Metrics Glossary

Understanding Report Metrics & Terms

A Metric is a system or standard of measurement. Metrics are the key to your report because they allow you to decide how to view and interpret your data.  Metrics tell you things like the average item cost, item quantity, gross sales, and more. Depending on the report you are viewing, there will be a number of different metrics that can be selected, we've defined them here and included some links for a deeper dive.

This article will cover the following:

• General Terms
• Sales Metrics & Terms
• Labor Metrics & Terms
• Comps, Promotion & Void Metrics
• Revenue Management Metrics
• Service Metrics & Terms
• Finance Metrics & Terms
• Food Cost Management Metrics & Terms
• Loss Prevention Terms

General Terms

• Gross/Net:  Gross means Total and Net means after deductions. To understand how this relates to restaurant revenue, see: Understanding Gross & Net Sales
• Revenue Center: A way POS Systems organize revenue, usually by physical area. Most POS systems use 'Revenue Centers' or 'Profit Centers' to group revenue from a physical area, such as a 'Bar' Revenue Center to track sales that occur in the 'Bar' area of the restaurant. Revenue centers may combine to form a Business ('Dining Room' and a 'Bar' that are both part of 'Restaurant,' for example), or may stand alone as an individual business. The abbreviation RVC may be used.
• Business: A specific outlet or location for reporting and analysis, this may be a single revenue centers or multiple related revenue centers. Businesses will report as one unit, and filters can be applied to limit results to a single revenue center or order type within that business. Businesses can be grouped together in Avero Group reporting, which refers to any report with two or more businesses. To learn more about when RVCs should be grouped together for a business, see our guide: Business Mapping to Revenue Centers
• Order Type: Order Modes, Order Types, Check Types, these are all terms to describing organizing your checks for later analysis. They may give a heads up to team members in the restaurant of certain conditions. Commonly, we see order types used for distinctions like 'To-Go,' 'Delivery,' 'Eat-In,' or 'Events'. Read more about this here: Order Types
• Meal Period: Meal Periods are distinct periods of time in which a named type of service happens. These may also be called Serving Periods, Service Times, or Day Parts depending on your point of sales system. Read more about this here: Meal Periods
• DEU: Avero's Data Extraction Utility, this is locally installed on the server for On-Premise POS Systems and runs daily to pull, compress, encrypt, and transmit the sales and labor data to Avero for your reporting and analysis. To learn more see our explanation: How does Avero get my data?
• On-Premise: This refers to a POS System that is run by a server on-site and stores data locally. For these systems, a DEU (see above) extracts data from the local storage daily and transmits it to Avero.
• Cover or "Top": This refers to the number of guests, so Total Covers means the total number of guests and a '4-top' would mean a table of four people or a table capable of seating 4 people. 
• Prime Costs: Prime costs are the biggest things a restaurant will spend money on: Labor and Cost of Goods (cost of the ingredients for the food and beverages). 

Sales Metrics & Terms

The below metrics are specific to the Sales reporting.

• Avg Item Cost:  The cost entered by item in your POS (if your POS type supports this metric) averaged over the dates and sales of items included in your report. If you use Avero Food Cost Management, this can be linked from your recipes. Note that this metric is only available as an average and does not display direct cost associations. 
• Avg Item Profit: Item Sales Price minus Avg Item Cost, may also use the term Margin. 
• Avg Item Price: The average price at which the item in question has been sold. This accounts for discounts (such as promotional discounts) or variable pricing (such as the same item offered at happy hour at a lower price).
• Budgeted Amt: Amount defined in your budget, if one is loaded into Avero.
• Check Count: The number of checks closed in that time frame. A check can be a to-go order, a counter-order, a bar patron, or a table regardless of how many people are seated at the table (however a single table asking for separate checks will generate multiple checks). 
• Cover count: The number of guests. These are pulled from your POS system and entered by your servers while serving a table.  Also referred to as Guest Count and can be used to evaluate business volume and item popularity. 
• Gross Sales: Total of all item sales for the time period. This does not include things like taxes or service charges, only items sold. To better understand visit Understanding Gross & Net Sales
• Gross Avg Check (Covers):  Gross Sales divided by total number of covers.  Effectively your PPA or per person average
• Gross Avg Check (Check): Gross Sales divided by total number of checks.  Effectively your table average
• Item Qty: The number of items sold during the time period
• Items per 100: Item/cover % multiplied by 100
• Item/Cover %: Measures popularity. The number of menu item sold in a time period divided by the number of covers for the same period. For each 1 customer served, what percentage ordered this item, possible to be over 100%, especially for beverage, as people may often have a more than one (if every customer ordered 2 glasses of Chardonnay, the Item/Cover % would be 200%)
• Item/Check %:  Measures popularity. The number of menu item sold in a time period divided by the number of checks for the same period. Same as Item/Cover % but looking at checks/tables. Better to measure the popularity of items shared amongst a table, such as wines by the bottle or shared appetizers. 
• Net Sales:  Gross sales minus promotions, both item and check-level promotion. Item-level promotion will affect item level net sales, but check level promotion will only affect total net sales. To better understand visit Understanding Gross & Net Sales
• Net Avg Check (Covers):  Net Sales divided by total number of covers
• Net Avg Check (Check):  Net Sales divided by total number of checks  
• % Total Covers:  The percentage of covers in that time period
• % Total Checks: The percentage of checks closed in that time frame, the total will always be 100% on the report, so each section (business, revenue center, sales category) is represented as a portion of the whole for the report.
• % Total Gross Sales: The percentage of total gross sales in the time period, the total will always be 100% on the report, so each section (business, revenue center, sales category) is represented as a portion of the whole for the report.
• % Total Net Sales: The percentage of total net sales in the time period, the total will always be 100% on the report, so each section (business, revenue center, sales category) is represented as a portion of the whole for the report.
• % Total Promo $: The percentage of total promotion dollars - looking at the retail cost of all promotions applied. 
• % Total Promo Qty: The percentage of total promotion quantity - looking at the number of instances a promotion was applied. 
• % Total Void $: The percentage of total void dollars, the total will always be 100% on the report, so each section (business, revenue center, sales category) is represented as a portion of the whole for the report. 
• % Total Void Qty: The percentage of total void quantity, the total will always be 100% on the report, so each section (business, revenue center, sales category) is represented as a portion of the whole for the report.
• % Variance: The percentage variance from your budgeted amount (if you have budget totals in Avero) 

Labor Metrics & Terms

The Group and Unit Labor reports have a variety of metrics for you to better manage your labor spend. You will be able to refer to this article to learn more about the specific metrics within the Labor module in Avero and how those metrics are calculated.

General Metrics Referenced in Labor Metrics

• Weekly Full-Time Equivalent (FTE): Total number of payroll hours divided by 40 
• Check Count: Total number of checks closed in the time frame selected
• Cover Count: The number of guests per check or time period 
• Gross Sales: Total item sales for the time period.  To better understand visit Understanding Gross & Net Sales
• Net Sales: Gross sales minus promotions, To better understand visit Understanding Gross & Net Sales

Labor Analytics Metrics

• Regular Hours: Total regular hours worked, regular are non-overtime hours at the standard rate of pay. 
• Regular Pay: Total dollars paid to employees for those regular hours worked.
• Overtime Hours: Total hours over the overtime threshold in your POS, you can manage overtime settings in your POS but not in Avero. 
• Overtime Pay: Total dollars paid to employees for those overtime hours.
• Total Hours: Total Hours worked, including regular hours and overtime hours.
• Total Pay: Total dollars paid to employees for total hours worked, both regular and overtime. 
• % Total Hours: Percentage of total hours worked by a specific job class or department.
• % Total Pay: Percentage of total pay allocated to a specific job class or department.

Labor Productivity Metrics

• Checks per Labor Hour: Total amount of checks divided by total labor hours. How many tables were served per hour of labor expense (any rate)?
• Checks per Weekly FTE: Checks divided by Weekly FTE (Full-Time Employee). How many tables were served per full-time employee?
• Covers per Labor Hour: Total amount of covers (guests) divided by total labor hours.
• Covers per Weekly FTE: Total amount of covers divided by Weekly Full-Time Employee.
• Gross Sales per Labor Hour: Total gross sales divided by total labor hours. How much revenue was brought in per hour of labor expense?
• Gross Sales per Weekly FTE: Gross sales divided by Weekly FTE.
• Labor % of Gross Sales: Total labor dollars divided by total gross sales, referred to as Labor Cost or Labor Cost Percent. 
• Labor % Gross Food Sales: Total labor dollars divided by total food sales, labor cost as it relates to food sales. Best used when analyzing kitchen or back of house employee productivity. 
• Labor % Gross Beverage Sales: Total labor dollars divided by total beverage sales, labor cost as it relates to beverage sales. Best used for analyzing front-of-house positions related to beverage, such as bartenders, bar backs, and baristas. 
• Net Sales per Labor Hour: Total net sales divided by total labor hours.
• Net Sales per Weekly FTE: Net sales divided by weekly FTE.
• Labor % of Net Sales: Total labor dollars divided by total net sales - out of every dollar of net sales, how much of it was spent on labor to execute that sale?

More information on running and reading Labor reports can be found here: Labor Resources

Comps, Promotion & Void Metrics

Use this key for definitions of our Promotion & Void metrics to better understand Promo or Void trends occurring in your business:

• Promotion Amt: The dollar amount for each Promo or Void
• Promo $ per Cover: Total Promotion or Void value, in dollars, in a period, divided by the number of covers you saw in that same period. If a table of four had a $10 appetizer comped, it would result in $2.50/cover. 
• Promo $ per Check: Total Promotion or Void value, in dollars, in a period of time divided by the Gross Sales in the same period. If a table of four had a $10 appetizer comped, it would result in $10/Check. 
• % Total Amt:  The % of the total amount for that particular Promo/Void Type out of all promos and voids. 
• Promo % Gross Sales: Total Promotion/Void dollars given in a period divided by the gross sales in that same period 
• % Total Qty: The % of the total quantity for the Promo or Void Type in review
• Promo/Void Item Qty: The quantity of Promo or Void rung in during the given period of time
• Promo/Void $: The dollar amount for each Promo or Void
• Promo Qty: Quantity, the number of Promos
• Promo Qty per Cover: The quantity of Promo or Void, divided by the number of covers the business saw in that same period of time. 
• Promo Qty per Check: The quantity of Promo or Void, divided by the number of checks the business saw in that same period of time
• Void Amt: The total dollar amount for the time period.
• Void $ per Cover: Total void amount divided by the number of covers seen in the time period.
• Void $ per Check: Total void amount divided by the number of checks seen in the time period.
• Void % Gross Sales: The total void amount divided by the total gross sales for the time period. 
• Void Qty: The number of voids used during the selected time period
• Void Qty per Cover: The amount of voids, divided by the number of covers you saw in that same period. 
• Void Qty per Check: the number of voids, divided by the number of checks you saw in that same period
• +/- Variance: the variation between the actual and budgeted amounts either in the positive or negative number.

Revenue Management Metrics

Our Group and Unit Revenue Management reports have a variety of metrics for you to examine your business. See below for definitions of key metrics:

• Average Cover Count: The average amount of covers you have seen in the selected time period.
• Avg Check Count: The average amount of checks there are in the selected time period.
• Avg Gross Sales: Average of total gross sales in the selected time period.
• Avg Item Qty: Average of how many items sold in the selected time period.
• Avg Net Sales: Average of total net sales in the selected time period.
• Cover Count: The number of guest at a table. These are pulled from your POS system and entered by your servers.  Also referred to as Guest Count.
• Check Count: Total number of checks closed in that time frame.
• Gross Sales: Total of all item sales for the time period.
• Gross Avg Check (Covers): Gross Sales divided by total number of covers.  Effectively your PPA or per person average.
• Gross Avg Check (Check): Gross Sales divided by total number of checks.  Effectively your table average.
• Item Qty: The number of items sold during the time period.
• Item/ Cover %: The number of menu item sold in a time period divided by the number of covers for the same period.
• Item/ Check %: The number of menu item sold in a time period divided by the number of checks for the same period.
• Net Sales: Gross sales minus promotions.
• Net Avg Check (Covers): Net Sales divided by total number of covers.
• Net Avg Check (Check): Net Sales divided by total number of checks.
• % Total Gross Sales: The percentage of total gross sales for the time period.

Table Performance Metrics

Below you will find the key metrics used in the Table Performance Report under the Revenue Management module and how you can use them to understand your dining room:

• Cover Count: The number of guest at a table. These are pulled from your POS system and entered by your servers.  Also referred to as Guest Count.
• Check Count: Total number of checks closed in that time frame.
• Difference From Avg:  The average check at each table compared to the Gross (or Net) Average Check for all tables during that time frame .
• Gross Sales: Total of all item sales for the time period.
• Gross Avg Check (Covers): Gross Sales divided by total number of covers.  Effectively your PPA or per person average.
• Gross Avg Check (Checks): Gross Sales divided by total number of checks.  Effectively your table average.
• Lost Sales Opportunity:  Difference from table's average check multiplied by the number of covers at that table during the time period. This shows you how much revenue you are missing out on because your table is performing below the dining room average.
• Net Sales: Gross sales minus promotions
• Net Avg Check (Covers): Net Sales divided by total number of covers. 
• Net Avg Check (Checks): Net Sales divided by total number of checks
• Party Size: The average number of guests that are seated at the table
• Table Names: Depending on your POS, your table names are determined by how it is named in the system or by the server.
• Table Occupancy %: the percentage of time a table is occupied for the day or meal period. The total time the table is occupied divided by the total operational time. The meal period is determined using the earliest open check and latest closed check in that meal period.
• Table Turns: The average number of times the table is used for new checks during the time period.
• Time Between Seating: The average amount of time the table wasn't seated between each turn.
• Tip % (Tipped Sales): Credit Card tip amount divided by Credit Card sales.
• Turn Time: The average number of minutes checks at this table were open for during the time period. A "turn" is the time between a check being opened and closed, or how long guests spent at the table / how long the order took. 
• Spend/Min: Gross sales divided by turn time for that table.

Service Metrics & Terms

Use this key for definitions of key service report metrics: 

• Avg Item Price: The average price at which the item in question has been sold
• Check Count: The number of checks closed in that time frame
• Cover Count: The number of guests entered on each check. These are pulled from your POS system and entered by your servers.  This is also known as Guest Count
• Days Worked: The number of days worked during the period
• Diff From Avg: The server's distance from the team average check (gross or net average check metric can be used) 
• Gross Avg Check (Covers): Gross Sales divided by the total number of covers.  This is also known as your per person average or PPA 
• Gross Avg Check (Check): Gross Sales divided by the total number of checks.  This is essentially the average spend for the table. 
• Item/Cover %: The number of menu item sold in a time period divided by the number of covers for the same period
• Item/Check %: The number of menu item sold in a time period divided by the number of checks for the same period
• Item Qty: The number of items sold during the time period
• Lost Sales Opportunity: Difference from team average check multiplied by the number of covers seen during the time period
• Lost Tip Opportunity:  The lost sales opportunity multiplied by tip %
• Net Avg Check (Check): Net Sales divided by the total number of checks  
• Net Avg Check (Covers): Net Sales divided by the total number of covers
• Net Sales: Gross sales minus promotions
• Tip % (Tipped Sales): Credit Card tip amount divided by Credit Card sales.
• Tipped Sales: Credit Card sales (cash sales are excluded as tips may not be recorded)
• Turn Time (minutes): The average length of time a check is open for the searched time period. A "turn" is the time between a check being opened and closed, or how long guests spent at the table / how long the order took. 
• % Total: individual metric/team average. (Ex- Item/cover% divided by the team average) 

Employee Efficiency Metrics

Our Employee Efficiency metrics are used to gauge server, cocktail, and cashier efficiency by breaking down check and item volume related to the number of hours worked and the number of checks for the employee. See below for some detailed descriptions of the metrics: 

• Check Count: Total checks in that time period by that employee
• Check Efficiency: Item Check * 100% (item check as a %- how efficient each check is, based on how many items that employee sells per check; higher = better)
• Check Turn Time (minutes): The average number of minutes the server had checks opened for during the time period. A "turn" is the time between a check being opened and closed, or how long guests spent at the table / how long the order took. 
• Check / Hour: check count / total hours worked (average number of checks per hour for that employee)
• Gross Sales: Total of all item sales for the time period by that employee
• Hours:  Total hours worked in that time period by that employee
• Item Count: Total items sold in that time period by that employee
• Item Check: Item count/check count (average number of items per check for that employee)
• Item Hour: Item count / total hours worked (average number of items per hour for that employee)
• Time Between Checks (minutes): Average number of minutes between checks

Finance Metrics & Terms

Use this key for definitions of our budget metrics: 

• Actual Amount: The actual amount of Gross Sales, Promotions, Net Sales, or Costs for the time period from your POS and labor time clock 
• Actual % of Sales: Actual Amount divided by your Gross Sales for the time period
• Budgeted Amt: The amount of Gross Sales, Promotions, Net Sales, or Costs defined in your budget template for the time period 
• Budget % of Sales: The percentage of Gross Sales this revenue center or meal period contributes to the total as defined by the budget.
• Gross Sales: Total of all item sales for the time period. To better understand visit Understanding Gross & Net Sales
• Net Sales: Gross sales minus promotions. To better understand visit Understanding Gross & Net Sales
• +/- Variance: The variation between the actual and budgeted amounts either in the positive or negative number
• % Variance: The +/- Variance divided by the Budgeted Amount for the time period 
• % of Sales Variance: Actual % of Sales minus Budgeted % of Sales 

Food Cost Management Metrics & Terms

The following metrics pull from your POS or from your Recipe Box if you use Avero's Food Cost Management.

• Cost of Goods %: The total costs of all items sold divided by the total sales of those items. For example, an item that sells for $10 with a programmed cost of $3.00 would have a Cost of Goods Sold % of 30%. A report of goods sold during a time period will show the % of all included costs divided by all included revenue/sales.
  • Note: there are Theoretical Cost of Goods and Actual Cost of Goods. Your Theoretical costs are the costs you intend for an item, if the recipe was followed exactly that's what the item should cost to make. Actual costs include wastes and inefficiencies, such as a burnt first attempt or extra sides of sauces that aren't charged. Restaurants are not exact, so these numbers are almost never the same, but it is a good point of focus to try to get your actual costs as close to your theoretical, or planned, costs as possible.
• Cost of Goods $: The total costs of all items sold represented in total dollars. For example, an item that sells for $10 with a programmed cost of $3.00 would have a Cost of Goods Sold $ of 3.00. A report with many items will show the total Cost of Goods $ for all items included.
• Gross Margin: Margin, also called Contribution margin, is determined by subtracting the cost from the selling price, it looks at how much the item contributes to profit margin. In the above example our item costs $3.00 and sells for $10.00, making the margin $7.00. Gross means the total, so all of the sales, less only the costs. 
• Net Margin: Margin, also called Contribution margin, is determined by subtracting the cost from the selling price, it looks at how much the item contributes to profit margin. Gross means the total, and Net means after deductions, such as discounts and comps. If in the above example our $10.00 item receives a 20% discount, the cost is still $3.00 but the discount lowered the ultimate sales price to $8.00, so the Gross Margin would still be $7.00 but the Net Margin would now be $5.00.
• Total Profit: The same as Margin, profit refers to the selling price less the cost.
• % Category Profit: The same as Total Profit, represented as a percentage for the whole Category, basically what percentage of the selling price is not being spent to produce the items sold. 
• % Total Cost of Goods: The total costs of all items sold divided by the total sales of those items. A report of goods sold during a time period will show the % of all included costs divided by all included revenue/sales. 
• % Total Gross Margin: This is the same as the Gross Margin described above, except represented as a percentage instead of a dollar amount. Keeping with our example of an item that costs $3.00 to make and sells for $10.00, the % Total Gross Margin or % Gross Margin would be 70%.
• % Total Net Margin: This is the same as the Net Margin described above, except represented as a percentage instead of a dollar amount. Keeping with our example of an item that costs $3.00 to make and sells for $10.00 and has a 20% discount applied, the % Total Net Margin or % Net Margin would be 50%.

Loss Prevention Terms

• Server Controlled Item: Any menu item that a server or bartender can produce without requiring a printed ticket. Examples include coffee, cocktails, and bottled water.
• Transfer Web: When items have transferred from check to check, potentially being reused as a means of pocketing extra cash. Webs occur when many checks are linked from transferred items.
• Source Check: In reference to transferred items. The check from which an item was transferred.
• Holding Check: In reference to transfers, a check that is in between the origin and terminal checks in a transfer web.
• Destination Check: In reference to transfers, the final destination check for a transferred item.
• Dump Check: A check used to hold items during service destined to be promo’d or voided. These are dangerous because they open up the restaurant to fraud. Items are usually transferred from guest checks to one check to be held until an authorizing employee has time to apply a void or promotion. This is meant to save time for authorizing employees during service but provides an easy avenue for theft.
• Comp Check: A check that is destined to be completely comped, usually associated with VIP diners. These can be used in a similar fashion to dump checks.
• Cash Check: A check or bill that is paid for using cash. These transactions are prime targets for theft.
• Original Checks: When looking at a case, the Original Checks are checks that were flagged during the case period, which is the two months prior to the date of the case creation
• New Checks: When looking at a case, the New Checks are checks that have been flagged since the creation of the case