Sales Analysis Reports
The Sales Analysis Report is a multi-view report that lets you analyze your sales from four different perspectives: by product category, by customer, by cashier, and by location. Each view provides the same core set of profitability columns but groups the data around a different dimension, giving you a complete picture of where your revenue is coming from.
How to Access
Open the Sales Analysis Report from the main menu:
- Reports > Receivables > Sales > Sales by Category / Department — opens with the By Category preset selected
- Reports > Receivables > Sales > Sales by Customer — opens with the By Customer preset selected
- Reports > Receivables > Sales > Sales by Cashier / User — opens with the By Cashier preset selected
- Reports > Receivables > Sales > Sales by Location — opens with the By Location preset selected
All four menu entries open the same report form. The only difference is which preset is selected by default. You can switch between presets at any time using the Preset dropdown.
Required Permission
You must have the RPT_VIEW_SALES permission to access this report. Super Admins and Location Admins have this permission by default.
Filters
The report provides the following filter controls along the top of the window:
| Filter | Description |
|---|---|
| Location | Select a specific location to see only its data, or choose All Locations to see combined results |
| Date From | The start date for the reporting period |
| Date To | The end date for the reporting period |
| Preset / View | Choose one of the four analysis dimensions: By Category, By Customer, By Cashier, By Location |
| Summary / Detailed | Radio buttons that toggle between summary mode (one row per dimension) and detailed mode (individual transaction lines) |
After changing any filter, click Refresh or press F5 to reload the data.
Report Columns
The data grid displays the following columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Dimension | The grouping name — category name, customer name, cashier username, or location name depending on the selected preset |
| Items | The number of distinct line items sold |
| Qty Sold | The total quantity of units sold |
| Subtotal | The total before discounts and taxes |
| Discount | The total discount amount applied |
| Tax | The total tax collected |
| Total | The final amount after discounts and taxes |
| COGS | Cost of Goods Sold — the total cost of the items sold |
| Profit | Total minus COGS — the gross profit |
| Margin % | Profit divided by Total, expressed as a percentage |
In Detailed mode, additional columns appear for the individual transaction date, invoice number, and item name, allowing you to drill down into the specific sales that make up each group.
Totals Panel
Below the data grid, a totals panel shows aggregated values across all rows:
- Total Items — Sum of all Items values
- Total Qty — Sum of all Qty Sold values
- Subtotal — Combined subtotal across all rows
- Tax — Combined tax across all rows
- Total — Combined total across all rows
- Profit — Combined profit across all rows
- Overall Margin — Weighted average margin percentage
Understanding the Four Presets
By Category
Groups all sales by product category or department. This view answers questions like: Which categories drive the most revenue? Which categories have the highest profit margins? Use this to identify strong departments and those that may need attention.
By Customer
Groups all sales by the customer on the invoice. Walk-in customers without accounts are grouped under a default entry. This view helps you understand customer purchasing patterns, identify your most profitable customers, and see which customers receive the most discounts.
By Cashier
Groups all sales by the user who processed the transaction. This view is useful for evaluating cashier performance, tracking sales per employee, and identifying which cashiers are applying the most discounts.
By Location
Groups all sales by the location where the transaction occurred. This view is most useful for multi-location businesses that need to compare store performance side by side. When the Location filter is set to All Locations, each row represents one store.
Summary vs Detailed Mode
- Summary mode shows one row per dimension value (e.g., one row per category). This is the default and is best for quick comparisons and high-level analysis.
- Detailed mode expands each group to show the individual invoices and line items. This is useful when you need to investigate a specific number or drill into the underlying transactions.
Common Use Cases
- Monthly category review — Set the date range to the past month, select By Category, and use Summary mode to see which departments performed best
- Customer profitability — Select By Customer for a quarter to identify your top customers by profit and margin, not just revenue
- Cashier performance tracking — Select By Cashier for a pay period to compare sales volume and discount amounts across employees
- Location benchmarking — Select By Location with All Locations to compare stores for the same time period
- Discount investigation — Switch to Detailed mode after noticing high discounts in Summary mode to see exactly which transactions are responsible
Tips
- Export for deeper analysis — Export to CSV and use Excel pivot tables to combine dimensions (e.g., category by location)
- Compare periods — Open two instances of the report with different date ranges to compare month-over-month or year-over-year
- Watch margins, not just totals — A category with high revenue but low margin may be less valuable than a smaller category with strong margins
- Use Detailed mode sparingly — For large date ranges, Detailed mode can return many rows. Use Summary mode first to find areas of interest, then switch to Detailed for just those areas