Ecommerce daily sales report: which metrics to track
A small online shop can run its daily sales report on six numbers: orders, revenue, average order value, cancellations, unpaid orders and a comparison with the same weekday last week. They take a minute to read and usually tell you whether the day was normal.
Every example below uses made-up round numbers. They show how each calculation works, and your own figures will differ.
Which numbers are worth checking every day?
Here is the whole list with formulas. The example uses one Thursday: 20 orders and 2,000 EUR in revenue.
| Metric | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Orders | number of orders in the day | 20 |
| Revenue | sum of order values | 2,000 EUR |
| Average order value | revenue / number of orders | 2,000 / 20 = 100 EUR |
| Cancellations | number of cancelled orders | 2 |
| Unpaid orders | number of orders waiting for payment | 4 |
| Change vs. last week | (today − a week ago) / a week ago | (20 − 16) / 16 = +25% |
The first three numbers tell you how much was sold. The next two show how much of it could slip away, and the last one tells you whether the day is strong or weak.
What should count as an order or as revenue?
Decide once and stay with it. Revenue is most often the value of all received orders without the cancelled ones, either with or without VAT. What matters is not mixing the two. If you compare a figure with VAT against last week’s figure without VAT, the difference will mislead you.
The same rule applies to shipping and payment fees. Either include them in revenue always or never.
What does average order value add?
Revenue alone hides what is going on inside it. If revenue is unchanged but orders are down, customers are buying pricier items or more units. If orders are up and revenue is flat, cheaper items sold, or a discount worked.
Example: two days both bring 2,000 EUR. The first has 20 orders at an average of 100 EUR. The second has 40 orders at an average of 50 EUR. Picking and packing doubles on the second day, even though revenue is the same. That is why you want to see both numbers side by side.
How many cancellations and unpaid orders are too many?
There is no universal limit. It depends on what you sell and how people pay. It is more useful to follow your own share over time:
- cancellation rate = cancellations / orders, for example 2 / 20 = 10%,
- unpaid rate = unpaid orders / orders, for example 4 / 20 = 20%.
One day with a higher share means nothing. If the number drifts in the same direction month after month, there is a cause: slow dispatch, unclear stock levels or a payment method where customers lose patience. What to do with unpaid orders is covered in Unpaid orders: what to do before they disappear. Which status changes deserve an instant alert and which fit in a summary is covered in this overview.
Compare with yesterday or with last week?
Compare with the same weekday. A Monday cannot be fairly set against a Sunday, because most shops have a clear weekly rhythm. Some sell the most at weekends, others on weekday afternoons.
The formula is simple: (today’s value − value a week ago) / value a week ago. If last Thursday had 16 orders and today has 20, that is +25%. Revenue of 1,600 EUR against 2,000 EUR gives the same +25%.
Two cautions. With low counts the percentages jump: going from 4 orders to 6 is +50%, yet it is two orders. Always read the percentage together with the absolute number. And around holidays, sales and Black Friday, last week is a weak comparison, so measure against your plan instead.
What belongs in the weekly check?
The daily report answers “was today a normal day?”. The weekly view answers “where is this heading?”. The same six numbers are enough, added up over seven days and compared with the previous week.
At the weekly level it also pays to look at the split by day. If two days bring half of your revenue, you know when stock has to be ready and when a newsletter has no chance.
Why does one short summary beat five dashboards?
Your shop admin, web analytics, payment gateway, ad account and the accountant’s spreadsheet usually show the same revenue a little differently. Each one counts in its own way, at a different time and with its own definition of an order. By the time you have been through them, half an hour is gone and you still do not know which one is right.
A short summary that arrives at the same time every day from the same source has one main advantage: the numbers are calculated the same way, so they can be compared. You also have nothing to open or remember, and when something drifts you see it the same day instead of in a monthly review.
For choosing where the summary should land, see Which channel for which event. Instant order alerts are covered in How to find out about a new order immediately.
Frequently asked questions
How often should I look at the daily report?
Once a day, at the same time, ideally after the day closes. Read in the evening, the figures are complete and you can still react the next morning. Checking revenue repeatedly during the day tends to produce nerves rather than decisions.
Should revenue include VAT?
Either works, as long as you always use the same one. For comparing days and weeks, consistency matters. For bookkeeping and margins the figure without VAT fits better, and for a quick look at turnover the figure with VAT is fine too.
What if I only get a few orders a day?
Percentages swing a lot then, so read the absolute numbers and check the weekly total too. Even with three orders a day it makes sense to watch unpaid orders and cancellations, because each one can be handled individually.
Is a daily summary enough, or do I also need instant alerts?
They complement each other. The summary gives you the overview of the day, while an alert about a new, cancelled or unpaid order reaches you while you can still act on it.
Getting the summary without opening the admin
The Notify add-on sends a daily summary at a time you choose, with the number of orders, revenue, average order and a comparison with last week. It knows five event types: new order, status change, cancellation, unpaid order and the daily summary. You pick which of them go to which channel.
