Checklist

Profitability diagnostic checklist — quick P&L health check

An actionable 60–90 minute interactive checklist to diagnose where profits are leaking, record validated findings, assign owners, and create a short measurement plan. Use this form with POS, inventory, payroll, and supplier data to produce a prioritized improvement plan and a trackable follow-up.

Interactive Tool

Profitability diagnostic checklist — quick P&L health check

Run this focused 60–90 minute diagnostic using POS sales, inventory counts, supplier invoices, payroll reports, and your latest P&L. Complete each section, record evidence and estimates, assign owners, and save the result so the team can act and measure improvements.

Estimate time per section: data confirmation (15–25 min), COGS & inventory checks (15–25 min), labor review (10–15 min), operating costs spot-check (10 min), identify drains & quick wins (10–15 min), assign owners & measurement plan (5–10 min).

Enter the starting date for the period you're diagnosing. Example: 2026-08-01
Enter the ending date for the period. Example: 2026-08-31
Which operations does this diagnostic cover?
Identify the location(s) covered by this check.
Mark the reports you can open now. The diagnostic works best when POS, inventory, payroll and supplier invoices are available.
Enter total sales from POS for the period.
Optional: enter channel breakdown if available.
Note any clear peaks, slow periods, or mismatches between expected and actual dayparts.
Yes = totals match or variance explained. No = investigate missing transactions, payment errors, or theft.
Enter COGS as a percent of sales for the period.
Enter your target or historical expected COGS %.
Summarize reconciliation between P&L COGS and inventory/supplier invoices. Note large missing or unexplained items.
Select any observations from a quick inventory spot-check.
Yes = mismatches, duplicate invoices, or unexpected price increases. No = invoices look consistent.
From payroll or time system.
If you have sales and labor cost entered, calculate labor_pct = labor_cost / sales_total * 100.
Total overtime hours in the period. High overtime often signals scheduling or understaffing issues.
Record reasons (call-offs, understaffing, inefficient shift design, events).
Quickly note any operating-cost categories that look abnormal.
Example line: '1) Food spoilage — $1,200/mo — poor rotation and over-pars'. Be brief but specific.
For each drain above, note a practical countermeasure and the owner you'd recommend.
Select practical quick actions. Use the 'other_quick_wins' field for items not listed.
Describe any quick fixes unique to your operation.
Who will lead implementing the top quick wins? Include name and role.
Who will track metrics and report progress?
List the key metrics (e.g., COGS %, labor %, waste $/week), how often you'll check them, and the target or acceptable range.
A best-effort estimate; useful for prioritization.
Use priority to plan follow-up.
Choose a date to review progress on owners' actions and metrics.
Select Yes if you validated POS, inventory, payroll and invoices where noted.
Anything else the reviewer should know.
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