What are discounts and voids?

A free coffee for a regular. Ten percent off for staff. A pint poured and then cancelled. Each one is small, and each one is money. Discounts and voids are where takings quietly go missing — sometimes by policy, sometimes by mistake, occasionally on purpose.

What is the difference?

• Discount — the sale happened, at a lower price. The customer paid less than the menu price.
• Void — an item or an order was cancelled before payment, so it never became a sale.
• Refund — the sale was paid, then money went back to the customer.

Why they matter

Discount rate = discounts ÷ gross sales × 100

A 3% discount rate on £400,000 of sales is £12,000 a year. Some of that is worth it — loyalty, staff meals, a recovered complaint. Some of it is habit. And voids are one of the classic ways cash goes missing at a till: ring up, take the cash, void the item.

Track them by reason

A reason on every discount and void turns a single number into something you can act on:

• "Staff meal" and "manager comp" are policy — check they match the policy.
• "Wrong order" points at the till, the menu or training.
• "Customer complaint" points at the kitchen or the service.
• Lots of voids on one person's shifts is worth a quiet look.

Common mistakes

1. Free-text reasons. "misc" tells you nothing. Use a short fixed list.
2. Anyone can void anything. Limit voids after an order is sent, or after payment, to people who should be able to.
3. Leaving discounts out of margins. A discounted sale has the same cost and a smaller price — see net sales.

Tracking it in DUMA

The till asks for a reason when an item or order is voided. The Discounts & voids report shows discounts given and orders voided, by reason, and Refunds shows every refund, its reason and who gave it.