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Management Figures Dashboard
The Management Figures dashboard brings your inventory movements, count variance and sales performance together in one place, for the exact period you want to report on. Head office teams and outlet managers use it to close a period, explain the gap between theoretical and actual food cost, and compare outlets side by side.
Table of Contents
- Before you start
- Opening the dashboard
- Choosing your reporting period
3.1. The Full Counts Only filter
3.2. Actual and theoretical opening and closing values - The outlet report
4.1. Inventory movement
4.2. Variance
4.3. Sales and gross profit - The all outlets inventory report
- The all outlets sales report
- Who sees which outlets
- Frequently asked questions
1. Before you start
The figures on this dashboard are only as complete as the data behind them. To get a reliable report, make sure that for the period you want to analyse:
- Your inventory counts are closed. Full counts are what turn a theoretical opening or closing stock value into an actual one.
- Your goods receipts are registered, including credit notes and corrections.
- Your sales are imported and your sold items are linked to recipes. A sold item that is not linked to a recipe generates revenue but no cost, so your cost columns stay empty and your gross profit looks better than it is. If none of your POS products are linked, the cost and GP columns will be close to zero across the board.
- Your waste is registered in Apicbase rather than simply counted away during a stock count. Waste that is only absorbed by a count shows up as negative variance instead of waste.
- Your transfers between outlets are completed on both sides.
2. Opening the dashboard
- Open the Insights Hub module in the left navigation menu.
- Go to Dashboards.
- Select Management Figures.
The dashboard opens with three tables underneath each other:
- an outlet report with inventory movement, variance and sales for one outlet, or for all your outlets combined,
- an all outlets inventory report with one line per outlet,
- an all outlets sales report with one line per outlet.
Each table has its own filters, so you can look at a single outlet in detail in the first table while keeping a different period in the comparison tables.
3. Choosing your reporting period
Click the calendar filter at the top of a table to set your period. You can:
- Pick one of the suggested periods: Last 7 Days, which is selected by default, or Last 30 Days.
- Or click a start date and then a second click on an end date to select a custom period.
The period is defined by your counts, not by the calendar. A stock period runs from one count to the next — the count moment is the boundary.
The dashboard currently assumes every count is taken after service, at closing. So if you did your opening count Monday night, the period starts Monday at close. Everything you sold on Monday during service was made from stock that was already consumed before that count — it's not in your opening figure. Including Monday's revenue would pair sales with a COGS that doesn't cover them.
Hence: revenue counted = the day after the opening count, through the closing count day inclusive.
A quick worked example:
- Monday, after service — opening count: €12,000 stock on hand
- Tue–Thu purchases: €8,000
- Thursday, after service — closing count: €10,000
- COGS = 12,000 + 8,000 − 10,000 = €10,000
- Revenue Tue + Wed + Thu = €33,000
- Food cost = 30.3%
3.1. The Full Counts Only filter
At the top of the calendar in the outlet report you will find the Full Counts Only filter, which is switched on by default.
- Switched on: every date without a closed full count is blocked in the calendar. You can only select a period that starts and ends on a counted day, which gives you an actual opening and closing stock value.
- Switched off: you can select any date. Days without a full count fall back to the start and the end of the day, and your opening or closing value becomes theoretical.
The two all outlets tables do not have this filter, because your outlets may well have counted on different days.
3.2. Actual and theoretical opening and closing values
Next to every Opening Value and Closing Value you will see one of two symbols:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ✅ Actual value | A full inventory count was performed on this date, so the value is the counted stock value. |
| ⚠️ Theoretical value | No full inventory count on this date, so the value is the stock value Apicbase calculated from your movements. |
Hover over the symbol to see the same explanation as a tooltip. A period with two ✅ boundaries is the one to use for financial reporting. A period with a ⚠️ boundary is still useful for spotting trends, but the variance and actual cost figures in it are estimates.
4. The outlet report
Use the outlet selector to choose the outlet you want to report on. If you have access to more than one outlet, you can also select All Outlets. In that case all inventory movement, variance, net sales and cost values are added together, and the percentages are recalculated on those combined totals rather than averaged.
Use the column visibility filter to hide any figure you do not need, so the table only shows what you report on.
4.1. Inventory movement
This section works like a stock report over a period: it starts from your opening stock, adds everything that came in, subtracts everything that went out, and ends at your closing stock.
| Figure | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Opening Value | The stock value at the start of the period. |
| Goods Received | The value of all goods receipts registered during the period. |
| Created In | The value of all recipes produced into stock during the period. |
| Transfers In | The value of all items transferred into this outlet during the period. |
| Sold | The stock value depleted by sales during the period. |
| Created Out | The value of all products taken out of stock to produce recipes during the period. |
| Transfers Out | The value of all items transferred from this outlet to another outlet during the period. |
| Shipped Out | The value of all items picked and shipped from this outlet to other outlets, when this outlet acts as an internal supplier. |
| Wasted | The value of all items registered as waste during the period. |
| Closing Value | The stock value at the end of the period. |
4.2. Variance
Variance is the difference between what your stock should have been and what your counts actually found.
| Figure | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Positive Variance | The total of all positive count differences in the period: you counted more than expected. |
| Negative Variance | The total of all negative count differences in the period, shown as a positive number: you counted less than expected. |
| Net Variance | Positive Variance − Negative Variance. This figure can be negative. |
Two points on which counts are included:
- The closing count of your period is included, because its result belongs to the period you are reporting on.
- The opening count of your period is not included, because that count closed the previous period.
4.3. Sales and gross profit
This section is where the dashboard earns its name: it puts your theoretical cost next to your actual cost and shows you the gap.
Net Sales is your total revenue excluding taxes for the period.
Theoretical is the cost your recipes say you should have used:
| Figure | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Cost | The same figure as the Sold line in the inventory movement section: the sum of all stock-based costs of goods sold during the period. |
| Cost % | Theoretical Cost ÷ Net Sales × 100 |
| GP % | 100 − Theoretical Cost % |
Actual is the cost you really incurred, which adds waste and corrects for what your counts found:
| Figure | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Cost | Theoretical Cost + Wasted − Net Variance |
| Cost % | Actual Cost ÷ Net Sales × 100 |
| GP % | 100 − Actual Cost % |
Difference is the gap between the two:
| Figure | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Cost | Actual Cost − Theoretical Cost |
| Cost % | Actual Cost % − Theoretical Cost % |
| GP % | Actual GP % − Theoretical GP % |
A negative difference in GP % means you earned less than your recipes predicted. The three ingredients of that gap are visible in the same table: waste you registered, stock your counts could not find, which shows as negative variance, and portioning or recipe accuracy. Hover over Net Variance and Actual Cost to see their formula, and over Theoretical Cost for a short definition.
5. The all outlets inventory report
This table shows the same inventory movement and variance figures as the outlet report, but with one line per outlet, so you can see at a glance which site is losing stock.
To focus the table:
- Use the calendar to set the period.
- Use the search field to find an outlet by name.
- Open Filters to narrow the list:
- Inventory Count Status lets you show only outlets whose opening value, closing value, or both, are actual or theoretical. This is the quickest way to find the sites that did not complete their count.
- Outlet grouping lets you filter by Region, Site, Brand/concept and Business Unit/Segment.
- Use column visibility to hide any columns you do not need.
The ✅ and ⚠️ symbols appear in the Opening Value and Closing Value columns here too, and follow exactly the same logic as in the outlet report.
6. The all outlets sales report
This table shows the sales and gross profit figures with one line per outlet: Net Sales, theoretical cost and GP %, actual cost and GP %, and the difference. Unlike the outlet report, the difference is shown as a single GP % difference column.
The filters are the calendar, the outlet name search, the Outlet grouping filters for Region, Site, Brand/concept and Business Unit/Segment, and column visibility.
The GP % difference column is the one to scan first: the outlets furthest from zero are the ones where reality and recipe are drifting apart.
7. Who sees which outlets
- Library users see every outlet in your library, both in the outlet selector and in the two all outlets tables.
- Outlet users see only the outlets they have been given access to.
- If you have access to only one outlet, the All Outlets option is not shown.
8. Frequently asked questions
Why is my actual cost higher than my theoretical cost?
Because something left your stock that was not sold. The usual causes are waste, spoilage, over-portioning, staff meals or free items that are not registered, and stock losses that only surface at the count. The Wasted and Negative Variance figures in the same table tell you how much of the gap each one explains.
Why is my actual cost lower than my theoretical cost?
A consistently negative gap usually points to a data issue rather than a windfall: goods receipts that were not registered, recipes with yields or portion sizes that are set too high, or counts that recorded more stock than is physically there. It is worth checking your recipe costings before treating the figure as a saving.
Why can't I select certain dates in the calendar?
The Full Counts Only filter is switched on. It blocks every day without a closed full count so that your opening and closing values are actual, counted values. Switch it off to select any date, keeping in mind that your boundaries then become theoretical.
Should my opening and closing stock values match the Stock Value report?
Yes. Since the July 2026 release the two are expected to reconcile when they cover the same period. To compare them like for like, run the Stock Value report with its end date set to the same date as the closing full count of the dashboard period. If a difference remains, it is usually because your count was taken during the day rather than at the end of it, as explained in section 3. If the gap is larger than that would explain, contact support with the outlet and the period and we will look at it with you.
Why is Net Sales lower than the revenue in my POS?
Net Sales is revenue excluding taxes, and only covers sales that were imported into Apicbase for the selected period and for the selected outlets. Sales that failed to import, or sold items that are not linked to a recipe, will make the dashboard and your POS diverge.
Can I split the figures by product category, for example food and beverage?
Not on this dashboard. The sales data behind it is consolidated per outlet and per day, so the category is no longer available at this level. If you need revenue split by POS category, go to Insights Hub > Reports > Sales Data Report, select a single outlet, use Filter PoS categories and export the result.
Can I export these tables?
Not yet. An export option has been requested and is on the product roadmap. In the meantime, use the Stock Value report and the sales reports in the Insights Hub for figures you need in a spreadsheet.
I only need profit per site, not this level of detail. Is there something simpler?
Yes. Insights Hub > Dashboards > Sales shows Profit and Average Profit Margin % per outlet for the period you select, which is enough for most monthly reporting.
Do I need to have counted to use the dashboard?
No, but you do need full counts for the actual cost and variance figures to be meaningful. Without a closing full count, the closing stock value is theoretical, and the actual cost is calculated on an estimated stock position.