Do you have a log on your cart?
O.K. Not that kind of log. Although my E-Z Built cart did start life as a tree…
Dave writes,
Does anyone out there use a Daily Cart Log? Something that records product sold by type, $ sales, weather conditions or other events that may have had a positive or negative impact on sales that day, etc.
If you have something I’d love to see it.
How ’bout it? I must admit I never used one but it sounds like a no-brainer rockin’ good idea now that you brought it up Dave.
Any of you recording your daily operations in a log or journal? If so, what are you using?
Let’s talk about it in the comments!
-Steve
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
I have used one since I started this gig one year ago and it has so far proved very helpful. On my spread sheets I have a comments section that I imput year to date and a comment such as rain tonight, Very cold, the eve of a holiday or any special event going on for the day. I also include any specials I may have run
Nothing Fancy. i use a note pad with the dates of the event, estimated attendance, items sold, best sellers and booth numbers I’d like for the following year. this actually helps better than a Calendar because I can do down the list from time to time and I wont with a calendar. i too would like to hear what others are using. I.m sure some of these folks are probably using their smart-phones or something.
I use a day planner. In the calender section, I record the days stats including location, ( I have different locations for different days) weather conditions, and total sales. The day planner allows me to have important contact info with me as well as my schedule of events I am committed to. I am approached often to do private events and can schedule them on the spot.
What could be very helpful is if there was an app that could be used on an ipod touch/iphone/smart phone.
We use a daily inventory sheet that we log the start of the day inventory including all types of dogs, buns, sodas by type, waters, other drinks, chips, etc. We then count up everything at the end of the day and derive the total counts sold. We also have a waste column that we note any left overs or dogs/drinks we ate. From that we can figure our costs on the day and what our total sales should be which we use to compare to the bank. It also summarizes to give totals for receipts, sales tax, costs, net profit, tips and net profit % by day, month, quarter and year to date. We note weather temps, wind speeds and have a comment section where we note our lunch club freebies and any specials.
Cashtracker and a daily journal. We also use an excel spreadsheet to track each event
I use the cash tracker software that I got from Steve! I can keep track of everything with that: dogs sold, cost of goods, weather, expenses, etc. But a daily log is a great idea on the spot to keep track during the day and enter it all at night for more detail than I’ve been keeping now. For instance the dogs and drinks eaten by us during the day.
I’d be interested in checklists for starting up for the day or inventory for the next days needs. Does anyone use those?
I track drinks and chips by brand that are sold daily so I can have a good idea of how much stock I need.
A Big thank you to Steve for bringing this topic up and an equally Big thanks to Penalty Box Dogs for your post. I’ll be following your lead when I’m open for business.
I too have a daily log where I post date/hours/location/day of week/ plus the amount of change I started the day with, $$ at the end of the day, #dogs & buns to start plus cost per dog, and % of state and country taxes for that day. There’s a note section for needs/misc expenses, plus a place for mileage. I do this in addition to keeping CashTracker up to date. I LOVE CASH TRACKER!!!
I keep it in my head what I sell. I only carry 3 types of dog 100% beef, German Stylle and Polish, all local all fresh, nothing ever frozen.
“Fire’m up and fire’m out”
Good day = more cash Bad day = less
A box for business reciepts and a box for the cash.
As far was the weather, I take it a day at a time.
Tommy
@ Michael,
Let me know when you open for business!
-Steve
@ Renee,
Just in case you’re not hearing it in your head anymore:
WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER!
-Steve
Steve
I have started the hot dog thing. Its not doing to bad. I really like your site. thanks bryan
thanks
I use excel spreadsheet, works great, my cpa loves it. I print it out every month as a record for taxes but keep a yearly running speadsheet. I track: Losses, Sales, Food Cost, Equipment Cost, Expendables, Mileage, Event Sales/Daily Sales and Bank balance. I keep up with my inventory by the date it will expire and how much money I have in the bank.
@Steve Ok, you’re dead meat now…….
Penalty Box….is your log a spreadsheet that you would be willing to e-mail out? No sense re-inventing the wheel! Thanks……
I use a day planner to record sales/location/weather.
I really like the idea of writing down which booth you want for next year. I would also include how close you are to the kiddie tent. We did a gig where we were near a puppet show. After hearing the same show every 45 minutes for 3 days I still get sick to my stomach when I hear that music!
@Wanda, another festival tip: Had a friend that chose to be next to the speakers at a music festival thinking he would be close to the crowd. Didn’t figure on not being able to hear his customers orders!
In addition to tracking sales, individual items, weather, time, I also have to track number of rounds of golfers, what time does the sun come up, are they plugging the greens, overseeding the fairways, is it cart path only, all affects my routine. Has the CART GIRL CALLED IN SICK!!!
I have a hardbound book and I list each item individually as well as as combos. At the top I list how many hot dogs and sausages I have along with the date, location and weather. Weather helps me look back and see why I only made a certain amount on a particular day. Dollar amounts help me get an average at each location and deciding what to purchase.
Michael…Thanks and good luck in your new business. Keep me updated on your opening!
Dave…My sheet is done on Excel. I can send you a pdf of the daily page, but the entire workbook has all my info on it and I really don’t want to mess with deleting all the info, sorry. Hope you understand.
Great Idea! I think you need to track as much as you can! What ever helps you hit that marketing sweet spot! I hope to open in a week or so. I bought Cashtracker from Steve and can’t wait to start using it!
great ideas!! i still havent built my cart yet but will at sum point. i love this site and thanx for all the great advice
Steve,
what happened to the archive link to the past post that you had here on Hot Dog Profits. That to me is somewhat of a log for information that I like to turn to from time to time.
Guess I should’ve been something like that since I started but nothing says that I can’t start now, thanks for the tip!