Skip to main content
POS Report Guide Chapter 1

POS reporting — Definitive guide for savvy retailers in 2023

Not all retail reports are created equal. If you’re a manager who needs a high-level view of in-store performance and wants to prove your results with meaningful numbers, it’s time to pay close attention to POS reporting.
But before we unpack all the secrets of POS reports that you can’t find anywhere else, let’s start to understand what is a point of sales (POS) report.

What is a point of sales report?

Point of sales (POS) reports are reports generated with the data from a point of sale system, including both software and hardware from multiple stores. We can track all the transactional data and in-store activities at the point of sale terminal, and that data is stored in a system for future analysis via POS reports. These POS data reports can be inputs for a bigger retail report system, where managers can see all-in-one analytics from different aspects of retail business.

Store activities

What does a POS report include?

Besides getting data from POS machines, retailers might also need to get data from hardware devices that come along with the POS, such as payment terminals and QR or barcode scanners. Every device that helps collect and store data can be inputs for POS reports as well.

POS reports gather all the information from day-to-day retail operations and automatically generate data analytics telling you exactly how the business is doing. A basic retail operation flow includes the following key activities:

  • Open session to start a selling day
  • Create order
  • Apply promotion
  • Record customer info
  • Register payment
  • Swap shifts among employees
  • Close session
  • Fulfillment from POS (Pick-pack-ship, buy online–pick up in-store,…)
  • Return/exchange
  • Refund
  • Gather customer feedback by review or rating.

The data collected from all the activities above can give you valuable insights that will help you run and manage your store operation more effectively. Those insights in the form of reports are an excellent way to identify the strengths of a business and the areas that need improvement. For example:

  • Strengths: top-selling items, employee generating the most sales
  • Weaknesses: underselling items, lost or damaged inventory, underperforming staff

To generate a POS report, retailers need to follow 3 basic steps with their current retail system: Automate data collection effectively → Generate simple, actionable reports from raw data → Use insights to improve your business.

Now that you understand what POS reporting is, let’s discover why it’s a make-or-break aspect of running a retail business.

Why do retailers need POS reporting?

The benefits

After the POS report system gathers data from all sources and generates digestible reports, management levels can use these reports to make important decisions about sales, employees, inventory, and overall business strategy.

Simple reports in the form of records can be inputs to reconcile operations. For example:

  • Store managers need X reports to check for discrepancies in the cash drawer after opening and closing a session, and to verify how many money-outs or money-ins that need to be accounted for during a sales day.
  • Finance managers need to utilize sales data by payment method to reconcile with banks or online payment services.
benefits of pos reporting simple reports

At higher levels, advanced reports which have the ability to gather data and to analyze it quickly provide you with the enhanced ability to make more informed business decisions. Take the following examples:

  • Sales managers need to know if quotas are being met, how the team has been performing, how to increase the revenue number, and then decide who will be rewarded, what will be the marketing strategy…
  • Warehouse managers need to track inventory levels, analyze, and take action to make sure that the needed products are stocked in stores in a timely manner and customers do not suffer from out of stock when they purchase in an offline store. At the same time, they have to still keep stock at a minimum level and minimize transportation cost from a central warehouse or between stores.
Benefits of pos reporting advanced reports

A success story with POS reporting

The benefits of POS reports are undeniable. Nowadays, retailers need data-driven ways to make the best decisions quickly to compete with huge online stores like Amazon. With small-scale businesses, it’s easy to identify your best selling products without advanced reports. However, growing retails have to process data from many stores and even countries, and things get complicated quickly without a data-driven approach. Even in case you serve multiple markets, you will need a deeper and wider view of what’s selling well and where, and that’s harder to track without a POS reporting system.

Let’s take the KargoCard company as a successful example.

kargocard company

The business supplies gift card walls to convenience and retail stores in 20 different Chinese cities. They have to manage every location they were selling, so it becomes difficult to track and measure the metrics from all places. Because of that, they can’t optimize their sales efforts to see better results. 

KargoCard decided to implement a reporting and analytics system to bring all metrics together. Their new report system helps put together partner data to better track inventory possession across the entire network of stores throughout China. Now they can easily and quickly see which brands of cards were out of stock and act fast so they didn’t lose any sales. The reporting dashboard helps them optimize their sales efforts and carry out A/B testing on their retail model.

Only one example but we all can see how important in-store reports are to a retail business. There are also many retailers out there running a successful business by utilizing their POS reporting system. If you want a better result for your business, keep on reading to find out.

Which types of POS reports does your business need?

There are 2 main ways to categorize the most important POS reports for your business.

Categorize reports by store operation

These are important types of reports based on main operations related to the store. Depending on different retail flows at the store, the number of reports might change. For example:

retail assistant icon

Sales reports

POS reporting allows you to track everything from sales at a certain time of day to sales by location. These reports can drill down to specific metrics depending on the level of details you want, or it can be general sales and profits performance of the store.

Keep inventory levels optimized icon

Inventory reports

These inventory reports have the ability to check inventory quickly and easily, especially during your busiest times. An inventory report pulled from your POS data allows you to do that in a simple format so you know at a glance what is selling, what isn’t, and what you should reorder.

Expert Consultation Icon

Employee reports

If you have employees, you can also use POS reporting to analyze their performance. An employee report should show you sales per employee, what their tips look like, and how much revenue they bring in per hour worked.

Smooth store operations icon

Store reports

If you have multiple locations, you can use POS reporting to compare performance across stores. If you dig into those numbers, you might determine that each of your stores needs a different marketing strategy or that the inventory that works at one location doesn’t work at another.

Store management flow

Note: Besides reports by store operation, we also have specific reports for some special industries, for example, grocery or fresh food, fashion, electronics… Each industry has their own characteristics that entail retailers to figure out the way to track down, summarize info, and control them efficiently. However, despite the differences in some metrics, all industries have the same types of reports which are sales, inventory, employees, and others.

Categorize reports by management roles

Every management role at stores needs to know a set of reports to track and improve the performance of the stores. That’s why categorizing reports by roles will be a perfect way to know key POS reports for your business.

Categorize pos reports by management roles

The following is just some of the examples to show you what it means to categorize POS reports by roles. We will talk more about each role in detail in the next chapters.

Sales managers

Sales managers direct organizations’ sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for sales representatives.

Most used reports for sales managers include:

  • Sales activity by time frame
  • Sales by employee/product/department/location
  • Gross profits

Procurement managers

This role guarantees enough stocks for all sales at the right time, with the right quantity, and at the right place. This role can utilize product reports to determine the popular items/categories and make sure there’s enough quantity in warehouses. Purchase managers can also look at which item/category is slow-moving. Then they can source from the supplier who provides the best price/trade term.

Most used reports for sales managers include:

Marketing managers

Retail marketing managers oversee a team of marketing specialists. As their staff present ideas for new marketing campaigns, the retail marketing manager evaluates them and determines their validity based on budgeting concerns and potential for success.

Some of the reports for marketing managers:

  • Number of customers using gift cards, discount code, membership,…
  • Number of referrals (referral program)
  • Revenue from marketing campaign during a specific time

To sum up

There are many aspects of running a successful business, but one of the most important things to consider is taking advantage of POS reports. But when it comes to reporting, many businesses aren’t aware of data overload. Many of us would like to think that the more data we have, the more empowered we are to make smarter business decisions, but too much of a good thing can actually turn out to be counterproductive. This is especially true if the data isn’t presented in a way that is easy to digest.

After this first chapter, we hope you have a basic understanding of POS reporting. In the next chapters, we will dig deeper into the most important reports for each role in a retail business.

With Magestore POS, you can sync order data, customer data, and product data in retal time at ease. To save time, if you are looking for a POS solution with all the necessary reports, don’t hesitate to talk with one of our retail experts and get free business reporting advice. 

Continue Reading

Previous Chapter

POS Reporting Guide Introduction

Next Chapter

Top 5 Sales Managers Reports

Close Menu

New: Try it yourself!

See Magestore POS in action

Fill out this form and book a time when you're available to test the POS yourself.

There is no need to spend time on a product that you don't need. Have first interactions and explore every feature of the POS to see if it fits your business requirements.

POS Demo

Admin/Backend Demo

There is no customization or advanced features on the demo version. Remember that Magestore POS is customizable for even complex business requirements. You can request a personalized demo with our consultants at any time.

What is Magento POS

A Magento POS (point of sale) system is software integrated with the Magento platform to synchronize data between your online and offline stores and facilitate retail operations. Magestore POS is a web-based and Magento-native POS which requires at least one Magento website to work.

Who needs Magento POS system

The Magento POS system is developed for retailers with both Magento eCommerce websites and physical stores, and want to use the Magento website as a centralized place to manage all sales data and sell both online and offline.

Some features of Magento POS system

A basic Magento POS can work as a cash register to create orders, add discounts and taxes, print receipts, and manage sales. But a complete Magento POS system can assist you with more advanced tasks, such as inventory control, supplier management, loyalty programs, etc.

Why use Magento POS

  • Magestore POS is native to Magento and is installed directly on your Magento backend without third-party plugins, to inherit all Magento's power.
  • You can use our Magento POS on multiple devices, web browsers and create unlimited accounts without extra fees.
  • All data stay safely on your side, and your POS doesn't have to rely on third-party servers to work.
  • You only need to pay once for the POS license and get full ownership of the solution.

45-minute Live Demo

Let us show you how it all works

After you complete the registration form & schedule a meeting with us, we'll contact to ask for your confirmation. This demo session is completely FREE & requires no commitments.

1. Where we'll discuss

We do screen sharing, so the demo will be conducted using Google Meet.

2. What we'll do

Our specialists will guide you through the POS solution and answer any questions you have. All to see if our POS system fits your business requirements.

3. What you'll get

  • A LIVE demo session to see how Magestore POS works
  • A FREE demo site to explore every product feature
  • A FREE consultation with our expert to discuss the best-fit solution for your business.

4. Additional information

  • A demo typically lasts for 45 minutes, but we can adjust the duration based on your needs
  • No preparation required but it's nice to have your requirements clear
  • Additional team members are welcome to join
  • If you want to see how Magestore POS works in reality, you can contact one of our customers and ask for their experience
  • Magestore doesn't do cold-calling, we only contact you on request.

Magestore | POS for Magento

"*" indicates required fields

Schedule a demo

Our solutions only work with Magento (incompatible with Shopify, WooCommerce, and other eCommerce website platforms).
Please enter a number less than or equal to 9999.

By providing your information you agree to our privacy policy.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Magestore | POS for Magento

About the Magento platform

1. What is Magento?

Magento is an open-source platform that helps retailers create eCommerce websites, released on March 31, 2008, by Varien and developed on Zend Framework. In 2018, Adobe acquired Magento with a price of $1.68 billion. There are currently about 270,000 eCommerce websites running on Magento in 2022.

2. Why do retailers choose Magento?

Most of our customers say Magento is speedy and more customizable than others; it is suitable for medium and large enterprises or fast-growing businesses with complex requirements/customizations.

Not sure if you're using Magento, check your website here!

3. What to do next?

  • If you are new to Magento or searching for eCommerce platforms, you can explore more about Magento in this article.
  • If you are looking for Magento website development services, please reach our dedicated service team here.
  • If you've already had a Magento website and are searching for a POS system, please close this pop-up and continue exploring.