The tax report
What this is for
How much tax you collected, over a period, broken down by rate.
It's the report you export at the end of a tax period, and the one where being wrong is expensive.
What's on it
| Figure | What it is |
|---|---|
| Total Tax Collection | Everything collected in the period. |
| Active Taxes | Which rates are in use. |
| Tax Mode | Order-level or item-level. |
| Tax Breakdown | Per rate: Tax Rate, Tax Amount, Orders with Tax. |
The two breakdowns
Which you see depends on your tax mode — see Taxes.
Order-Level Tax Breakdown — one rate applied to whole orders. Simpler, and correct only when everything you sell carries the same rate.
Item-Level Tax Breakdown — each item's own rate, with Items Count and Orders Count per rate. This is what most restaurants need, because food and drink are usually taxed differently.
View Item Tax Breakdown opens the detail, showing what was actually charged rather than what the rate implies. That distinction matters: the report reads from the tax recorded on each order, so historical periods stay correct even after you change a rate.
Using it at period end
- Set the date range to your tax period.
- Check the tax mode is what you expect.
- Read the breakdown per rate.
- Export it — see Exporting reports.
- Hand it to whoever files your return.
Do it from the report, not from your bank. Money in the bank includes tips, excludes what's owed, and nets off refunds in a different period.
Checking it's right
Worth doing once properly, and again after any rate change:
- Are all your rates listed under active taxes? A rate missing means no item carries it.
- Do the rates match what you're supposed to charge? Check against the current legal rate, not what you set up two years ago.
- Does a sample order add up? Pick one, open it, and check the tax against the items by hand.
- Are inclusive and exclusive the right way round? If your menu prices include tax, an exclusive setting has been over-charging every customer. See Taxes.
When it looks wrong
Tax lower than expected — items may be missing a tax rate. In item-level mode, an item with no rate assigned contributes nothing.
Tax higher than expected — check inclusive versus exclusive, and whether service charges are included in the tax base.
A rate you don't recognise — an old rate still assigned to some items after a change.
Nothing at all — check the date range, the branch, and that any tax is configured.
Refunds
Refunds reverse tax along with the sale, so a refunded order's tax doesn't stay in your collected figure.
Refunds processed in a later period reduce that period, not the original one — worth knowing when a month's figures move slightly after you thought they were final. See Refunds.
Good to know
- Per branch. Multi-site operations report per location.
- Follows your operating shifts, which can move a late-night order across a period boundary at month end. Check the range covers what you intend.
- The report reads the tax recorded on each order, not today's rates — so history stays accurate.
- Your receipt can show a tax breakdown and your registration numbers. See Receipts and printers.
This report tells you what you collected. It doesn't tell you what you owe, or when. That's your accountant's job, and the rules vary by jurisdiction.