To measure a restaurant offer, divide the number of qualifying redemptions by a clearly defined eligible population. Then calculate net offer revenue by subtracting discounts and refunds from the gross value of redeemed orders. Report the rate and revenue together, and name the period each covers.
Those numbers tell you how an offer was used and what its orders retained after the adjustments you counted. They do not, by themselves, tell you how many sales the campaign created.
Define the populations before sending
Start with four counts: sent, eligible, redeemed and refunded. Write down what each means for this particular offer before comparing reports or channels.
- Sent: The number of intended recipients to whom the campaign was sent. This is not necessarily the number who received, opened or read it. If the system reports failed sends, record those separately.
- Eligible: The people or orders that meet the offer's rules. Those rules might include a date window, a minimum purchase or a limit of one use per guest. State whether your count is people or orders.
- Redeemed: A qualifying use of the offer on an order. Decide whether to count it when the code is applied, when the order is paid or when the order is completed. For revenue reporting, a completed qualifying order is usually a more useful starting point than a code merely entered at checkout.
- Refunded: Redeemed orders with money returned after the sale. Track full and partial refunds separately, and record the amount returned as well as the number of affected orders.
A guest can place more than one order, and an order can contain several items. Do not divide redeemed orders by eligible people unless the offer and report make that comparison meaningful. If the offer allows repeat use, report both unique guests and redemption events where you can.
Also agree on a cutoff. A report run on the last day of a campaign may miss refunds issued the following week. Keep the original campaign period and the refund cutoff visible so a later report can be reconciled with the first.
Choose the denominator and calculate the rate
Suppose an owner wants to measure a one-use lunch offer. The following figures are hypothetical, not results from a software product. The campaign was sent to 500 people; 400 met the offer rules. Each eligible person could redeem once, and 40 people completed one qualifying order each.
The eligible-person redemption rate is 40 ÷ 400 = 10%. A sent-person rate is 40 ÷ 500 = 8%. Both calculations are valid if labeled, but they answer different questions: the first measures use among people who qualified; the second relates completed uses to the original send count.
Neither rate is an open rate. Nor does either show how many of the 400 eligible people actually saw the offer. If you compare two campaigns, check that both use the same kind of denominator, redemption event and reporting window. A rate can rise simply because the eligible group became smaller.
For this example, four of the 40 orders were later fully refunded. If the owner wants a retained-redemption measure, it is 36 ÷ 400 = 9%. Keep that separate from the original 10% completed-redemption rate. A partial refund would require its own rule: an order count alone cannot show how much revenue was retained.
Reconcile the offer revenue
Use the worksheet below to follow the same hypothetical campaign from order value to revenue after refunds. The 40 completed orders each had $20 of pre-discount food value and received a $5 discount. The four fully refunded orders each returned the $15 the guest paid for the food.
| Measure | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Gross food value | 40 orders × $20 | $800 |
| Offer discounts | 40 orders × $5 | −$200 |
| Food revenue after discounts | $800 − $200 | $600 |
| Full refunds | 4 orders × $15 paid | −$60 |
| Net food revenue after refunds | $600 − $60 | $540 |
The $540 is not profit, total deposits or proof of new sales. It is food revenue for these orders after the stated discounts and refunds. The example excludes tax, tips, delivery charges and other non-food amounts. It also excludes fixed costs, variable costs such as food, packaging and processing, and exception costs such as replacement meals or chargebacks. No campaign cost is included.
The discount and refund are different adjustments. Do not subtract the original $5 discount again when a guest receives a $15 refund; the discount was already removed from gross value. For a partial refund, subtract the actual amount returned and keep the order in the count under your stated partial-refund rule.
When comparing a campaign report with an online ordering system or POS report, check whether each shows pre-discount value, the guest's paid amount or a deposit after processing fees. A payment fee is a cost, while a deposit is money transferred; neither is the same measure as sales. A quoted processing fee alone is not the all-in cost of running the offer.
If your offer spans several channels, avoid adding two reports that may contain the same order. Reconcile by a shared order identifier where available. Ask the vendor how it handles canceled orders, partial refunds, multiple discounts and refunds recorded after the campaign ends.
Use redemption to guide decisions, not claim new sales
A high redemption rate can mean guests found an offer attractive. Some may have bought the same meal without it. The rate cannot separate those orders from purchases prompted by the offer, and the $540 in the example is not automatically incremental revenue.
That distinction changes the decision. If the goal is to use spare lunch capacity, an owner might accept a smaller contribution per order in exchange for filling slow periods. If the kitchen is already at capacity, a discount may reduce revenue on orders it would have served anyway. Compare the retained revenue with the relevant food, labor and other costs before deciding to repeat the offer.
For a separate estimate of incremental effect, consider a comparable group that does not receive the offer and decide the comparison rules in advance. Even then, review differences between the groups and the measurement period. Redemption accounting gives you the offer's reported use and retained order revenue; a comparison is needed to investigate what the offer changed.
Choose the next offer based on the problem you need to solve. A minimum-spend offer may increase the order value needed to qualify, while a smaller fixed discount limits the reduction on each redemption. Either can discourage some guests. Model a few plausible order values and ask how the software reports orders that fail the threshold or use another discount. For a different cost calculation involving points, see the guide to loyalty reward costs.
Run a safe reporting acceptance test
Before committing to a tool, write down the figures you need to retrieve: audience sent, eligible population, completed redemptions, gross value, discounts, refunds and the cutoff date. Ask whether reports can be filtered by offer and exported at order level, and whether the same order can appear in more than one campaign report.
Then ask for a simulation in a training or sandbox environment. Use fictional guests and test orders with known amounts. Include one qualifying order, one that fails the offer rules, one canceled order and one refund scenario. Check the expected counts and arithmetic against the report. The simulation must not send a guest message, charge a real card or dispatch a courier.
A simulation checks the reporting logic; it does not prove that staff can run the process during service. If the simulation meets your criteria, plan a separate, controlled live service pilot with a real offer, clear staff responsibilities and a scheduled reconciliation. Review actual orders and refunds after the agreed cutoff. Do not assume every adjustment will appear in every report without checking.
For your next step, take your definitions and acceptance criteria to a vendor demonstration. Compare your requirements with the workflows available from Fleksa's restaurant marketing automation, including campaign controls and the reporting and export details you need.
Frequently asked questions
Should refunded orders count as redemptions?
They can count in the original completed-redemption figure if that is your definition. Report fully refunded orders separately and, if useful, show a retained-redemption rate alongside it. State how partial refunds are treated.
Is offer revenue the same as campaign profit?
No. Revenue after discounts and refunds does not include every cost of fulfilling orders or running the campaign. Subtract the relevant costs separately before judging the offer's contribution.
Can I compare redemption rates across email and SMS?
Yes, if you use comparable recipient definitions, offer rules and reporting periods. Label the denominator for each channel, and check whether a guest or order could appear in both reports.
