Clover’s reports follow standard accounting practices, which can lead to poor business decisions. Here are the specific differences in Spark, including an explanation of how these changes improve decision-making.
Sales
“Sales” can have many different definitions depending on the usage. For clarity, the definitions of all metrics in Spark are based on measuring performance, which may differ from those for accounting or tax purposes. For example, here are the criteria for calculating today’s sales:
- Orders completed today are included, even if the order is paid or fulfilled at a later date.
- Sales taxes are not included.
- Tips are not included.
- Service charges are not included by default, but there is an option to do so.
- The full amount of a delivery order is included, but there is an option to deduct the delivery commission.
Note: In the Categories/Products section of the Dashboard, order-level discounts are shown as separate line items instead of being allocated to individual items in those orders (like Clover does). This allows order-level discounts to be measured/analyzed independently of category/product performance.
Refunds
In Clover, refunds adjust the sales total on the day the refund occurred (per accounting principles). This leads to inaccurate performance metrics for both the original date of the order and the refunded date (if they differ). In Spark, refunds adjust the sales total on the date of the original order (see example). This approach ensures the metrics accurately reflect the actual sales for both dates.
Order Counts
When Clover calculates the number of orders, it includes refunded orders and non-revenue orders (like gift cards). Since these types of orders do not result in revenue, this approach results in an understated Order Size (revenue / order count). This is misleading and can lead to poor decisions. Spark excludes these types of orders from the order count. As a result, the Order Size accurately measures the average revenue per order.
