Chapter 9: Sales History

Sales History Background Sales history, also known as a scatter sheet mix, is a daily record of the menu items that have been sold. Uses for sales history include: To forecast To keep a daily record of which food items were sold To keep a daily record of how many menu items were sold To predict sales volume To record information that will aid management in forecasting accurately To aid management in predicting a sales analysis To project the annual budget To aid management in determining the dollar amount that customers are willing to pay Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009

Sales History Background Cont’d To accurately, forecast the number of customers for each meal period it is necessary to have pertinent information that influences sales on that particular day. Examples include: Day of the week Date Weather Time of day Meal period Special events within the community that will produce more sales (e.g., concerts, conventions, meetings, and bus tours) Employees who are absent from work that day Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009

Sales History Background Cont’d To accurately, forecast the number of customers for each meal period it is necessary to have pertinent information that influences sales on that particular day. Examples include: Day of the week Date Weather Time of day Meal period Special events within the community that will produce more sales (e.g., concerts, conventions, meetings, and bus tours) Employees who are absent from work that day Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009

Benefits of a Scatter Sheet At the end of each meal period, the food items that are sold must be recorded onto the sales history ledger. If a restaurant is losing sales, the sales history record can be helpful in determining the problem. Most restaurants lose sales because customers do not like the approach that the restaurant is taking in one or more of these areas: Sanitation Quality of the food Quality of the service Prices Atmosphere Location of the restaurant Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009

How a Scatter Sheet Works Column 1: includes the week ending date, the menu item listings, a remarks area, and a meal period area. Column 2: includes the name of the restaurant and space for the weather and the days of the week Column 3: shows the weekly total of the individual menu items that were sold Column 4: shows the selling price of the individual item. Column 5: shows the item sales Column 6: shows the total of weekly sales Column 7: shows the percentage contribution to sales Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009

Production Sheet Is a schedule that provides employees with information: Who will be doing which task When they will be doing the task Where they will be doing the task The equipment needed The quantity of a product needed Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009

Menu Engineering A method of analyzing the popularity and contribution margin of each menu item Determines how much profit each item is contributing by determining each menu item’s contribution margin and popularity. Four classifications Stars Plowhorses Puzzles Dogs Fundamentals of Menu Planning 3rd edition. (McVety, Ware and Ware) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. © 2009