POS Reporting Guide: 10 Key Reports Every Retailer Should Track

POS reports give businesses a clearer picture of what’s happening in their stores. A sales summary, for example, can help you track sales performance, while inventory reports show which products are selling and what you have in stock. But if you’re new to analyzing POS data, you might not know where to start or which numbers to pay attention to.

POS reports cover several areas of a retail business, including:

• Accounting reports
• Sales summaries
• Inventory reports
• Employee reports
• General dashboard reports

These reports can help you keep track of inventory, monitor cash flow, and review pricing decisions.

The key is knowing which POS report can answer the question you’re trying to solve. Here are 10 reports every retailer should track.

Key Takeaway

• POS reporting helps retailers review sales, pricing, staffing, and inventory using recorded transaction data.
• Ten core reports cover general performance, accounting, inventory, customers and sales, staff, profit margin, discounts, exceptions, vendors, and lottery.
• Exception reports for voids, returns, overrides, and drawer opens can help retailers spot unusual activity, errors, and transactions that may warrant further investigation.
• FTx POS lets you save favorite reports, schedule them to run automatically, and export them as PDF, CSV, or XLSX, with column-level control through the Export Utility.
• Because Control Center is web-based, owners can review reports through a supported browser and device, subject to their access permissions.

Benefits of POS Reporting for Retail Businesses

POS reports show retailers what’s happening across their business, from which products are selling to where costs are increasing.

Here’s how these reports can help you manage your store day to day:

Improved strategic decision-making

A POS sales report shows which products, categories, and time periods drive results. You can decide what to stock, when to staff up, and where to invest using actual sales figures rather than assumptions. These reports can also help you assess larger decisions, such as whether to discontinue a product line or consider opening another location.

More efficient store operations

Your POS reports can help you spot inventory and staffing issues before they become bigger problems. Reorder reports help you monitor stock levels and reduce the risk of running out of popular products, while peak-hour reports show when you may need extra staff. Scheduled reports also save time by running routine reports automatically.

More personalized customer experiences

Customer and loyalty data show who shops with you, how often, and what they buy. You can use that information to recommend products, reward your best customers, and tailor offers to their purchasing habits.

Increased revenue through marketing campaigns

Reports reveal which products, offers, and customer groups respond best. Use them to build targeted promotions, then check the sales lift to see what worked. Comparing sales with discount costs and gross profit can help you determine whether a promotion generated enough additional business to justify the expense.

Improved data and transaction security

Exception reports flag voids, refunds, price overrides, and no-sale drawer opens. These transactions can point to mistakes or activity that needs further investigation. Role-based access also lets you control who can view sensitive reports. Together, these tools help you monitor transactions and manage access to business information.

Lower operational expenses

Reports can highlight excess inventory, unnecessary labor costs, and rising supplier prices. Automating routine reports saves staff time, and accurate accounting data can help organize records for tax preparation. Regularly reviewing these figures can help you spot expenses that need attention before they add up.

What Is POS Reporting?

POS reporting is the process of turning point-of-sale transaction data into reports on sales, inventory, customers, staff, and profit. Retailers use these reports to spot trends, reduce waste, and make decisions based on what’s actually happening in their stores.

What POS Reports Should You Analyze?

Your POS system collects data from everyday transactions, but knowing which numbers to review can help you get more out of that information.

These 10 POS reports can help you track sales, manage inventory, monitor expenses, and make informed decisions about your store:

1. General Dashboard Reports

Your POS dashboard gives you a quick look at how your store is performing. Depending on your system and settings, you can choose which figures to display and review results for a specific period or in real time.

Here are five key figures to keep an eye on:

• Net sales over a specific period, compared with previous periods to identify changes
• Number of transactions
• Transaction totals
• Invoice totals and deposits
• Deposits and outgoing costs

Together, these figures give you a snapshot of your store’s performance and can help you spot sales trends, identify busy periods, and see where your attention may be needed.

How to Use This Data

Review your POS dashboard regularly to help guide decisions about inventory and cash flow.

• Inventory Management – Review net sales and transaction history to identify popular products, spot sales trends, and understand when demand is highest. Use these insights to guide inventory levels and purchasing decisions.
• Cash Flow Management – Review deposits, cash drops, and outgoing costs to understand how money moves through your business. This can help you plan major expenses, identify potential financial risks, and find opportunities to reduce costs.

2. POS Accounting Reports

As you consider POS software solutions, look at a platform’s accounting features. Accounting data available in a POS might include:

• Refunds
• Revenue
• Cash adjustments
• Accounts payable
• Customer deposits
• Assets and liabilities

Ultimately, look for a POS platform that allows you to create your own accounting reports and general ledger reports that meet your needs.

The platform should also allow you to export POS data to QuickBooks or Excel. Having this information available can save time when reviewing your books or preparing financial records.

How to Use This Data

Businesses can use accounting reports to:

• Tax Preparation – POS accounting reports help organize sales, expense, and inventory cost data for tax preparation.
• Cost Control – These reports provide visibility into costs. You can use this information to identify opportunities to reduce expenses, address waste, and compare supplier costs.
• Financial Planning – Use POS accounting data to analyze profit margins, costs, and revenue. You can use this to make better pricing and budgetary decisions.

3. Inventory Reports

Both cloud and on-premise POS systems can help retailers manage inventory.

These reports may include:

• Real-time inventory levels
• Inventory summaries
• Inventory valuation
• Reorder reports

Inventory reports help you understand which products sell well and how quickly they move. You can review daily, weekly, or monthly inventory levels for particular products. Having this information readily available also means you don’t have to visit the storeroom every time you need to check stock figures.

How to Use This Data

You can use inventory data from your POS to:

• Determine Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
• Identify products at risk of spoilage or obsolescence, such as perishables or electronics
• Identify how much money is tied up in inventory
• Identify slow-moving products or, if your system supports it, set up automated replenishment

4. Customer and Sales Reports

Customer and sales reports can help you understand what people buy and how they shop at your store.

Sales data can help you identify:

• Best- and worst-selling products
• Average transaction value and sales by time of day
• Sales tax breakdown
• Sales trends
• Payment preferences

If you’re running a customer loyalty program, you may also find customer information in these reports. This can show you how often customers visit your store, how many customers are new versus returning, and patterns in what they buy.

How to Use This Data

A sales summary POS report can help you:

• Avoid overstocking items that don’t sell well
• Identify sales trends, growth, and seasonality
• Use past sales patterns to plan inventory for upcoming busy periods
• Personalize marketing efforts
• Track customer visits and repeat purchases to better understand customer retention

There’s Probably a Report for That…

Find the data you need faster with built-in reports, scheduled exports, favorites, filters, and more inside FTx Control Center.

5. Staff Management Reports

POS labor reports aren’t relevant to every business, but when available, they can help you understand labor costs.

These reports may include:

• Average hours worked per employee
• Average sales / number of transactions
• Labor expenditures by job title

You may also be able to create employee profiles to review labor data by individual team member. This can help you better understand overtime, payable hours, and other labor figures.

How to Use This Data

You can use labor analytics data to:

• Identify peak and off-peak periods for business activity
• Improve productivity by identifying high-performing employees where the relevant data is available
• Manage labor costs and look for opportunities to adjust staffing
• Review employee hours and staffing patterns to assess whether current schedules meet the store’s needs

6. Profit Margin and Product Category Reports

Revenue shows how much you’ve sold, while gross profit helps you understand how much those sales contribute after product costs. These reports use your POS sales data to show which items earn their shelf space.

• Gross profit by product, category, or department: See where profit comes from, not just where sales come from.
• Margin percentage per item: Spot items that sell well but earn very little.
• Cost vs. retail price comparison: Check that every price still covers costs with room to profit.
• Top profit -generating vs. top revenue-generating products: These lists are often different, and the gap is where the opportunity sits.

How to Use This Data

• Adjust Pricing: Raise prices on high demand items with thin margins, and test small increases before applying them broadly.
• Prioritize Shelf Space: Give the best locations to products that deliver the most profit per square foot.
• Reconsider Low Performers: Bundle, discount, or drop items that take up space but add little margin.
• Spot Cost Changes: A falling margin often means a supplier raised prices. Catch it early and adjust your retail price.

7. Discount and Promotion Reports

Discounts can attract customers, but it’s worth checking whether a promotion delivers the results you expected. These reports show what you gave away and what you got back.

• Total discounts given by period: Track how much margin you are trading for sales.
• Discounts by promotion, coupon code, or employee: See which offers and which people are driven by discount activity.
• Sales lift during promotional periods: Compare promo sales against a normal baseline.
• Loyalty rewards redeemed: Measure how often customers use rewards and what they buy when they do.

How to Use This Data

• Measure Promotion ROI: Compare the extra profit a promotional offer created with the amount spent on discounts.
• Retire Ineffective Offers: Stop promotions that give margins away without lifting sales.
• Control Discount Abuse: Unusual discount totals tied to one employee or code deserve a closer look.
• Time Future Campaigns: Use past results to schedule offers when customers respond best.

8. Voids, Returns, and Exception Reports

Small transaction discrepancies can add up over time. Exception reports help bring them into view.

• Voided transactions: Track how often and by whom sales are canceled.
• Refunds and returns (by product, reason, and employee): Find patterns behind returned items.
• No-sale drawer opens: See when the drawer was opened without a sale.
• Price overrides and manual adjustments: Review every change made outside normal pricing.

How to Use This Data

• Investigate Unusual Activity: Repeated voids, overrides, or drawer opens by one employee or shift are worth investigating.
• Reduce Errors: Frequent mistakes at checkout point to a training need.
• Identify Problem Products: A high return rate on one item can signal a quality or description issue.
• Tighten Policies: Use the findings to set clearer rules on refunds, overrides, and approvals.

Pro Tip:

Review exception reports weekly, not only when something feels wrong. Small patterns, like repeated voids on one shift, are far easier to fix earlier than after months of losses.

9. Vendor and Purchasing Reports

What you pay suppliers shapes your margin as much as what you charge customers. These reports keep purchasing under control.

• Purchase orders by vendor: See how much you order from each supplier.
• Vendors spend over time: Track whether spend is rising, falling, or concentrated in one supplier.
• Cost price history per product: Watch how supplier prices change.
• Received vs. ordered quantities: Compare what you ordered with what actually arrived.

How to Use This Data

• Negotiate Better Terms: Show suppliers spending history when asking for volume pricing or better terms.
• Compare Suppliers: Check cost history across vendors for the same product.
• Improve Reordering: Use purchasing patterns and sales data to order the right amount at the right time.
• Catch Receiving Errors: Short shipments and wrong items show up when received quantities do not match orders.

10. Lottery Reports

For convenience stores and gas stations, lottery is a cash-heavy category that needs its own reporting. Lottery reports keep sales, payouts, and counts accurate.

• Lottery payout details: Review what was paid out and when.
• Lottery reconciliation: Compare expected totals with actual counts and cash.
• Lotto transactions: See individual lottery sales and payouts in one place.

How to Use This Data

• Lottery Department: Track lottery as its own department to see how much it contributes to sales and foot traffic.
• Lottery Ticket Quantity: Compare ticket counts against what should be on hand to catch variances early.
• Payout Amount: Check payouts against reconciliation totals to confirm they match.
• Lottery Tickets Sold: Watch sales by game to decide which tickets to stock more or less.
• Lottery Sales Details: Drill into transaction-level detail when a count or cash total does not add up.

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POS Reporting Functions in FTx POS

Reports only help if you can find them, run them, and share them without extra work. FTx POS builds those steps into its reporting tools, so retail data reporting stays quick and consistent. Reporting runs through Control Center, the FTx back office, which you can open from any browser, tablet, or mobile device.

Favorite reports

Mark the reports you open most as favorites, so they are one click away. Your daily sales summary or cash reconciliation report is ready without searching.

Run Your Go-To Reports in One Click

Save your filters, sorting, and report settings as a favorite so you can skip the setup and get straight to the data.

Manage favorited reports

Keep your favorites current as your priorities change. Add a report when you need it often, and remove ones you no longer use, so your shortlist always matches how you run the store.

Automate report schedules

Set routine reports to run on a schedule instead of building them by hand each time. Your team gets consistent numbers on time, and nobody has to remember to pull them.

Print & download/Export reports

Print a report for a team meeting, or download it in PDF, CSV, XLSX, and other formats. Send it to your accountant, open it in a spreadsheet, or keep it on file.

Custom data export

A retail data reporting POS with the Export Utility allows you to choose which data to include in your sales related reports by selecting the required columns. Options include General Ledger, Sales Tender, Sales Tax, and Invoice GL. You get the data in the layout your accounting process needs, without cleaning up extra fields.

Putting POS Reports to Work

A strong POS reporting system turns everyday transactions into clear direction. Track these ten reports regularly, and you will price smarter, stock better, protect your cash, and plan with confidence. With FTx POS, you can favorite, schedule, and export reports in minutes, so your team spends less time on data and more on growth.