Dashboard - User Guide

Overview

The Dashboard section provides visual analytics and insights into your restaurant's operations. This section is available only to users with the Administrator role.

Use this section to:

Monitor order trends - View monthly order volume and revenue over a period you choose
Analyze staff performance - See which employees are taking the most orders
Get quick insights - Access key metrics at a glance
Track business patterns - Identify busy periods and trends
Compare seasons - See how individual dishes move with the time of year

Important: Only Administrators can access the Dashboard. Staff members do not see this section in the navigation menu.

Understanding the Dashboard

Dashboard Components

The Dashboard displays visual charts and statistics to help you understand your restaurant's performance:

Today's Figures

Orders, covers and revenue for today, plus what is booked for the next seven days
Each compares against the same weekday a week ago - a Saturday has nothing to say to a Friday
Not affected by the period you choose below: these are always today

Period Selector

One control setting the months that the three charts below it cover
Presets for the last 6 months, the last 12, and the last 2 years, plus a custom range chosen month by month
The button always shows the months actually being displayed
The chosen period is part of the page address, so a narrowed Dashboard can be bookmarked or sent to a colleague

Orders Count and Revenue (two Line Charts)

Orders taken each month, and money taken each month, side by side
Deliberately two charts rather than one with two scales: where two different scales happen to line up is arbitrary, and one chart would show the lines crossing in places that mean nothing
X-axis: months, oldest on the left
Y-axis: the count, or the money
A month with no trade appears as zero rather than being left out, so the spacing along the axis is always a true month-by-month interval

Orders by Employee (Bar Chart)

Who took how many orders over the chosen period, longest bar first
Only visible (non-hidden) employees appear
Counted by the order's event date, the same as the charts above it, so "the same months" means the same thing everywhere on the page

Seasonal Meals Chart (Grouped Bar Chart)

How the best-selling dishes move with the season
Up to eight complete seasons (two years), and six dishes at a time chosen from the twenty best sellers
Two controls on the card choose which seasons and which dishes to draw; both narrow what is already on screen, so a change is instant
X-axis: season names, oldest on the left
Y-axis: portions sold
Legend: which colour is which dish. A dish keeps the same colour whichever others are showing

What the Charts Tell You

Orders and Revenue insights:

Growing trend - Orders increasing month-over-month
Declining trend - Orders decreasing (may need attention)
Seasonal patterns - Regular peaks and valleys (e.g., busy summer, slow winter)
Anomalies - Unusual spikes or drops in specific months

Orders by Employee insights:

Staff workload distribution - Which employees handle more orders
Training needs - Employees with low order counts may need more training or hours
Performance balance - Whether work is distributed evenly
Active vs. inactive staff - Who is currently creating orders

Seasonal Meals Chart insights:

Seasonal preferences - Which dishes are most popular in each season
Menu planning - Identify which items to feature or promote per season
Inventory optimization - Stock ingredients based on seasonal popularity
Marketing opportunities - Promote popular seasonal dishes
Year against year - Widen to two years and compare a season with the same season a year before, which is what separates a genuine seasonal effect from a trend running through the whole period

Accessing the Dashboard

Prerequisites:

You must be logged in as an Administrator
Staff members cannot access this section

To access the Dashboard:

Open the main navigation menu
Select Dashboard
The page loads with all available charts

What you'll see:

Today's figures at the top
The period selector, and the three charts it scopes
The Seasonal Meals Chart below them, with its own two controls
Each chart loads independently

Choosing a Period

The period selector sits above the charts it applies to and covers all three of
them at once, so the numbers on the page always describe the same stretch of
trade.

To change it:

Press the button showing the current months
Pick a preset - Last 6 months, Last 12 months or Last 2 years
Or set either end yourself with the two month fields underneath

Things worth knowing:

The fields choose a month, not a day. The charts count by month, so a day would be a precision the answer does not have
Two years is the longest period available. Beyond that there is no room on the axis for a label per month
If you set a start earlier than that, the range is trimmed and the button shows the months you actually got
Today's figures at the top do not follow the period - they are always today
The Seasonal Meals Chart does not follow it either, because its axis is seasons and a range of months does not divide into them

Reading the Orders and Revenue Charts

Chart Structure

Two line charts, side by side (stacked on a narrow screen):

X-axis (horizontal): the months of the chosen period, oldest on the left
Y-axis (vertical): the number of orders in one chart, the money taken in the other
Data points: one per month

On a long period only some months are labelled, so the labels stay readable.
Every month is still plotted and still counted - only the labels thin out.

Interpreting the Data

The chosen period:

Defaults to the last 12 months
If your restaurant is newer, earlier months simply show zero
Most recent month appears on the right
Oldest month appears on the left

A month at zero means no orders were served that month. It is drawn rather
than skipped: a missing month would put two non-adjacent months side by side and
the line between them would suggest a change that never happened.

Reading Trends:

Line going up: Order volume is increasing
Line going down: Order volume is decreasing
Flat line: Order volume is stable
Steep changes: Significant increases or decreases

Example Interpretations:

Scenario 1: Steady Growth

Line trends upward from left to right
Suggests business is growing
May indicate successful marketing or improved service

Scenario 2: Seasonal Pattern

Line peaks in summer months, dips in winter
Normal for many restaurants
Can plan staffing and inventory accordingly

Scenario 3: Sudden Drop

Sharp downward spike in one month
May indicate an issue (closure, competition, etc.)
Worth investigating the cause

What's Counted

Orders included:

All non-deleted orders created in the system
Deleted orders are excluded from all calculations
Grouped by the order's event date (not creation date)
Restaurant-specific (only your restaurant's orders)

Reading the Orders by Employee Chart

Chart Structure

Horizontal bars, longest first:

One bar per employee, labelled with their name
Bar length: the number of orders they took
One colour throughout: the names carry the identity and the lengths carry the comparison, so a colour per employee would only repeat what the label already says

Interpreting the Data

The chosen period:

Shows orders taken by each employee over the months selected above
Only includes visible (non-hidden) employees
Excludes system or hidden users
Deleted orders are excluded from counts

Reading Distribution:

Longer bars: Employees who took more orders
Shorter bars: Employees who took fewer orders
Missing employees: Either new, or took no orders in this period

Example Interpretations:

Scenario 1: Balanced Distribution

All segments roughly similar size
Indicates even workload distribution
Good for team morale and cross-training

Scenario 2: One Dominant Segment

One employee has a much larger segment
May indicate:
- They work more hours
- They're more experienced/faster
- Other staff need more training
- Workload imbalance

Scenario 3: Many Short Bars

Large number of employees with short bars
May indicate:
- High staff turnover
- Many part-time employees
- Orders spread across full team

What's Counted

Orders included:

All non-deleted orders taken by each employee
The period chosen above
Based on the order's event date - the day it is served, not the day it was entered. A booking taken in January for a March event counts in March, the same as it does on the charts beside it
Only visible employees (hidden users excluded)
Restaurant-specific data

Reading the Seasonal Meals Chart

Chart Structure

Grouped Bar Chart Format:

X-axis (horizontal): Season names (e.g., "Winter 2024" for a past year, or just "Spring" for the current one)
Y-axis (vertical): Portions sold
Bars: Each coloured bar is one dish
Grouping: Bars are grouped by season
Legend: Shows which colour is which dish

Choosing Seasons and Dishes

Two buttons on the card's heading say how many of each are showing. Pressing one
opens its list of tick boxes.

Seasons - up to eight, which is two years. At least two must stay ticked: one season on its own is not a comparison, and the chart would be a plain bar chart of dishes
Dishes - the twenty best sellers, listed most popular first, of which six can be drawn at once. At least one must stay ticked. Two numbers rather than one on purpose: twenty is how much of your menu you can compare between, and six is how many bars a group can hold before neighbouring colours stop being tellable apart. Untick a dish you are not interested in to make room for one you are
When a group is at its minimum the remaining boxes are greyed out and a line under the list says why
It opens showing the last four seasons - a year, which is the comparison the chart is for - and the six best sellers
A dish keeps its colour for as long as it is showing, so following one colour across the chart always follows the same dish. Unticking one never recolours the others; a dish ticked afterwards takes a colour nobody is using
Ticking and unticking is instant: everything on the card is already loaded

If you widen the selection far enough that the bars would become too thin to read,
the chart scrolls sideways instead of squeezing them.

Understanding Seasons

Season Definition:

Each season spans approximately 3 months
Seasons are named after the calendar season:
- Winter: December-February
- Spring: March-May
- Summer: June-August
- Fall (Autumn): September-November

Data Range:

Up to the last eight complete seasons - two years
The season currently in progress is not shown: a full season compared against a third of one says more about the calendar than about the menu
Most recent season appears on the right
A season with no sales still appears, at zero. It is a season you can tick, and an option that vanishes when the answer is "none" is one you cannot ask about

Interpreting the Data

Top Performers:

The twenty best sellers, ranked once over the whole two years rather than per season, of which you draw up to six
That is what makes the groups comparable: every season shows the same dishes, so the bars mean the same thing in each group
Popularity measured by total portions sold
Excludes deleted orders

Reading Trends:

Consistently tall bars: Dish is popular year-round
Seasonal peaks: Dish performs best in specific seasons
A bar at zero: none of that dish sold that season
Colour patterns: follow one colour across the groups to follow one dish

Example Interpretations:

Scenario 1: Year-Round Favorite

Same dish is tall in every season
Consistently high bar height across seasons
Suggests a reliable menu staple
Consider always keeping it available

Scenario 2: Seasonal Specialty

Dish is tall in summer and near zero elsewhere
Suggests seasonal demand (e.g., cold soup, ice cream)
Consider featuring it prominently during peak season
Widen to two years to check the same summer last year showed it too

Scenario 3: Declining Popularity

Bar height decreases from season to season
May indicate changing customer preferences
Consider refreshing or replacing the item

What's Counted

Meals included:

All non-deleted meals from your menu
Currently deleted meals are included if they were sold during the period
Counted based on order event date (not creation date)
Only orders from your restaurant

Counting method:

Sums the total quantity (portions) of each meal across all orders
If one order contains 3 portions of a meal, it counts as 3
Multiple orders are aggregated into total portions sold
Deleted orders are excluded from all calculations

Common Use Cases

Monthly Performance Review

Scenario: End of month, reviewing overall performance.

Navigate to Dashboard
Look at Orders Count and Revenue
Compare this month's orders to previous months
Identify trend: increasing, decreasing, or stable
Look for unusual patterns or anomalies
Use insights for:
- Staff scheduling next month
- Inventory planning
- Marketing decisions

Staff Performance Analysis

Scenario: Quarterly review of employee productivity.

Navigate to Dashboard
Look at Orders by Employee
Note which employees have larger segments
Compare to their work hours (external data)
Identify:
- High performers (large segments, good efficiency)
- Training opportunities (small segments despite many hours)
- New employees (small segments, recently hired)
Use insights for:
- Performance reviews
- Training plans
- Recognition and rewards

Seasonal Menu Planning

Scenario: Planning next season's menu and promotions.

Navigate to Dashboard
Look at Seasonal Meals Chart
Tick the upcoming season and the same season a year before, and untick the rest
- two groups side by side is the clearest comparison there is
Identify which dishes performed best in it
Note any consistent year-round performers by ticking all eight seasons
Compare to current inventory and ingredient costs
Use insights for:
- Featured items for next season
- Special promotions for popular seasonal dishes
- Menu adjustments (remove unpopular items)
- Inventory planning for high-demand ingredients
- Marketing campaigns highlighting seasonal favorites

Seasonal Planning

Scenario: Planning for next year's busy season.

Navigate to Dashboard
Look at Orders Count over a full year, or widen to two
Identify seasonal patterns:
- Which months are busiest?
- Which months are slowest?
- Any recurring patterns?
Use insights for:
- Hiring seasonal staff
- Adjusting inventory orders
- Planning promotions for slow periods
- Scheduling staff vacations during slow months

Troubleshooting Declining Orders

Scenario: Noticed business seems slower lately.

Navigate to Dashboard
Check Orders Count
Confirm whether orders are actually declining
Identify when the decline started
Look for external factors (new competition, road construction, etc.)
Review Orders by Employee to see if specific staff members are affected
Use insights to:
- Investigate root causes
- Adjust marketing or operations
- Provide additional staff training

Understanding Data Limitations

What the Dashboard Shows

Current capabilities:

Today's orders, covers and revenue, against the same weekday a week ago
Monthly order counts and revenue, over a period you choose (up to two years)
Orders by employee over the same period
Best-selling dishes by season, up to eight seasons and six dishes at a time out of the twenty best sellers
Restaurant-specific data only

What the Dashboard Doesn't Show (Yet)

Not currently available:

Table utilization rates
Customer retention metrics
Time-based patterns (hourly, daily, weekly)
Forecasting or predictions

Note: The Dashboard may be extended with additional charts and metrics in the future based on business needs.

Data Refresh

When data updates:

Dashboard data updates when you load or refresh the page
Reflects orders created up to the current date
No auto-refresh (manually reload page for latest data)

To refresh data:

Refresh your browser (F5 or Ctrl+R / Cmd+R)
Navigate away and back to Dashboard
Log out and back in

Tips and Best Practices

Regular Monitoring

Check the Dashboard regularly:

✅ Weekly for ongoing awareness
✅ Monthly for performance reviews
✅ Quarterly for strategic planning
✅ Before major decisions (hiring, marketing, etc.)

Establish a routine:

Set a specific day/time for Dashboard review
Compare to previous periods
Track trends over time
Document significant changes

Interpreting Trends

Consider context:

✅ Compare to same period last year (if available)
✅ Account for external factors (holidays, weather, events)
✅ Consider operational changes (menu updates, staffing, hours)
✅ Look at multiple data points, not single months

Avoid hasty conclusions:

❌ Don't panic over one slow month
❌ Don't attribute all changes to staff performance
❌ Don't ignore consistent long-term trends
❌ Don't make major decisions based solely on charts

Using Charts Together

Combine insights:

Look at both charts together for complete picture
Correlate order volume with staff distribution
Identify if declining orders affect all staff or just some
Use trends to predict future staffing needs

Example combined analysis:

Monthly chart shows 20% increase in orders
Pie chart shows orders concentrated among 2-3 employees
Insight: May need to hire additional staff to handle growth

Data Quality

Ensure accurate data:

Make sure all staff create orders in the system
Don't skip order entry during busy times
Train new staff on proper order creation
Periodically verify data accuracy

Factors affecting accuracy:

Manual orders not entered in system
Orders created under wrong employee account
System downtime or technical issues
Incomplete historical data (for new restaurants)

Troubleshooting

Charts Not Loading

If you see a loading indicator that doesn't complete:

Refresh your browser page
Check your internet connection
Try logging out and back in
Clear browser cache if issue persists

If you see "Something went wrong":

Indicates a data loading error
Refresh the page to retry
If error persists, contact support
Check if other sections of the system work normally

Missing Data

If charts appear empty:

New restaurant: the months before you started show zero
No orders: if no orders were taken in the selected period, the charts have nothing to plot - try a wider period
Data issue: rarely, there may be a technical problem

If recent months are missing:

Refresh the page to get latest data
Verify orders were actually created in the system
Check that orders have valid event dates

Unexpected Results

If numbers seem wrong:

Verify what data is being counted (see "What's Counted" sections)
Check which period is selected - the button above the charts says
Remember the default is the last 12 months, not the calendar year
Note that deleted orders are excluded from all charts
Check if date/time settings are correct

If employee bars seem off:

Remember they cover the selected period only
Hidden employees are excluded
Verify the employee actually created orders (vs. just modified them)
Consider staff turnover or role changes

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why can't I see the Dashboard?
A: The Dashboard is only available to Administrators. If you're a Staff member, you won't see this section in the navigation. Contact your manager if you need Administrator access.

Q: Can I export chart data to Excel or PDF?
A: Not currently. This feature may be added in the future. For now, you can take screenshots of charts if needed.

Q: Why do the charts open on 12 months?
A: It is the most useful default - a full year of trade, so every season is in view. Use the period selector to narrow it or widen it to two years.

Q: Can I filter charts by date range or other criteria?
A: Yes. The period selector above the first three charts sets the months they all cover, by preset or month by month. The Seasonal Meals Chart has its own two controls for which seasons and which dishes to draw.

Q: Why can't I choose a period longer than two years?
A: Because the x-axis has no room for a label per month beyond that, and a chart whose labels have been dropped is harder to read than a shorter one. If you set a wider range the start is trimmed, and the button tells you the months you got.

Q: Why can't I choose a specific day?
A: The charts count by month, so a start and end day would offer a precision the answer does not have.

Q: I unticked a dish and the colours stayed put. Is that right?
A: Yes, deliberately. A dish keeps its own colour for as long as it is showing, so following one colour always follows the same dish. A dish you tick afterwards takes a colour nobody else is using.

Q: Why can I only draw six dishes at once when twenty are listed?
A: Because six is about as many bars as a group can hold before neighbouring colours stop being tellable apart. The twenty are there so you can choose which six — untick something you are not interested in and the one you want becomes available.

Q: Do deleted orders count in the charts?
A: No, deleted orders are excluded from every chart on the page.

Q: Why is an inactive employee still in the employees chart?
A: The chart shows everyone who took orders during the chosen period, whatever their status is now. If they took orders then, they appear.

Q: How accurate is the monthly chart?
A: Very accurate, as long as all orders are entered into the system. It counts all non-deleted orders with event dates in each month and calculates revenue from order receipts.

Q: Can I share the Dashboard as I have set it up?
A: The period is part of the page address, so copying the address from your browser and sending it opens the same months for whoever receives it. Which seasons and dishes the Seasonal Meals Chart is showing is not - that is a reading aid on one card rather than a question about the business.

Q: Can I see hourly or daily patterns?
A: Not currently. Charts show monthly data only. More granular time periods may be added in future updates.

Q: What if I want to compare this year to last year?
A: This feature isn't available yet but may be added in the future. Currently, you can mentally note patterns if you've been using the system for over a year.

Q: Can I customize chart colors or appearance?
A: No, chart styling is fixed. Focus is on functionality rather than customization.

Q: Does the Dashboard show real-time data?
A: No, data updates when you load/refresh the page. It's not a real-time dashboard. Refresh the page to see latest data.

Future Enhancements

The Dashboard is designed to grow and adapt to business needs. Potential future additions may include:

Possible Future Charts:

Table utilization rates
Customer frequency and retention
Staff efficiency metrics
Hourly/daily order patterns
Reservation trends

Possible Future Features:

Export to Excel/PDF
Forecasting and predictions
Drill-down capabilities
Custom dashboard layouts
Alert notifications for unusual patterns

Note: These are possibilities, not commitments. Future development will be based on business priorities and user feedback.

Need Help?

If you encounter issues or have questions:

Cannot access Dashboard: Verify you're logged in as Administrator
Charts not loading: Refresh page, check internet connection
"Something went wrong" error: Refresh page, try again later
Data seems incorrect: Verify orders are being created properly in the system
Missing recent data: Refresh page to load latest information

Before relying on Dashboard data:

✅ Understand what each chart represents
✅ Check which period is selected, and remember today's figures ignore it
✅ Consider external factors affecting trends
✅ Use charts as one input among many for decisions

Best practices:

Review Dashboard regularly (weekly or monthly)
Track trends over time, not single data points
Combine Dashboard insights with operational knowledge
Share relevant insights with your team
Use data to support, not replace, business judgment

Remember: The Dashboard provides helpful insights, but it's just one tool. Combine chart data with your operational experience, customer feedback, and business goals for best results.

Last Updated: August 2026