To compare kiosk, counter and online activity, give every order two separate labels: order source and dining option. Source tells you where the order was entered. Dining option tells you whether the guest ate on site or took the food away. An order can be both kiosk and takeaway, so those labels should never be added together as if they represented separate orders.
Start with order counts to check that the labels work. Then use the same structure for sales, with a consistent definition of the amount included. A cross-tab puts sources in rows and dining options in columns, so each order belongs in one cell. The row and column totals are two views of the same business, not extra sales to combine.
Define the two dimensions before comparing sales
Choose source labels that reflect how your location takes orders. For example, you might use kiosk, counter and online. Decide whether a staff member entering a phone order at the counter should be labeled counter or phone. Either approach can be useful, but changing the rule halfway through a reporting period makes the comparison harder to trust.
Dining option is a different question. Dine-in and takeaway describe what happens after the order is placed. If delivery is part of your operation, decide whether it needs its own dining-option value rather than being folded into takeaway. Write the definitions down and use them consistently across the channels you compare.
Keep an explicit unknown or unassigned value for each dimension. A missing dining option should not automatically become takeaway. An unknown source should not automatically become counter. Show unknowns in the report and investigate them before drawing conclusions. If a report hides unassigned records, ask how to include them or reconcile them separately.
Also agree on the unit being counted. One order may contain several items or serve several guests. An order count is neither an item count nor a guest count. When comparing sales, decide whether the figure means gross item sales, discounted sales or another amount, and apply the same rule to every cell. Keep deposits and processing fees separate from sales; a deposit received or a fee paid is not another order sale.
For a useful comparison, set the same location, dates and time boundary for every report. Decide how to handle canceled orders, refunds and orders opened on one day but completed on another. Those choices can change the numbers even when the source and dining labels are correct.
Build a cross-tab and reconcile it
The following example is hypothetical. It counts completed orders at one location over one reporting period. Delivery is excluded, all included orders have a known dining option, and no sales amounts are shown. Fixed costs, variable costs and exception costs are not included; this is an order-count worksheet, not a profit calculation.
| Order source | Dine-in orders | Takeaway orders | Total orders |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiosk | 8 | 4 | 12 |
| Counter | 8 | 7 | 15 |
| Unknown source | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 18 | 12 | 30 |
Read across a row to see the dining mix within a source: the kiosk has eight dine-in and four takeaway orders, for 12 orders. Read down a column to compare sources within a dining option: the 18 dine-in orders comprise eight kiosk, eight counter and two with an unknown source.
Both sets of totals reconcile to 30: 12 kiosk plus 15 counter plus three unknown, and 18 dine-in plus 12 takeaway. Do not add 12 kiosk orders to 18 dine-in orders and call the result 30 separate orders. The eight kiosk dine-in orders appear in both of those views.
The unknown-source row matters. Leaving it out would make the source total 27 while the dining total remains 30. That mismatch is a signal to check the report, not a reason to assign the three orders to a convenient channel. If any dining options were unknown, add an unknown column or a separate reconciliation line and include those orders in the grand total.
To make the same worksheet for sales, replace each cell's count with the sum of the agreed sales amount for those orders. Keep a count version alongside it. A high sales total could reflect more orders, larger orders or both. Neither table alone explains prep time, staffing needs or profit.
Test the report against order records
Before choosing a system, ask the vendor to demonstrate the report using a small set of simulated orders. Agree on the expected labels first: for example, a kiosk dine-in order, a kiosk takeaway order and a counter takeaway order. Include an unassigned value if the workflow permits one, plus a canceled or refunded order to check the chosen exclusion rule.
Use a sandbox, demonstration records or another safe simulation. Confirm that the exercise will not take a real card payment, send a guest message or dispatch a courier. This is a reporting check, not a live service pilot. If you later run a live pilot, plan it separately with staff, real service conditions and the vendor's operational safeguards.
Ask to see the underlying order records as well as the summary. For each record, check the order identifier, source, dining option, status, relevant timestamps and the amount used in the sales report. Ask whether those fields can be viewed or exported at order level, and whether staff can correct a mislabeled order without losing the original history.
Then apply one filter at a time. A kiosk-source filter should return both the simulated kiosk dine-in and kiosk takeaway records. A takeaway filter should return both the simulated kiosk and counter takeaway records. Applying both filters together should narrow the result to the kiosk takeaway record. Compare the resulting counts and amounts with the records, not just with another dashboard total.
Ask what happens when an order changes after entry. For example, if a guest switches from dine-in to takeaway, does the report use the current value or the original one? How are partial refunds shown? Can online orders be separated from kiosk and counter orders under your setup? Can the same field definitions be used in a date-range report? The answers determine whether the cross-tab remains useful after a busy shift.
Fleksa's partner portal offers order views and sales and order summaries for a selected period. Available views and configuration vary, so ask to see the exact filters, order-level detail and any export you need. Compare that workflow with your current restaurant POS system and any restaurant kiosk you plan to use; do not assume every source will be labeled the same way without setup.
Use the matrix to choose what to inspect
In the hypothetical worksheet, counter takeaway has seven orders, compared with four kiosk takeaway orders. If staff report a pickup congestion problem, counter takeaway is a reasonable place to observe first: it has the larger count within that dining option. That is a priority for investigation, not proof that counter entry caused a delay.
Watch the handoff process during a comparable service period. Note where tickets wait, whether packaged orders compete for space and whether staff must interrupt another task to find a guest's food. Ask whether the same pickup area handles kiosk and counter orders. If it does, the shared handoff may matter more than the entry source.
Record the limits beside the decision. The example covers one location and one period, excludes delivery and canceled orders, and has three orders with an unknown source. It says nothing about order size, preparation time or labor cost. A different period or a corrected source label could change which group is largest.
After making an operational change, compare a similar period using the same definitions. Keep the source and dining-option totals separate, and check unknowns again. For a separate view of staffing against revenue, use the guide to comparing labor hours with sales by shift; the order matrix by itself does not measure labor efficiency.
Next, bring your field definitions and a short set of simulated orders to a vendor demonstration. Compare the requirements with Fleksa's restaurant management software, and confirm the reporting workflow you need before buying.
Frequently asked questions
Is online ordering a source or a dining option?
Online is usually an order source: it describes where the order was entered. Pickup, delivery or dine-in describes how the guest receives it. Define the options that fit your operation and keep the fields separate.
How do I prevent double counting across channels?
Assign each included order one source and one dining option. Place it in the matching cross-tab cell, then reconcile row and column totals to the same grand total. Do not add source totals to dining-option totals.
What if an order has no source or dining option?
Show it as unknown or unassigned rather than guessing. Include it in the reconciliation, investigate recurring gaps and ask whether staff can correct the record while preserving its history.
