5 Numbers Every Shop Owner Should Check Daily

At the end of the day, many shop owners ask just one question: "How much did we sell today?" That number matters, but it doesn't tell you whether today was profitable, whether customers bought a lot or a little each visit, whether you'll run out of your best seller tomorrow, or whether the cash drawer came up short. Some shops see sales grow steadily and still can't find the money at the end of the month — because they only watch one number.

This article covers 5 numbers worth checking every evening. It takes about 5 minutes and tells you whether the shop is healthy or heading for trouble — before a problem turns into a losing month.

1. Net sales — compared with the right day

Net sales is what you sold after refunds for returned items. If you sold 650 USD today but refunded 30 USD to two customers who returned goods, your real sales are 620 USD, not 650.

What matters even more is what you compare it with. Comparing today with yesterday causes needless panic: Saturdays are always busier than Mondays, and holidays differ from normal days. Better comparisons:

• Against the same weekday last week: 620 USD this Saturday versus 700 USD last Saturday → down 80 USD (about 11%).
• Look at the 7-day trend and don't react to a single day. One day of heavy rain cutting sales is normal; a whole week of decline is a signal.

When sales drop for several weeks in a row, ask the next question: fewer customers, or customers buying less each time? The next two numbers answer that.

2. Gross profit and gross margin

Gross profit = net sales − cost of the goods sold. Gross margin = gross profit ÷ net sales.

Example: a minimart in Phnom Penh has net sales of 620 USD today, and the items sold cost 465 USD.

• Gross profit: 620 − 465 = 155 USD
• Gross margin: 155 ÷ 620 = 25%

Why not just watch sales? Look at two weeks of the same shop:

Sales went up 400 USD, but gross profit fell 110 USD. Common causes: selling a lot of promotional items, a supplier raising prices without you adjusting selling prices, or staff giving too many manual discounts. Looking at sales alone, this week was "better"; gross profit shows the shop is working harder to earn less.

Note: gross profit does not yet include rent, wages or utilities. Know your shop's fixed cost per day (for example rent of 600 USD/month + wages of 900 USD/month ≈ 50 USD/day) so you know how much gross profit you need before you actually make money.

This number is only accurate when each item's cost price is entered correctly — when purchase prices change, update them right away.

3. Order count and average order value

Average order value = net sales ÷ number of orders. The minimart above had 124 orders today: 620 ÷ 124 = 5.00 USD per order.

This small number carries a lot of weight. If each customer bought just 0.50 USD more (a pack of tissues, a bottle of water), with 124 orders a day that's an extra 62 USD a day, about 1,860 USD every 30 days — without a single new customer.

Read it together with sales:

• Fewer orders, same average order value → fewer customers: check your location, opening hours, a new competitor nearby, your advertising.
• Same number of orders, lower average order value → customers still come but buy less: review product display, add-on suggestions at the counter, bundles.

4. Best sellers — and how many days of stock are left

Each day, skim your top 5–10 best sellers and ask for each one: how many days of stock are left?

Example: 500ml bottled water sells an average of 48 bottles a day, and you have 60 bottles left. The supplier delivers 2 days after you order. If you don't order today, you'll run out around midday tomorrow — on exactly the item customers come in for most.

A simple formula for a reorder point:

Reorder point = average daily sales × days to wait for delivery + safety stock

For the water: 48 × 2 + 24 (half a day of safety stock) = 120 bottles. When stock falls below 120 bottles, place an order.

On the other hand, items that sit still for weeks are capital locked up — see how to handle slow-moving stock in Clothing Store Inventory: Managing Sizes and Colors (the approach works for any kind of goods).

5. Cash difference at shift close

The last number isn't on the sales report — it's in the drawer: cash actually counted versus cash that should be there.

Example evening shift: according to the sales, the drawer should hold 180 USD and 2,450,000 Riel. The actual count is 180 USD and 2,410,000 Riel → short 40,000 Riel, about 10 USD at a rate of 4,000.

How to read it:

• Occasional differences of 1–2 USD, sometimes over, sometimes short: usually wrong change or Riel rounding — normal.
• Repeated shortages in the same shift or with the same person: check immediately, don't wait for month-end.
• Differences that follow the exchange rate: review how you take USD and give change in Riel — see Selling in USD and Riel without end-of-day cash gaps.

A full shift-closing routine and how to set staff permissions to reduce losses are in Stop cash loss at the counter: shift close and permissions.

A 5-minute evening habit

Write these 5 numbers in a notebook or spreadsheet every evening. After a month you'll know what "normal" looks like for your shop — and you'll notice right away when something is off.

Seeing these 5 numbers in LeangPos

If writing them down takes too long, LeangPos calculates most of them for you. The Dashboard shows today's revenue, today's gross profit and order count with the percentage change from yesterday, a 7-day revenue chart, this week's best-selling products and a low-stock list — see Dashboard overview. The Reports page lists, day by day, gross revenue, refunds, net revenue, cost, gross profit and margin, and can be filtered by branch — see Revenue report. When closing a shift, staff enter the USD and Riel they counted and the system immediately shows the difference from the expected amount.

If you'd like to see all 5 numbers on your phone every evening, you can try LeangPos for free.