How to analyze your Square sales report.
If you run a food truck, restaurant, catering business, or bakery on Square, you already collect a goldmine of sales data every single day. The problem is that Square's reports were written by accountants, not by the person standing behind the register at 6 a.m. This guide walks through your Square sales report in plain English: what each number actually means, which ones deserve your attention, and how to turn a spreadsheet export into decisions.
Step 1: Download your sales export
- Sign in to your Square Dashboard on a computer (the full reports live there, not in the app).
- Go to Reports in the left menu.
- Open Sales Summary for the big picture, or Item Sales for menu-level detail.
- Set your date range. For your first look, pull the last full 4 weeks. That's long enough to show real patterns without going stale.
- Click Export to download a CSV. It opens in Excel or Google Sheets, and you can upload it to an analysis tool as-is.
Step 2: Know what the numbers actually mean
Square uses accounting language that trips up almost everyone at first. Here's the translation:
| Square calls it | What it means for your business |
|---|---|
| Gross sales | Everything you sold at menu price, before any discounts, comps, or refunds. Your "if everyone paid full price" number. |
| Discounts & comps | Money you gave away: promos, employee meals, and "sorry about the wait" freebies. Small individually, sneaky in total. |
| Returns / refunds | Sales you gave back. Watch for patterns: the same item getting refunded repeatedly is a recipe or quality flag. |
| Net sales | Gross sales minus discounts, comps, and returns. This is your real revenue number, and the one to compare week over week. |
| Tax and tips | Money you're holding for the government, and money that belongs to your team. Neither is yours, so don't let them inflate how a day "felt." |
| Fees | Square's processing cut. It comes out before deposits, which is why the bank deposit never matches the register. |
Step 3: Five things to look for
1. Your weekday rhythm
Lay out net sales by day of week across four weeks. Most food businesses find 60 to 70% of revenue comes from just two or three days. Let that rhythm drive your prep, staffing, and buying instead of gut feel.
2. Where the money concentrates on your menu
In the Item Sales report, sort by net sales. It's common to find 20% of items producing 80% of revenue. The question isn't "should I cut the bottom items." It's whether each slow item earns its place (a loss leader, a family favorite) or just adds prep time and waste.
3. Discount leakage
Divide total discounts & comps by gross sales. Under 3 or 4% is typical. If you're above that, find out which discounts are doing the damage. An always-on promo that outlived its purpose is the usual suspect.
4. Refund patterns
One refund is a bad day. The same item refunded weekly is information: a portion-size problem, an unclear menu description, or a quality slip on busy days.
5. Average sale size
Net sales divided by transaction count. If traffic is steady but the average ticket is drifting down, customers are skipping add-ons. That usually calls for a menu tweak or better upselling, not a marketing campaign.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Comparing gross to net. If last month you looked at gross and this month net, you'll "lose" revenue that never existed.
- Judging a promo by gross sales. A busy promo day with heavy discounts can net less than a quiet full-price day.
- Ignoring the calendar. A slow week next to a festival week isn't decline, it's context. Note events, weather, and closures next to your numbers.
- Only looking when things feel wrong. A 15-minute weekly review catches problems while they're still cheap to fix.
Quick answers
How do I export my sales data from Square?
Sign in to your Square Dashboard, go to Reports, open the Sales Summary or Item Sales report, set your date range, and use the Export button to download a CSV file you can open in Excel or Google Sheets, or upload directly to a tool like KeyUna.
What is the difference between gross sales and net sales in Square?
Gross sales is everything you sold before any deductions. Net sales is gross sales minus discounts, comps, and returns. Net sales is the number that tells you what your menu actually earned.
Which Square report is best for menu analysis?
The Item Sales report. It breaks revenue down by individual item and category, so you can see your best sellers, your slow movers, and where your revenue is concentrated.
Want the analysis done for you?
Everything above, KeyUna does automatically. Upload your Square export and get a plain-English Business Advisor Report with opportunities, risks, and next steps, without building a single spreadsheet formula. Your first report is free.