better, orange for 5-10% worse, red for more than 10% worse.
Determine one action
Look at the orange and red figures. Choose the most important problem and write down one concrete action you can do tomorrow. No more than one action per day.
✨ Pro tip
Always read your daily report out loud to yourself. If you stumble over sentences or figures, it's too complicated. A good report is understood by everyone in 30 seconds.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
How much time should a daily report take?
Maximum 5 minutes a day. If it takes longer, you're making it too complicated. Focus on the 5 most important figures and automate where possible.
Which day should I compare with?
Always with the same day from last week. So Tuesday with Tuesday, not with yesterday. That's how you see real trends and not just daily differences.
What if I don't have time for a daily report?
Then your system is too complicated. A good daily report actually saves you time because you spot and solve problems faster. Start with 3 figures instead of 5.
Do I need to track each dish separately?
No, for your daily report total food cost is enough. You check individual dishes weekly or monthly. Daily is too much detail.
What if my figures are different every day?
That's normal. Look at trends over several weeks, not daily fluctuations. A rise over 3 days in a row is more interesting than one outlier.
Can I do this manually or do I need software?
You can do it manually, but software like KitchenNmbrs makes it easier. You get automatic calculations and can view trends over weeks without Excel hassle.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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