Very few tools are available to SuperSalon and iOffice users that are better able to gauge staffing needs than the Schedule Forecast Report. Located in the “Sales” category of the greater Reports menu, this often overlooked report can help business owners stay ahead of the curve with their staffing needs, and save money on labor costs.
The illustrated example below shows this report run for a location for the current pay cycle. The output is presented in a spreadsheet/grid format that is easy to discern. The columns correspond with the days of the week, and have dollar values and numerical values assigned to them. The rows correspond to each hour the salon is open, based on their current hours of operation.
The dollar value for each time and day represents the average gross sales per hour, based on recent sales data. The numerical value stands for the amount of employees that are needed for that particular timeframe. Those in charge of staffing are encouraged to round up or down in the case of decimal values. Having only .35 of one of your employees in the salon is illegal in most states.
Operational Filters
Because there are several angles a business owner may want to approach their staffing, there are several filters that have been factored into this report. Because the output is so dependent on past sales data, it stands to reason to maybe want to include or exclude things like walkouts and requests. Each of the Schedule Forecasting reports filters can be broken down as follows:
- Select Stores: As with all reports and iOffice, clicking or tapping into this text area will take the user to the area where they can choose the applicable location/locations for the purposes of the report.
- Start Day of Week: This drop down menu is where users can choose which day of the week will be there starting day for cleaning the information.
- View Averages From: These two drop-down menus correspond to the start and end date the user would like to sample for sales data to be sent integrated into the report.
- Forecast Date Type: This area contains two bubbles to be filled in, giving the user the choice between “Creation” date, and “Servicing” date.
- Include: Some businesses like to factor in Walkouts, looks and walks, and requests in the report sampling. This series of bubbles allows users to make that choice.
- Looking N’ Walk Definition: This text field allows the user to input the numerical value associated with someone walking out of the salon without being serviced, giving the option between “Actual” and “2X” value.
- Assume Production: The assumed numerical dollar value of revenue per hour is entered into this text field for the purposes of the report’s calculations.
This report has proven to be invaluable for several locations who want to streamline their employee scheduling process for maximum profitability. Stay tuned for an updated section in the SuperSalon Knowledge Base about this and several other reports that comprise the key winning strategies of many of the successful salons we assist.