Purpose
1. Automate the generation and delivery of daily/weekly sales and performance reports to managers and stakeholders, ensuring accurate, timely insights.
2. Automating data extraction from multiple systems—POS, inventory, reservations, staff scheduling, and accounting platforms—for comprehensive analytics.
3. Enable automated distribution via email, SMS, dashboards, file storage, and collaboration tools for streamlined operations and inventory management in Irish restaurant settings.
4. Help management identify trends, inventory variances, staffing needs, wastage, sales by menu item, and performance anomalies without manual intervention.
Trigger Conditions
1. Automatedly fire the reporting workflow at a fixed daily or weekly schedule (e.g., every night at 2 AM or every Monday at 6 AM).
2. Trigger automation when new sales data is recorded, inventory counts change, or end-of-day batch closure occurs.
3. Enable manual triggering by authorized managers for ad hoc reporting needs.
Platform Variants
1. Google Sheets
• Function: Google Sheets API — automate read and write of sales, staff, and inventory data; sample: configure OAuth and use "spreadsheets.values.get".
2. Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Graph)
• Setting: Excel REST API — automates pulling and updating report spreadsheets from OneDrive or SharePoint; sample: use "/workbook/worksheets/{id}/range" API.
3. Square POS
• Feature: Square Reports API — automate extraction of transactional sales data; sample: setup OAuth and "ListPayments", "ListRefunds" endpoints.
4. Toast POS
• Function: Toast API — automatedly download itemized sales, labor, and inventory reports; sample: configure "GET /v2/reports/sales".
5. QuickBooks Online
• Setting: QuickBooks Reports API — automate pulling sales and expense reports; sample: "GET /reports/ProfitAndLoss".
6. Xero
• Function: Xero Reports Endpoint — automate access to financial and sales summaries; sample: setup "GET /reports/SalesByItem".
7. Slack
• Setting: Slack Webhooks API — automate report notifications to dedicated channels; sample: incoming webhook with JSON payload.
8. Microsoft Teams
• Feature: Teams Bot Framework API — automate sharing of PDF/Excel reports; sample: configure "Create chatMessage in a channel".
9. Gmail
• Setting: Gmail API — automate sending reports to staff and owners; sample: "users.messages.send" endpoint with report attachment.
10. Outlook
• Function: Outlook Mail API — automate report emailing to distribution groups; sample: "POST /me/sendMail" with report file.
11. Dropbox
• Setting: Dropbox API — automate upload of generated reports; sample: "files/upload" endpoint with JSON config.
12. Google Drive
• Function: Drive API — automate report file storage and permissions; sample: "files.create" with PDF/CSV mime type.
13. Amazon S3
• Setting: S3 API — automate storing backups of reports; sample: "PutObject" with appropriate bucket and access.
14. Zoho Analytics
• Function: Zoho API — automate ingesting raw sales and performance data for dashboarding; sample: "POST /api/{db}/table/{name}/data".
15. Tableau
• Setting: Tableau REST API — automate publishing updated dashboards from report datasets; sample: "POST /api/projects/{project-id}/workbooks".
16. Power BI
• Function: Power BI REST API — automate dataset refresh and dashboard embedding; sample: "POST /groups/{groupId}/datasets/{datasetId}/refreshes".
17. Airtable
• Feature: Airtable API — automate report row additions or updates for summary tables; sample: "PATCH /v0/{baseId}/{tableName}".
18. Monday.com
• Setting: Monday GraphQL API — automate task creation for managers based on report exceptions; sample: "create_item" mutation.
19. Notion
• Function: Notion API — automate report documentation and summary logging; sample: "POST /v1/pages" for daily log.
20. Trello
• Setting: Trello REST API — automate card creation if performance thresholds are met or missed; sample: "POST /1/cards".
21. Twilio SMS
• Feature: Twilio Messaging API — automate SMS alerts for rapid performance deviations; sample: "POST /2010-04-01/Accounts/{AccountSid}/Messages.json".
22. Zapier
• Setting: Zapier Webhooks — automate multi-app orchestrations for report flows; sample: "Catch Hook" and "POST" actions.
23. HubSpot
• Function: HubSpot API — automate CRM updates based on sales trends; sample: "POST /crm/v3/objects/notes".
24. Segment
• Feature: Segment HTTP Tracking API — automate tracking of report delivery and opens; sample: "track" call with report event.
Benefits
1. Automates data consolidation and eliminates error-prone manual compilation of sales and inventory for Irish cuisine operations.
2. Enables automated, timely performance reviews to support rapid business decisions and agile inventory management.
3. Consistent automation improves data-driven culture, transparency, and proactive management.
4. Automated reporting saves staff time, optimizes labor, prevents over-ordering, and reduces food wastage via fast feedback loops.
5. Customizable automator triggers and multi-channel delivery ensure the right people receive actionable insights, making the workflow robustly automatable.
Operations & Inventory Management