5 numbers a restaurant owner checks every day

A restaurant owner can open dozens of reports, but understanding a day takes five numbers. Together they answer one question: how much money came in, and where did it stay?

Here is each number, how to read it, and the point at which you should step in.

1. Daily revenue

The simplest number and the most often misread. The mistake is looking at a single day: "12 million UZS today, that is fine". One day shows nothing — weekdays differ by nature.

The right approach is to compare the same weekday: this Thursday against last Thursday and the one before. Three or four points already reveal a trend.

• Revenue down and check count down → guests are not coming (marketing, location, competition)
• Revenue down, check count unchanged → the average check dropped (see point 2)

So never read revenue alone. It always travels with the number of checks.

2. Average check

Average check = daily revenue ÷ number of closed checks

Example: 12,000,000 UZS ÷ 160 checks = 75,000 UZS.

This number reflects how well the floor works. If guest traffic is unchanged and the average check falls 10%, the cause is usually one of two: servers stopped suggesting extras, or guests moved to cheaper items.

It is far more useful broken down:

• by room (ground floor / first floor / summer terrace)
• by service type (dine-in / takeaway / delivery)
• by server — this is where the gap shows most clearly

If one server averages 95,000 and another 62,000, that is not talent — that is an untrained script. Showing the second one what to say is usually enough.

3. Food cost

The share of ingredient cost in revenue. It does not need to be calculated daily, but the owner should see it weekly — finding out at month end is too late.

Food cost % = (opening stock + purchases − closing stock) ÷ period revenue × 100

A workable range for most kitchens is 28-35%. What matters is not the absolute figure but the shift: 30% last week, 36% this week. If revenue held steady, those 6 points are profit that left the building. Look in two places: receiving (the weight actually delivered) and the kitchen (portion weight).

4. Cancelled dishes

The least reviewed and most informative number. Watch two things:

1. Total value of cancellations relative to the day's revenue. Above 1% deserves an explanation.
2. The stage of cancellation — was the dish cancelled before it went to the kitchen, or after it was cooked?

The difference is decisive. A cancellation in an unsent order is a server's mistake and costs nothing. A cancellation of a finished dish is wasted product, and it pushes food cost up.

Watch for clustering: if cancellations pile up in one shift, with one server, or at the end of the day, that is not chance. Every cancellation should be recorded with a reason and with who authorised it, otherwise the number tells you nothing.

5. Cash variance

The gap between the physical cash in the drawer and the system's expected figure at shift close.

Variance = counted cash − (opening float + cash sales + pay-ins − pay-outs)

Zero is the target. In practice small gaps happen (change, rounding). The rule that matters:

• A gap that leans the same way every day (always short) is a systemic problem
• A gap that appears only with one cashier is a people problem
• A large but erratic gap usually means pay-ins and pay-outs are not being recorded

Do not postpone it: variance can only be established at shift close — there is nothing to verify tomorrow.

A 10-minute daily routine

1. Yesterday's revenue — compared with the same weekday last week
2. Average check and check count — which of the two moved?
3. The cancellation list — read the reasons
4. Cash variance at shift close
5. Once a week — food cost and stock balance

These five numbers cross-check each other. Revenue down while check count is up means the average check fell. Food cost up with no waste recorded means the problem is at receiving. A single number can mislead you; five together cannot.

Collecting them by hand costs about an hour every day, which is why the job normally falls to the POS. In VKassa, for instance, all five are calculated automatically per shift and per operational day, so the owner can read them from a phone without visiting the venue.