Understanding the Labor % Report in NX
The Labor % Report provides a detailed breakdown of labor costs, hours worked, and sales to help venues evaluate labor efficiency and profitability.
It’s designed to be run at the venue level and is a critical report for monitoring how payroll expenses compare to total sales.
📘 Purpose of the Report
The Labor % Report helps venue managers and owners:
- Monitor total labor hours and costs per day.
- Compare labor expenses to sales revenue.
- Understand which departments and jobs contribute most to labor cost.
- Evaluate staffing efficiency and identify potential overscheduling.
By keeping labor percentage within target, venues can balance great service with strong profitability.
⚙️ Report Options
This report is typically run:
- For a Date or Date Range – View a single day’s staffing costs or compare performance across multiple days.
📊 Charts and Visualization
In the NX Portal web view, the Labor % Report includes two helpful charts for visual insight:
1. Cost by Labor Group (Pie Chart)
Displays the percentage of total labor cost attributed to each labor group.
Example groups:
- Back of House (Kitchen, Prep, Dish)
- Front of House (Servers, Bartenders, Hosts) Management
2. Cost by Job (Bar Chart)
Breaks down labor cost by specific job titles to show which roles contribute most to total payroll.
🧾 Report Layout
The Labor % Report contains three major sections:
Summary Labor Groups Job Details (with Employee Breakdown)
1. Summary
This section shows the venue’s total hours worked, total labor dollars, total sales, and resulting Labor % for the selected business day.
| Business Date | Total Hours | Labor $ | Sales $ | Labor % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10/13/2025 | 94.08 | $1,218.05 | $3,631.88 | 33.54% |
| Totals | 94.08 | $1,218.05 | $3,631.88 | 33.54% |
The Labor % is calculated as (Labor $ ÷ Sales $) .
2. Labor Groups
Groups are defined by venue configuration and represent collections of similar jobs.
| Labor Group | Total Hours | Labor $ | Sales $ | Labor % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Back of House | 40.88 | $634.66 | $0.00 | ∞% |
| Front of House | 45.52 | $431.02 | $3,631.88 | 11.87% |
| Management | 7.68 | $152.37 | $0.00 | ∞% |
| Totals | 94.08 | $1,218.05 | $3,631.88 | 33.54% |
“∞%” (infinity) appears when a labor group had no associated sales, such as prep or management hours
3. Job Details (with Employees)
This section lists each job role and its corresponding employees, showing the hours, pay, and sales associated with each position.
Example: Front of House
| Job | Employee | Total Hours | Labor $ | Sales $ | Labor % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server | Archer, John | 6.00 | $62.40 | $761.30 | 8.20% |
| Server | Reed, Malcom | 5.50 | $58.19 | $844.96 | 6.89% |
| Server | Tucker, Charles | 4.50 | $67.89 | $562.13 | 12.08% |
| Totals (Server) | — | 16.00 | $188.48 | $2,168.39 | 8.69% |
Example: Management
| Job | Employee | Total Hours | Labor $ | Sales $ | Labor % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Mayweather, Travis | 7.68 | $152.37 | $0.00 | ∞% |
| Totals (Manager) | — | 7.68 | $152.37 | $0.00 | ∞% |
🧮 Totals Section
At the bottom of the report, you’ll find venue-wide totals, including:
- Total Hours Worked
- Total Labor Dollars
- Total Sales
- Overall Labor Percentage
This gives a clear picture of overall payroll-to-sales efficiency for the selected business day.
✅ How to Use This Report
- Review Staffing Efficiency: Compare daily labor % to your target range.
- Analyze Department Spending: Identify which labor groups or roles are driving cost.
- Plan Scheduling: Use hours and labor $ to adjust staffing levels for upcoming shifts.
- Investigate Outliers: Large swings in labor % may indicate underperformance or unrecorded sales.
⚠️ Tips
- High Labor % values often mean overstaffing or lower-than-expected sales.
- “∞%” means labor was recorded for roles that did not produce sales (common for management or prep staff).
- Combine this report with the Performance Report to cross-reference sales vs. labor trends.
- Use the charts for a visual breakdown of department-level cost allocation.
🧩 Summary
The Labor % Report gives venues the insight needed to balance labor costs with sales performance.
It breaks down every hour, dollar, and department — showing how labor spending impacts profitability.
With detailed data and visual charts, NX makes it easy to:
- Monitor daily staffing efficiency,
- Control costs,
- and Optimize schedules for better business performance.