The Restaurant Owner's Guide to Daily Sales Reporting (Without Expensive Software)

Description and use

Step‑by‑step recipe for building a daily sales report for a restaurant using a 50‑line Python script, replacing a costly SaaS.

Problem

Restaurant POS reporting tools are slow, irrelevant, and lack target comparison, costing owners $200/month for reports that could be generated with a simple script.

Outcome

Owners receive a concise daily report matching their 7‑number checklist, eliminating a $200/month SaaS and providing real‑time target comparison.

Workflow

• Export daily POS data as CSV
• Run restaurant_daily_report.py with config file
• Script parses CSV, aggregates sales, calculates metrics (total sales, category breakdown, labor % , avg check, customer count, variance, week‑over‑week)
• Email report to owners via SMTP

Evidence

Most restaurant POS systems charge $200/month for reports you can generate with a 50-line Python script.

Source

They saved $2,400/year and got reports that actually match their workflow.

Source