Financial - Discount
Updated Fri 23 Oct 2026
Running the report
Report options
Select your start date
The first trading day to include. The default is today.
end date
The last trading day to include. The default is today. The whole of that trading day is included, up to your store's close of trade time.
Select your preferred grouping
How the discounts are grouped and subtotalled. The default is Cashier name.
Cashier name, Date and Discount reason give the list of discounts described in The list of discounts, followed by the charts. Menu item gives the Discounts by menu item view instead.
The report at a glance
The dates are trading days. If your store has a close of trade time later than midnight, sales made between midnight and that time count towards the previous trading day, and a star (*) appears after the dates with a note at the bottom of the page.
- The list of discounts: every discount, grouped the way you chose, with subtotals.
- Totals and percentage: the grand total and how it compares with your sales.
- Discount charts: discounts by cashier and by reason.
- Discounts by menu item: the same discounts broken down to the items they were applied to.
The list of discounts
One line for each discount given. If a single order had two discounts, you see two lines for that order. The lines sit under a heading for the group you chose (here, the cashier) and end with a subtotal for the group.
| Date and time | Cashier | Reason | Discount | Order | Invoice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam | |||||
| Tue 13 Oct 2026 12:41 | Sam | Staff Meal 1 | 45.00 | 112 | 1-4410 2 |
| Thu 15 Oct 2026 19:22 | Sam | Manager Special | 120.00 | 131 | 1-4451 |
| Sat 17 Oct 2026 20:05 | Sam | Customer Complaint | 85.50 | 154 | 1-4502 |
| Sam subtotal: 3 | 250.50 | ||||
| Alex | |||||
| Wed 14 Oct 2026 18:10 | Alex | Staff Meal | 60.00 | 120 | 1-4430 |
| Fri 16 Oct 2026 21:47 | Alex | Happy Hour | 38.50 | 143 | 1-4478 |
| Alex subtotal: | 98.50 | ||||
1 Reason
The name of the discount as it is set up in your system, for example Staff Meal. If a discount has no name, the code the cashier used is shown instead, and if there is neither you see Unknown.
2 Invoice
Click the invoice number to open the full invoice in the audit report.
3 Subtotal
The total discount for the group. With Date grouping the heading is the trading day, with Discount reason grouping it is the reason.
- Date and time
- The real clock time the sale was made, in your store's local time. With Date grouping, the heading above it is the trading day.
- Discount
- The amount that was actually taken off, including VAT or your country's equivalent sales tax. This can be less than the discount's face value, for example when a fixed discount is larger than the item it was applied to.
Totals and percentage
After the last group you see the grand total, then how the discounts compare with your sales for the same period.
| Grand Total | 349.00 1 |
| Discounts were applied totalling: | 349.00 |
| Gross sales incl discounts (incl VAT): | 14 520.00 2 |
| Discounts as a percentage of gross sales: | 2.40% 3 |
1 Grand Total
All the discounts in the period added together. It equals the sum of the group subtotals.
2 Gross sales incl discounts (incl VAT)
Your sales for the period before the discounts were taken off, including VAT. Cancelled and voided invoices are left out.
3 Discounts as a percentage of gross sales
The grand total divided by your gross sales. Watch this figure over time: a rising percentage means more of your sales are being given away. If there were no sales in the period it shows 0.00%.
Discount charts
When you group by Cashier name, Date or Discount reason, the report ends with two pie charts on a new page.
- Discounts by cashier
- Each slice is one cashier's share of all the discounts in the period.
- Discounts by reason
- Each slice is one discount reason's share of all the discounts in the period.
Discounts by menu item
Choose Menu item as the grouping to see which items the discounts were applied to. The heading on the page reads Discounts by menu item, with the period shown as From Mon 12 Oct 2026 00:00 until Sun 18 Oct 2026 23:59.
| Date and time | Reason | Discount | Order | Invoice | Original price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burgers - Classic Burger | |||||
| Tue 13 Oct 2026 12:41 | Staff Meal | 30.00 1 | 112 | 1-4410 | 60.00 |
| Fri 16 Oct 2026 21:47 | Happy Hour | 24.00 | 143 | 1-4478 | 120.00 |
| Burgers - Classic Burger subtotal: 2 | 54.00 | 180.00 | |||
| Sides - Chips | |||||
| Tue 13 Oct 2026 12:41 | Staff Meal | 15.00 | 112 | 1-4410 | 30.00 |
| Fri 16 Oct 2026 21:47 | Happy Hour | 14.50 | 143 | 1-4478 | 72.50 |
| Sides - Chips subtotal: | 29.50 | 102.50 | |||
| Grand Total | 83.50 | ||||
This example shows two discounted orders only, so its grand total is smaller than the one above.
1 How a discount is shared between items
When a discount applies to several items on an order, it is shared between them in proportion to their prices. In the example, the Staff Meal discount of 45.00 was given on a Classic Burger (60.00) and Chips (30.00), so 30.00 and 15.00 are shown against them. Items with no price, such as free options, take no share, unless every item the discount applied to is free.
2 Item subtotal
The total discount given on that item, next to the total of its original prices. The grand total here equals the grand total of the other views, and the same totals and percentage lines follow it.
Watch the video
A short walkthrough of the Discounts report: choosing your dates and grouping, and reading the lists and totals.
Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.
Frequently asked questions
Why is a discounted sale missing from the report?
Only completed sales are included. Cancelled and voided invoices are left out, as are sales made outside the trading days you chose. Check the dates, and remember a sale made between midnight and your close of trade time belongs to the previous trading day.
Why does the date heading differ from the time on the line?
When you group by Date, the heading is the trading day. If your store closes trade at 04:00, a discount given at 01:30 on Saturday belongs to Friday's trading day, so it sits under Friday. The time on the line is always the real clock time.
Why is the discount smaller than the discount I set up?
The report shows the amount that was actually taken off the sale. A fixed discount of R50.00 on an item that cost R30.00 can only take off R30.00, so R30.00 is shown. A percentage discount on only some of the items takes the percentage of those items, not of the whole order.
Why does one order show two lines?
That order had two discounts. Each is listed with its own reason, and the amounts add up to the total discount on the order.
Why do the discounts differ from another report?
This report includes both discounts on single items and discounts on the whole order, and the amounts include VAT. A report that shows sales excluding VAT, or that only counts one kind of discount, will show a different figure. Compare like with like by checking both the dates and the VAT setting.
What does the percentage at the bottom mean?
It is the total of all the discounts divided by your gross sales (sales before discounts, including VAT) for the same period. It is not the average discount percentage given to customers.
Can I see what was on the invoice?
Yes. Click the invoice number and the invoice opens in the audit report.
Glossary
- Cashier
- The employee who rang up the sale the discount was given on.
- Close of trade
- The time your store's trading day ends. Sales made before it, after midnight, count towards the previous trading day.
- Discount
- The amount taken off a sale, including VAT.
- Gross sales
- Your sales before discounts are taken off, including VAT.
- Invoice
- The record of one completed sale. Click its number to open it.
- Original price
- What an item was priced at before the discount.
- Reason
- The name of the discount that was used.
- Trading day
- A business day from one close of trade to the next.
- VAT
- Value-added tax, or your country's equivalent sales tax.