What is a restaurant daily sales report?
It is the end-of-day record that compares recorded sales with the money and payment confirmations received. A useful report is more than a total: it separates cash, M-Pesa, card, credit, discounts, refunds, expenses and unresolved differences.
The owner should be able to read it without asking the cashier to reconstruct the day from memory. Use the same headings every day, even on quiet days.
A worked example in KES
Suppose the POS shows KES 58,000 in completed sales: KES 22,000 cash, KES 28,000 confirmed M-Pesa, KES 4,000 card and KES 4,000 credit. The collected total is KES 54,000; the KES 4,000 credit is revenue but not money received today.
If the opening float was KES 3,000 and approved cash expenses were KES 1,200, expected cash is KES 23,800 (KES 22,000 sales + KES 3,000 float − KES 1,200 expenses). If the drawer has KES 23,300, record a KES 500 shortage and investigate it while the shift is still fresh.
The daily sales report template
Copy these headings into your close-of-day sheet. The person closing the shift should complete each line and sign or identify themselves.
- Date, trading shift, branch and staff member responsible for the close.
- Gross sales, discounts, refunds, voids and net completed sales.
- Cash sales, M-Pesa sales, card sales, split payments and credit sales.
- Opening cash float, cash expenses with receipts, expected cash and counted cash.
- M-Pesa and card confirmations matched to bills, plus any payment still awaiting verification.
- Shortage or surplus, reason given, correction made and manager review.
Close the report with a five-minute checklist
Do not wait until month-end. A close is useful because the people, bills and messages are still available to check.
- Run the report for the correct trading date and branch.
- Compare payment-method totals with physical cash and provider confirmations.
- Remove the opening float from the cash comparison; record approved expenses separately.
- Keep credit sales out of collected cash and M-Pesa totals.
- Review voids, discounts, refunds and reopened bills.
- Write an explanation for every difference and have a manager review it.
Use the report to spot patterns
One small difference may be a counting mistake. Repeated differences on the same shift, payment method or staff handover deserve a closer look. Compare sales, stock movement and discounts rather than accusing someone based on one number.
For the next step, read the guide to reconciling cash and M-Pesa in a restaurant, then keep the final report with your daily records.
Key takeaways
- A daily report separates sales from money collected and keeps credit visible as a receivable.
- The core cash formula is sales cash + opening float − approved expenses = expected cash.
- Record the person closing, the difference and the explanation every day.
- Investigate exceptions while the shift is fresh, not when the month is over.
How DineHQ turns the checklist into a daily close
- See sales split by cash, M-Pesa, card, split payment and credit.
- Keep the order, staff member and payment confirmation connected.
- Review voids, discounts, refunds and shift totals without rebuilding a spreadsheet.
- Give owners a clear close-of-day summary from any phone.
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