CA2321456A1 - System and methods for generating custom reports based on point-of-sale data - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of generating custom reports based on point-of sale data transferred between multiple remote computing devices and a central computing device includes generating point-of-sale data at multiple remote locations, transferring the point-of-sale data to a central computing device from multiple computing devices at the respective multiples remote locations, defining a custom report format, the custom report format specifying at least two of the multiple remote locations and specifying a date range, the date range and the at least two multiple remote locations being freely selectable by a user, generating a custom report using the custom report format, the custom report being based on point-of-sale data related to the specified remote locations and the specified date range, and communicating the custom report to a human being. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for generating custom reports is also disclosed, as are subscription services, computer systems, graphical user interfaces and other features.

Description

09/28/00 11: 48 FAX 812- 573 200b .__ DICKE, BILLIG&CZAJA, P. A. .-__ f~ 006 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 8Y8TEM8 AND METHODB P'OR QrENERATINtIr CUBTOM

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
The subject matter of this application is related to the subject matter of U.S. Patent Application No. 60/ 157,467, filed October 1, 1999, which is incorporated by reference herein and priority to which is claimed under 35 U.S.C. ~ 119{e).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to the electronic collection and collation of information from various data sources. More particularly, embodiments of the invention create custom-formatted reports, based on point-of sale data from franchise restaurants, for example, that authorized users can access easily from multiple locations.

2. Description of Related Art Embodiments of the invention use the Internet for transmitting point-of sale data between computing devices. The Internet has terminology specific to it. The following terms should assist in understanding the Internet in general and embodiments of the invention disclosed herein:

Received Sap-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Page 005 08/28/00 11:48 FAX H12 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. f~J00B
Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 HTML: Hypertext Mark Up Language. The language that web-based documents are written in.
~ Browser: Software that allows you to interact with HTML documents.
IE: Internet Explorer. A commonly used browser.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a web site.
~ Web Parce: A single HTML document (it may be more than one page long when printed) .
Web Site: A collection of pages written in HTML.
Home Pane: The first page of a web site or the first page that a browser displays when it is started.
~ Download: The process of moving information from the Internet to your computer. When you look at a site in your web browser, the information is downloaded.
~ U load: The process of moving information from your computer to the Internet.
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. The method of moving HTML
documents.
~ H3rperlink~link~: The method of moving around an HTML document. Links can be graphics or text. Links can take you to another page in a site, to a different site, or to an e-mail form.
~ FTP: File Transfer Protocol. The method of moving non-HTML documents (such as graphic and daily extract files).
' 2 Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 5T3 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Page 006 08/28/00 11:47 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. f~J007 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 WWW: World Wide Web. An area of the Internet where web sites are stored.
Also the first three letters of most URLs.
Internet: A collection of HTML documents that are accessible to users who have access to the Internet.
ISP: Internet Service Provider: A company that allows Internet users access to their computers. The company from which you rent the ability to connect to the Internet.
GUI: Graphical User Interface. Pronounced "gooey." A program that uses graphics to enable users to interface with information. IE, Windows 95 and Windows 98 are GUIs.
Point-of sale systems have enjoyed tremendous popularity in the restaurant industry and other industries. Such systems typically perform data input and storage, and, in combination with back-office or back-of the-house systems, perform corresponding analysis and output. Inventory control, suggestive selling prompts, accurate timekeeping and scheduling, remote access management, coupon usage and effectiveness analysis, purchase-order generation based on historical sales, and other record keeping and analysis activities are among the functions that such systems can perform.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Using the power and speed of the Internet, embodiments of the invention electronically collect and collate information from point-of sale data Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bia~ar Pale 007 09/28/00 11:47 FAX 812 573 2005 _ DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,PTA.__ 1~J008 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 sources. That information then is turned into custom-formatted reports that authorized users can access easily using any computer that has Internet access and a suitable web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer.
Embodiments of the invention work effortlessly, with little or no changes needed in the underlying technology infrastructure. Franchisees, for example, do not need to invest in expensive additional equipment or software, according to embodiments of the invention. Additionally, administrative tasks can be performed by just one person (depending on the number of stores in the franchise or other operation). Often the biggest hurdle to implementing new technology is the cost of equipment and/or personnel. In most cases, however, embodiments of the invention remove both of those hurdles, making it easier to receive quality, meaningful information about a business, e.g, a franchise operation.
By using the Internet, users with appropriate permission can set up their own report subscriptions and can request reports on any combination of stores for any range of dates, for example. Additionally, although reports are delivered over the Internet and are displayed using browser technology, the access web site is protected by appropriate security strategies. A valid user name and password are required, and automatic log-out occurs when a user leaves the site inactive for more than a desired time period, e.g. 15 minutes.
Additionally, the data is in read-only format, so general users do not have the ability to make changes to the data source.

Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 5T3 2005 To-Smart & Blggar Page 008 09/28/00 11:48 FAX 812 673 2006 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P-A_ f~J009 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 Other advantages and features of the invention in its various embodiments will be apparent from the remainder of this patent application.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to the figures, in which like reference numerals denote like elements, and in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a computer system according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing locations and organizational units, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 3 is a flow chaxt according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 4 is a screen map diagram, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 5 shows a log-in screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 6 shows a requested reports screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 7 shows a requested reports screen with expanded drop-down list, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 8 shows a week-to-date report request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm Fram-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Page 009 09/28/00 11:48 FAX H12 573 2005 - DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. - ___.. I~O10 Attorney Docket No. : B 199.101.102 Figure 9 shows another portion of the Figure 8 screen;
Figure 10 shows a screen including a restaurant selection box, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 11 shows an acknowledgement screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 12 shows the Figure 11 screen with a notifier icon;
Figure 13 shows the Figure 12 screen with a drop-down list having a highlighted item, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 14 shows a screen listing a requested report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 15 shows a Sales Mix Report request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 16 shows a Periodic Sales Report request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figures 17-18 show a Data Grouping drop-down list on the Figure 16 screen;
Figure 19 shows a Planned Sales Report request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 20 shows a Day Part Mix Report request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 21 shows a subscription request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;

Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 5T3 2005 To-Smart & Big~ar Pale 010 09/28/00 11:49 FAX 812 578 200b DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA.P.A. 1~J011 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 Figure 22 shows end date and begin date boxes for use in requesting a subscription, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 23 shows a portion of a new subscription request screen, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 24 shows a Week-To-Date/Period-To-Date sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 25A shows a first portion of a Sales Mix sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 25B shows a second portion of a Sales Mix sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 26 shows a Periodic Sales Sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 27 shows a Price Variation sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 28 shows a Planned Sales sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention;
Figure 29 shows a Day Part Mix sample report, according to an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 30 shows a Menu Item sample report according to an embodiment of the invention.

Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biggar Page 011 09/28/00 11:48 FAX H12 57S 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. f~j012 Attorney Docket No. : B 199.101.102 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Embodiments of the invention have wide application to a variety of businesses and business operations. Although primary embodiments of the invention will be described with respect to point-of sale systems in restaurants, and, more specifically, to generating custom-formatted reports based on the point-of sale data, the invention is not necessarily limited to those embodiments.
The following terminology may be helpful in understanding certain embodiments and features of the invention:
~ Accountin:~ Dates: A calendaring system that divides a year into 13 28-day periods. Accounting dates appear in day/week/period/year (D/W/PP/YY) format. For instance, 4 / 3 / 11 / 99 means the 4~ day of the 3~ week in.
period 11 of 1999. This system is different than those used in certain~back-office computer systems, which use a period/week/day/year (PP/W/D/YY) format and where the day mentioned previously would be represented as 11/3/4/99.
~ Calendar Dates: Dates as they are generally used in the United States.
Calendar dates are displayed in month/date/year (MM/DD/YY) format.
~ Data Source: The information that is downloaded from the point-of sale system in each store. Also called the "daily extract (TBE) file."
~ POS System: Point of sale system. The equipment and related software that gather information at the point of sales, often including a cash register.

Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi~aar Pale 012 ~._ 08/28/00 11:b0 FAX 812 873 200b DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. ~ 013 Attorney Docket No.: 8199.101.102 Comparable: An option that can be chosen, while requesting some reports, that instructs embodiments of the invention to adjust the outcome of reports that have both a current and a prior period to include data from the daily extract file only if the data appears in both periods. For instance, say a user requests a Sales Mix Report, to be described, for both the current week and the same week one year ago for a certain district. If the franchisee has added a new store to that district in the last few months, turning on the Comparable feature excludes the new store from the current period in this report only.
ICOS: Ideal Cost of Sale. The amount that it costs to make an item, e.g. a menu item, if it is made using the correct amount of each ingredient or raw material.
Referring to Figure 1, embodiments of the invention generate custom reports based on point-of sale data transferred over the Internet between multiple remote computing devices 10, 20 and central computing device 30. Communication relay 40 is provided to communicate e.g. electronic signals relating to or representing the data. Communication relay 40 preferably includes or is embodied in the Internet in its various forms and definitions, including e-mail and other communication mechanisms. Of course, the invention contemplates using future generations of the Internet, e-mail communication systems and other new forms of electronic communication that may arise.

Received Sep-28-00 12:48pm From-612 5T3 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Pale 013 08/28/00 11:50 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. _._ f~]014 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 To simplify the disclosure, only two remote computing devices 10, 20 are illustrated in Figure 1. Embodiments of the invention, however, contemplate a much larger number of such computing devices. The computing devices, and/or their respective locations, can be organized into multiple hierarchical or organizational units, as will be described. Additionally, although only one central computing device 30 is illustrated, embodiments of the invention contemplate multiple central computing devices 30 if needed or desired for a particular application or environment.
Remote computing devices 10, 20, as well as central computing device 30, include various input/ output, memory, storage and other devices such as mouse 50, disk 60, CD-ROM 70 and other computer-readable media for storing computer programs, data and other information. Additionally, each remote computing device 10, 20 preferably is operably connected to or itself includes traditional point-of sale equipment known in the art, such as cash register 80 and / or associated equipment.
Turning to Figure 2, multiple restaurants, stores, retail sales facilities or other remote locations 90 are illustrated, each having a separate store identification number as shown. Each location 90 communicates by an appropriate direct communication link 100 to central location 95, and/or by the more centralized communication relay 40 of Figure 1. Each remote location 90 includes one or more remote computing devices 10, 20, preferably connected to a communications interface. Central location 95, such as the Received Sep-28-00 12:48pm From-612 5T3 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Pale 014 08/28/00 11:51 FAX B12 57S 200b DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. C~J015 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 corporate offices of a business, includes one or more central computing devices 30.
According to embodiments of the invention, central location 95 can be temporarily or permanently moved to one of the remote locations 90, and the terms "central location" and "remote location" should be so interpreted as appropriate. An owner of multiple franchise locations, for example, can monitor franchise operations not only from a corporate office, but also from one of the remote locations at which a temporary or permanent "central office" has been set up.
Stores 90 are organized into organizational units, according to embodiments of the invention. According to one embodiment, these units comprise geographic districts 110, as illustrated in Figure 2. Alternatively, the organizational units can be districts or divisions that rely on other than geographical divisions. They can also be of a more conceptual nature, such as fiscal year units 120 denoting the year in which a particular store began operations. Significantly, each store or other location 90 can be assigned to any number of organizational units. For example, store 3 in Figure 2 is in both unit 110 and unit 120. Organizational units can be defined in any manner desired for a particular application or environment.
Figure 3 illustrates one method embodiment according to the invention. As indicated at 130, the method includes generating data, such as point-of sale data, at multiple remote locations. The data can be generated by Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biggar Page 015 09/28/00 11:51 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. _ I~j018 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 a cash register, bar code scanner or other reader, or other device. The generating device is operably coupled to at least one computing device, or is embodied in a computing device, as described above.
At 140, the point-of sale data is transferred to a central computing device from the multiple computing devices at the respective multiple remote locations. Each remote location can include one or more computing devices.
According to one embodiment, the transfer occurs automatically by internal or external e-mail. Separate fields or specialized spacing within the body of the e-mail designate particular data, according to one embodiment. The transfer also can occur in other ways, such as by using other aspects of the Internet, by floppy disk, wireless link, satellite hookup, cellular network, or other known ways of transferring data from one computing device to another.
A custom report format is defined at 150. According to one embodiment, the custom report format specifies at least two of the multiple remote locations and specifies a date range. The date range and the locations are freely selectable by a user, as will be described.
A custom report then is generated at 160, using the custom report format. More specifically, the custom report is based on the e.g. point-of sale data related to the remote locations and date range specified and freely selected by the user.
At 170, the custom report is communicated to a human being, such as a corporate officer, a franchise owner or manager, or other interested Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Page 016 09/28/00 11:52 FAX f312 673 2006 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. 0 017 Attorney Docket No.: 8199.101.102 party at either the central location or at one or more of the remote locations.
The custom report can be communicated by direct display at one of the computing devices, by e-mail to a designated party, otherwise over the Internet, in hard copy, or in the other ways described above.
Specific embodiments of the invention particularly directed to the restaurant industry now will be described with reference to Figures 4-30. As referenced earlier, however, the invention applies to other computing environments and industries, not just the restaurant industry. Further, as technology advances, the invention likely will use other modes of communication and interaction with the Internet, not just those known at present.
According to one embodiment, a user of the disclosed system has a computer, for example a standard personal computer, with a recent version of an Internet browser, e.g. Internet Explorer. According to one embodiment, the browser should have the Active X Controller loaded and incorporated. An Internet connection or other connection with a suitable communication mechanism is also desirable. To receive reports received by e-mail, it is desirable for a user to have standard data decompression software, such as WinZip.
At least two types of users are contemplated, each with their own permissions and assigned capabilities to use the system. Qreneral users will have different permissions than administrators, for example. Specifically, in Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi$gar Page 017 09/28/00 11:52 FAX 812 673 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. ___, 0 018 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 the restaurant industry, a restaurant general manager is able to access only information about the store or stores that he/she manages. A district manager can access any or all of the stores for which he/ she has responsibility.
Officers at the corporate level, owners, or other persons higher up in the organization, can see data for all stores. Administrators have the right to make changes to how the system is configured, the power to create user profiles and passwords, and the ability to update the system to reflect acquisition of new stores, changes in menu items or pricing, or other changes.
The first step in using the system is to access a login screen, step 200 of Figure 4. After connecting to the Internet, for example, the web browser can be directed to the URL for the login page. For future logins, a desktop shortcut can be created to the login page, the page can be made a "favorite"
or "bookmark" in the browser, or the page can be made the home page for the browser.
One specific login page 200 according to an embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 5. The user name and password fields are case sensitive. When a correct user name and password are entered, requested reports screen 210 appears. One such requested reports screen is illustrated in Figure 6. Requested reports screen 210 is the starting point for requesting reports, setting up subscriptions, viewing lists of requested reports and performing other functions.

Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bissar Pase 018 09/28/00 11:53 FAX 812 573 2005-___ _'.DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A.~_ f~J019 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 Requested reports are listed in report detail area 220 of screen 210. Reports remain listed in area 220 until they are actively deleted by the user, according to one embodiment. Unread reports appear first on the list, followed by read reports. Reports can be added to area 220 by directly requesting them, or by having them sent to the user by the subscription or forward functions, to be described.
Report detail area 220 includes a number of columns of information. In the leftmost column, forward button 230 allows a user to forward a report that already has been run. Importance indicator column 240 shows if a report has been requested with high priority, denoted by a red exclamation point or other symbol. Column 250 indicates the read or unread status of a report, a report that has been read showing an open envelope, for example. Column 260 includes "to be deleted" boxes. If a check mark appears in the box for a specific report, the report will be deleted the next time the user clicks delete button 270. Description column 280 displays the description given each report at the time that it was requested. The type of report requested is shown in column 290, the number of pages in column 300, the run date in column 310, and any persons to whom the report was forwarded in column 320.
To open a report, its description in column 280 is "clicked" or otherwise designated. To print a report, the description is clicked and the report appears on the screen, e.g. in the lower portion of screen 210 in a Received Sep-28-00 12:48pm From-812 573 2005 To-Smart & Bl ear Pale 019 09/28/00 11:53 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A._.__- f~020 ~_ Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 manner to be described. With the report appearing on the screen, print button 330 is clicked. Print parameters, such as print range, maybe requested by the site at that time.
To forward a report to another user, forward button 230 is clicked, a report description and delivery method information entered, and a submit button clicked. The report will be forwarded by e-mail or other desired communication method. Reports can be forwarded to other users of the system by web or e-mail delivery, or to non-users of the system by e.g. any valid e-mail address.
The reports listed in area 220 can be sorted in ascending or descending alphabetical or other order by clicking the appropriate column heading one or more times. The time of day can be displayed at 350, and 360 is an icon that indicates whether a requested report has been generated and is ready for viewing by the user.
Drop-down list 370 is shown in inactive form in Figure 6 and active form in Figure 7. To update the contents of requested reports screen 210, the "Requested Reports" item can be selected from list 370.
Alternatively, the standard browser refresh icon can be clicked. To view current report subscriptions, the "Report Subscriptions" item list in 370 is chosen. To request a specific report, the appropriate report name in area 380 of list 370 is chosen. According to the Figure 7 embodiment, eight such reports are available: Week To Date, Period To Date, Sales Mix, Periodic Sales, Price Received Sea-Z8-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bissar Pase 020 09/28/00 11:54 FAIL B12 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA~P.A-. f~J021 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.1 O 1.102 Variation, Planned Sales, Day Part Mix, and Menu Item. Specific aspects and features of these reports are described below. Of course, any number of additional reports can be generated and are contemplated by the invention, such as Ranking Reports, described below.
Once a report type is selected from list 370, the user is presented with one or more new report screens, as indicated at 390 in Figure 4.
One specific new report screen, a Week To Date report request screen, is illustrated in Figures 8-9. Screen 400 is divided into an upper portion 410, which remains substantially fixed, and lower portion 420, which itself has upper and lower portions as indicated by vertical scroll bar 430.
Figure 8 illustrates the top half of portion 420 and Figure 9 illustrates the lower half of portion 420.
Screen 400 includes restaurant selection box 440. Box 440 presents a hierarchical list of all restaurants available to the user, presented in groups 450 such as the organizational units described above. Significantly, one restaurant can appear in more that one group. The plus symbol (+) in front of a group name means that the group itself contains additional items, e.g. more groups and/or stores. To see the groups/stores in that group, the user clicks the plus symbol. When all items in that group are, shown, the plus symbol is changed to a minus symbol (-), as indicated in Figure 10.
In other words, to choose groups/ stores in box 440, the user clicks the plus symbol in front of the highest group in the hierarchy, expanding the Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bigsar Page 021 09/28/00 11:54 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. I~J022 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 list. The list continues to be expanded until the user sees the group/ store desired for the report in question. The empty space in front of the group/store name is clicked, and check mark 460 or other appropriate symbol appears, as shown in Figure 10. Groups/ stores may be selected in any combination for each report. To unselect a selected store, check mark 460 is clicked once, making it disappear.
Box 440 is the subject of Active X Control, according to this embodiment. Appropriate software, controls or other electronic information can be downloaded automatically to the user's personal computer or other computing device to activate and enable box 440. Dates box 470 allows the user to choose the date format in which the desired date range will be specified.
Accounting dates, calendar dates, "taco" or other proprietary system date formats can be selected. Accounting dates help ensure the user is comparing like periods of time, but any date format can be used according to embodiments of the invention.
Report date box 480 accepts the date variables for the requested report, in the format specified by the user. Depending on the report requested, there may be multiple report date fields. The Week To Date report request of Figure 8, however, requires only one field.
For generating comparables, a comparable box (not illustrated in Figure 8j can be provided on screen 400, preferably underneath report date box 480 or in another readily accessible location. The comparable box enables the Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi~~ar Pale 022 09/28/00 11:55 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG8cCZAJA,P.A._~ ~ 023 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 user to adjust the outcome of a report, if it has a current period and a prior period, to include data from the daily extract file only if the data appears in both periods, as described above. For example, if a user requests a Week To Date report for the current week and the same week one fiscal year ago, for a particular district, and a new store has been added to that district recently, activating the comparable feature would exclude the new store from the current period in the current report.
In Figure 9, a report description can be entered in box 490. The report description will appear in column 280 of Figure 6, as previously described. Because the run date and report type are already shown on requested reports screen 210, the most helpful information to include in description box 490 often is the date range and/or store grouping.
Importance box 500 can be checked to activate column 240 of requested reports screen 210. Delivery method is selected at 510. According to the illustrated embodiment, the delivery method can be either web or e-mail delivery. If web delivery is chosen, the report will appear on requested reports screen 210 once the request has been processed. If e-mail delivery is requested, the report will not appear on the requested reports screen.
Instead, it will be forwarded to the e-mail address entered in box 520.
Once all of the relevant information is entered, the user clicks submit button 530. If the user has omitted any item of necessary information, a message will appear prompting the user to enter the information in the Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bisaar Page 023 09/28/00 11:55 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. I~J024 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 appropriate field. Otherwise, an acknowledgement screen, such as screen 540 in Figure 11, appears with acknowledgement 550. The user can then request another report or simply wait for the requested report to appear.
If the user simply waits, envelope 360 or other suitable icon appears on the same acknowledgement screen 540, as shown in Figure 12.
The user then highlights the "Requested Reports" item in drop down list 370, as shown in Figure 13. Shortly thereafter, the requested report appears in area 220, as shown in Figure 14. Other reports then can be generated and added to the list of requested reports in area 220.
Other new report screens 390 {Figure 4) are shown in Figures 15-20. Figure 15 shows Sales Mix Report request screen 570, with current period boxes 580, prior period boxes 590 and comparable box 600, the function and use of which is described above.
Figure 16 shows Periodic Sales Report request screen 610. In addition to previously described boxes and fields, screen 610 includes data grouping drop-down list 620, illustrated in more detail in Figures 17-18. Date grouping drop-down list 630 includes choices for individual days of the week, the entire week, or the entire period.
Figure 19 shows Planned Sales Report request screen 640, which includes report year box 650 for entry of the desired year for the report.
Figure 20 shows the lower portion of Day Part Mix Report request screen 660. The user selects start and end times in boxes 670 and enters a description for the Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & BIS$ar Pale 024 09/28/00 11:58 FAX B12 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A-_...-_ ~ 025 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 day part in box 680. When Add Day Part button 690 is clicked, the times and description appear in Current Day Part Settings box 700. To remove a day part from box 700, the appropriate line item in box 700 is highlighted, and Remove Day Part button ? 10 clicked.
For some business, an official business day begins at 6:00 a.m. on one day and ends at 5:59 a.rn. on the next day. If the user tries to set up a day part that begins before 6:00 a.m. and ends after 6:00 a.m., an error message is generated, according to one embodiment, telling the user that the end time is before the start time. Suitable error messages can be generated or other indications provided for official business days having other start and end times, of course.
Returning momentarily to Figure 4, a user can proceed from requested reports screen 210 to subscription request screen 720, using the "Report Subscriptions" item in drop-down list 370 (Figure 7), for example. One specific subscription request screen 720 is shown in Figure 21.
Subscriptions are requests for reports that recur. For instance, if a user wishes to see a Period To Date report at the end of each week, the user can create a subscription that automatically forwards the report to the user, by web delivery, e-mail or other mode, every week.
Report type selection drop-down list 730 enables the user to begin the process of setting up a subscription by selecting a report type. The reports appearing in list 730 can be the same as those appearing in list 370 on Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart 4 Bi~~ar Page 025 09/28/00 11:68 FAX 812 573 2006 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. -, f~028 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 requested reports screen 210, for example, or can be a subset of those reports and/or include additional reports. Subscription detail area 740 is similar to detail area 220 of requested reports screen 210 (Figure 6) and will not be described again in detail. The user may wish to include the word "subscription" in the description, so that it can easily be determined, when the report is delivered, that it came from a subscription. To update the contents of screen 720, the "Report Subscriptions" item from drop-down list 370 can be selected, or the browser refresh icon clicked. Other features of screen ?20 are similar to those described with respect to previous screens and will not be repeated, to simplify the description.
Once a report type is selected from drop-down list ?30, a respective new subscription screen 750 appears, as indicated in Figure 4. One portion of screen 750 asks the user to enter the relevant data for the specific report, in a manner already described. In addition, each subscription screen 750 includes end date and begin date boxes 760, 770, as shown in Figure 22. Depending on the number of periods that the user is asked to specify for a specific report, multiple boxes 760, 770 will appear. Figure 22 represents a Day Part Mix Report subscription request. Because both current periods and prior periods are required to be entered, each period has its own end date box 760 and begin date box 770, as shown.
Figure 23 shows selection box 780, which appears below the report set up boxes described earlier and below the boxes of Figure 22, according to Received Sep-28-DO 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bi~gar Page 026 09/28/00 11:57 FAX 812 57S 200b DICKE,SILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. I~J027 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 one embodiment. Many features of Figure 23 are similar to those of Figure 9, except that they apply to report subscriptions instead' of reports themselves.
These features will not be repeated, to simplify the disclosure.
Delivery ranking list 790 is used by the system to determine what priority to give to the processing of subscriptions. Each day, the system processes the subscriptions that are due that day. A subscription with a higher importance ranking will be processed before one having a lower ranking.
Rankings can include, in order, critical, very important, important, medium, and low, for example. If web delivery is chosen at 800, the requested subscribed report will appear on the requested reports screen. If e-mail delivery is requested at 800, the report will not appear on the requested reports screen but will instead be forwarded to the designated e-mail address.
Settinx Report Dates in Subscriptions Embodiments of the invention are flexible enough to allow a user to ask for any report, including any subscribed report, to cover any period of time. To accomplish this flexibility, embodiments of the invention determine a subscriptions date range in a relative, versus absolute, way.
Relative Versus Absolute Dates: Date ranges to be specified in subscriptions are relative. Because subscriptions are designed to be repeating in nature, if the user were to set an absolute begin date or end date, the report would not recur. For example, if a report is set up to show data from Tuesday, Received Sep-28-00 12:48pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bissar Pase 027 08/28/00 11: b7 FAX B12 b73 200b DICKS, BILLIG&CZAJA, P. A. I~ 028 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 September 14 to Monday, September 20 (absolute report dates), that subscription would only run once, as those dates occur only once in a given year.
Setting report dates in relative terms, however, allows the report to run every time the specified relationship between dates exists. Therefore, according to embodiments of the invention, a user picks an end date and defines its relationship to the beginning date as a date that is "one week earlier," for example. In this case, the subscription can and will run a report every day. This is because the relationship between the end date and the beginning date exists every day. For any date selected as an end date, there is always a date that is one week earlier.
Depending on the specific report for which a subscription is set up, more than one date may be requested. The Price Variation report, for example, asks for a beginning and end date. The Week To Daxe report, on the other hand, asks only for a report date. The Sales Mix report and Day Part Mix report described earlier ask for four dates - current begin date, current end date, prior begin date, and prior end date.
According to one embodiment, all reports are based on the most current daily extract file. According to one embodiment, the most current daily extract file represents the day before the current date. Therefore, on Tuesday, September 21, the daily extract file is for business oiz September 20.

Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biggar Page 028 osi2sioo 11:5s r~nx mz 573 zoos CA 02321456 ~2U00-U9-29'W~n~ __~loz~
Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 Therefore, whenever a subscription is created, the "extract date" is always yesterday.
Report dates build on each other, beginning with the most current date and extending backwards. Therefore, a subscription always begins by setting the end date. If there is more th;~.n one report date in a subscription, subsequent report dates will always be :>et in relation to the end date.
Because the user sets the end date first, the box (e.g. box 760 in Figure 22) for the end date is preferably shown first, i.e. above the corresponding begin date box (770). Th'~ end date is set in relation to the date of the most recent daily extract, which is always yesterday. Once the end date is determined, the begin date is set in relationship to it.
The following tables provide examples of date ranges that can be set, and how they would be set using boxes 760, 770 according to the invention. The first table shows calendar dates and the second table shows the same examples using accounting dates.
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.I'' . . Period 7/9/99 . Begin to 9/1/99 8/31/99I7a Z 8/29/99 Date 2 eriods7/9/998/29/99 da 8/4/99 s Week Begin 6/23/99 Date to 8/25/998!241998/18/99 5 7/14/99 Date 3 weeks6/23/997/14/99 weeks ~/i4/99 Received Sep-28-OD 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biggar Page 029 09/28/00 11:58 FAX 612 573 2005 CA 02321456_2000-09--29~-YTA~__ ~ 030 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 r.~_______i_.. __..s__~ ..~ ...L...r .... ~..~:.... ~hsac /nnm/Wou4/Pnr~ndlYnnr) L'y-i "i',:i ~~ I" : -t - ~_ n _ ,., y , ofL II.. r f _,L.i___ ,' f !
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a P eriod Begin 1/1/7/99 to 1/1/10/997/4!9/99Da 2 5/4/9/99Date 1/1/9/992 1/i/7/995/4/9/99 ~ da eriods s _ Wcek Begin 1/3/7/99 Date ~ I to I

1/4/9/997/3/9/99//3/9/99 5 //2/8/99Date (1/2/8/99)3 weeks weeks Report Information Illustrated embodiments of the invention include nine separate reports, the theory of each of which will now be described. As described previously, reports may be customized t.o look at any combination of stores, from one store to all stores, for any date range. Each report preferably shows the date and time it was requested, and the number of pages in the report, also in the manner previously described. Sample reports are shown in Figures 24-30.
1. Week To Date Report - FiQUre 24 1 Report Theory: The Week To Date report shows the performance of a selected stores) and/or groups) for over 40 different metrics of the business for the current day, as well as for the current week and the same week in the previous year.
Using This Report: Because it contains all the pertinent information about a business, it can serve as a starting place for all management discussions, yet each user can focus on different information based on their interest. For instance, a franchisee might be most interested in the WTD and YTD sales figures, while a manager might focus on overrings and a restaurant general manager may look at labor figures.
2. Period To Date Report - FiQUre 24 Report Theory: The Period To Date report is identical to the Week To Date report except gives daily and period to date information.
1 Using This Report: Llse it as you would the Week To Date report.
r~
~.6 Received Sea-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bisaar Paae 030 09/28/00 11:59 FAX B12 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. I~j031 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 3. Sales Mlx Report - FlQUres 25A and ZSB
1 Report Theory: The Sales Mix report shows what products were sold by unit and by dollar value.
1 Using This Report:
Y The report can help a user understand how selected stores) are doing relative to company goals.
~ It can help the user decide to raise or lower prices. When prices are changed, the user can quickly see the impact of those changes on the number of ilnits sold.
D The user can see if marketing modules are successful. It can aid in deciding whether to vary from suggested prices for future marketing modules.
4. Perlodlc Sales Rebort - FlQUre 26 1 Report Theory: The Periodic Sales Report allows the user to look at two periods of time and compare performance on the following business metrics: including sales, deposit, cash +/-, items per transaction, average ticket, counter ticket, percent bevcragd, transactions, overring dollars, overring percent, number of overrings, delete dollars, delete percent, number of deletes, drive through time, counter time, number of cars, drive through dollRrs, drive through dollars percent, average per car, or ICOS variance.
1 Using This Report: This report can help the user focus attention on one business metric by looking at current and prior activity for a date or range of dates. It can also help determine trend.
S. Price T~artatlon Report - Flpure 27 1 Report Theory: The Price Variation Report compares the menu item prices charged at the POS
against an authorized price list. This report is useful in determining where stores may not have made required price updates or where errors were made in those updates or in the system. Only menu items where there is some reported price variance will show on this report.
Using This Report: District managers and store managers will find this report helpful in determining that price updates are occurring on a timely and accurate basis.
~ Planned Sales Report - FlBUre 28 1 Report Theory: The Planned Sales report shows the plan numbers that are contained in the system.
1 Using This Report: This report lists the data entered in the system for planned sales, figures which are used in many calculations in other reports. If a store undergoes a remodel or if other planned or unplanned interruptions (or upswings) occur in business, this report can be used to see the current planned sales and begin the process of determining if these figures need to be changed.
7. Dav dart Mix Report - Ft~ure 29 1 Report Theory: Day Part Sales Mix shows e.g. sales, transactions, and average checks by time periods as small as e.g. 1 S minutes. A day part can include as few as one 15-minute or smaller increment so that sales activity can be tracked very closely. 'the day parts are set up by the user at the time the report is requested and can be changed at as often as necessary.
1 Using This Report:
D Some national marketing modules are aimed at boosting dales during a certain time period.
This report can help a franchisee see if the modules are actually meeting the stated goals.
D It can help the user decide whether to change a store's hours of operation or how to change staffing patterns.

Received Sep-28-00 12:4tipm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biggar Page 031 09/28/00 12:00 FAX B12 b73 2008 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. , f~OS2 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 8. Menu Item Re»ort - FlQUre 30 ~ Report Theory: Like the Planned Sales report, the Menu Item ~eport lists the product costs and profit margins that are contained in the system. It should be updated periodically.
~ Using This Report: This report shows you the relationship bet~iveen the cost, price, and profit of i each product the operation sells.
9. Ranking Revort There are actually three dif,~'erent ranking reports. The pnly di,~''erence between them is the variable they rank by-drive through speed of service, counter speed of service, and productivity, for example.
Because the reports are identical except for this variable, the information description given below applies for adl three reports.
~ Report Theory: This report ranks stores on a variety of variables, for instance drive through or counter speed of service or productivity, showing the rankingsfor the day and for the WTD/PTD/CustomToDate. It also imbeds the company average to enable the user to see which stores are above and below the company average. In addition,;if the user picks a subset of all stores, those stores will be ranked in a separate section of the report.
~ Using This Report: This report can be used to motivate district and store managers, for example.
Report Data Definitions Week To Date/Period To Date Report Data Definition (Note: Because the Week To Date and Period To Date reports are identical e~tcept for the period they cover, the data definitions are given only once.) This report includes six sections-the heading, the recap, top body, top total, bottom body, bottom total. The heading information and recap information appear only on the first page of thle document. All the data about one stores appears in two lines, one in the top body and one in the bottom body.
The top and bottom totals appear on the last page of the report and total all the stores in the report.
Header Information Hl Stores: The store s and/or groups) of stores included in the report. _ H2 From: The beginning date of the date range analyzed. For WTD;reports, it will always be the date of the Wednosday of the week being analyzed. For PTD reports, it will always be the first day of the period be' anal ed which will also be a Wednesda .

H3 To: The date of the last daily extract (which will always be yesterday). For WTD reports, it will always be no later than the Tuesday of the week being analyzed. For PTD reports, it will always be no later than the last da of the riod be' anal ed.

H4 Number of days reporting: The number of days in the date rangt.
For WTD reports, the number will ran a from 1 to 7. For PTD r orts the number will ran a from 1 ao 28.

HS Number of stores reportins: The number of stores summarized pn the report out of the number of stores requested by the user. These two number will usually be the same: unless the Comparable box was checked when the re ort was re uested.

Received Sea-28-00 12:48pm Fram-812 573 2005 To-Smart & Bigrar Page 032 09/28/00~12-:-00 FAX 812- b73 2006- DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.~ [~Og3 Attorney I3oeket No.: B 199.101.102 ,.
_ rrn_ ___ __ :..s.. .. lJ...,ze :e nhnu~» fnr tenth thp:dav and the weeklneriod.
i~i71~1sl.aaava aiawwvu. .. ..... -Rl Actual Sales: The total of the daily sales for the date shown in H3 aid Weekly/Period Sales for all the dates in the date ran a from H2 to H3 for au stores shown in Hl.

R2 Historical Sales: The total of the daily sales and weekly/peribd sales for the same business day and week/ cried in the revious ear for all stores shown in 1~1.

R3 Plan: The avers a of the lanned dail and weekl l cried sales forall stores shown in Hl.

R4 +/- Historical: The ercenta a of difference between the Actual 1 and Historical sates.

RS +/- Plan: The ercenta a of difference between Actual 1 and Pl~nnedsales.

R6 +/- Projection: The percentage of difference between the actual and project plan sales for the day and week/period, based on the performance of the stores shown in H1 izi the report to date (i.e., how far above or below ro'ected lan the stores will be at the current rate of sales ..

T-~ T-J__ t-t--.W..~i..-.
TBl Store Number:
y Number of the ~ store about which information in the subsequent columns is r ortod.

TB2 day of the report (H3). -,_~ _ Dail - Actual:
Actual sales for the TB3 _ Dail - Hist: Actual sales for the same accountin date in the revious ear.

TB4 Dail - % +/-:
The ercenta a of difference between Actual TH2 ' and Historical 3 sales.

T8s Dail - Plan: The TB6 lanned sales for the da of the r ort H3 . i Dai1 - % +/-:
The ercenta a of difference between Actual TB2 ' and Planned sales.

TB7 WTD/PTD . Actual:sales to date for the currezrt week/ cried Actual of the r ort.

TB8 WTD/PTD - Iiiato TB9 : Actual sales for the same accouh' date ran a in the revious ear.
WTD/PTD - % +/-:
The percentage of difference between WTD/PTD
Actual (TB7) and WTD/PTD
Historical TB8 sales.

TB10 WTD/PTD - Plan:
TBll The fanned sales for the week/
cried of the rd ort.
WTD/PTD - % +/-:
The percentage of difference between WTD/PTD
Actual (TB7) and WTD/PTD
Planned TB10 sales.

TB12 WTD/PTD Comp Sales:
The percentage of difference between W_TD/PTD
Actual sales and sales for the same accountin cried in the revious ear.

TB13 YTD Comp Sales:
The percentage of difference between year to date sales and year to date sales for the revious ear.

TB14 Dail - De osit:
TB15 The actual cash d osit for the da of the rt wn in H3.
Daily - Cash +/-:
The difference between the actual cash deposit (TB14) and the cash deposit the POS .
s stem re rted for the da shown in H3.

TB16 WTD/PTD Cash +/-:
The difference between the actual cash deposit (TB14) and the cash deposit the POS s stem r rted for the cried of the re ort shown in H2 &
H .

TB17 Item Tran: The number of items er transaction for the da of the re ort shown in H3.

TB18 Av Tick: The avers a 'ce er transaction for the da of the r ' rt shown in H3.

TBi Cnt Tick: The 9 average price per transaction for counter transactiops for the day of the report shown in H3.

TB20 % Bevera e: The ercenta a of actual sales TB2 resented b bevera ea.

TB21 Transactions -Actual: The number of transactions for the da of the re ort shown in H3.

TB22 Transactions -Hlst: The number of transactions for the same ac ounti date in the revious ear.

TB23 Transactions -+/- %: The percentage of difference between Actual (TB21) and Historical (TB22) number of transactions.

Total Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biaaar Paae 033 09/28/00 12:01 FAX H12 573 2006 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. I~J034 .___ .__.- -__.:___..-. _._- ~__._. __._ ._. _.~ __~.~-r Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 S
~f_u_~ o-~-. i~t -..~....4L..., s BB Store Number: The number of the store ~~ _about which information irbahe subseguent columns is reported.
l BB2 Overrinl~s - $: The dollar value of BB3 overrings for the da~of the report shown in H3.
Overrlngs - %: The percentage of Actual sales ('TB2) represented by the Dollar Value of overrings BB2 .

BB4 Overran s - #: The number of overran s for the da of the r ort shown in H3.

BB5 Deletes - $: The dollar value of deleted transactions for the da of the r ort shown in H3.

BB6 Deletes - %: The ercenta a of Actual salos TH2 re esented b a Dollar Value of deletes BBS .

BB7 Deletes - #: Number of deleted transactions BB8 for the da of the re ort shown in H3.
Service Tlme - DT: The average time of transaction at the drive-though window as measured by the POS s stem not drive-throw h timor for the da shown in H3.

BB9 Service Time - WTD/PTD: The average time of transaction at tho: drive-through window for the WTD/PTD as measured b the POS s stem not drive-throw timef .

BB10 Service Time - CNT: The average time of transaction at the couat~r as measured by the POS system for the da shown in H3.

BBil Service Time - WTD/PTD: The avers c time of transaction at thd counter for the WTD/PTD.

BB12 Dail Labor - Actual: The actual number of labors hours for the da of the ort shown in H3.

BBl3 Dail Labor - Allowed: Allowed number of the r ort shown in of labor hours for the d H3.

BB14 Dail Labor - Actual Productivi : The ur BB12 for the da shown sales er actual labor ho in H3.

BB15 Dail Labor - Allowed Productivl : The hour B 13 for the da sales er allowed labox shown in H3.

BB16 WTD/PTD Labor - Actual: The actual number of labors hours fqr the WTD/PTD.

BBl7 WTD/PTD Labor - Allowed: The allowed number of labor hour9 for the WTD/PTD.

BB18 WTD/PTD Labor - +/-: The difference between the WTD/PTD Actual Labor (BB
16) and Allowed Labor B 17 .

BB19 Avers a Wa e: The avers a wa a aid to a to ees of the store shown in HH 1.

BB20 % DL $: The ercenta a of actual sales TH2 r resented b dail. labor costs for the da shown in H3.

BB21 WTD/PTD Labor $: The dollar value of labor for the WTDIPTD:

BB22 WTD Labor %: The percentage of WTD/PTD
Actual sales (TB7) represented by WTD/PTD Labor B22 .

BB23 Number of Cars: The number of cars through the drive-through vyindow for tho day of the report shown in H3 measured b the POS s stem.

BB24 Drlve-Throw b $: The number of drive-throw transactions for t a da shown in H3.

BB25 Drive-Through %: The percentage of Actual sales (TB2) represented by the dollar value of drive throw transactions HH25 .

BB26 Avers a Per Car: The avers a ticket er car for the da shown iri H3.

BB27 ICOS Variance - Dail BB28 ICOS Variance - PTD/PrWk:

BB29 Daily Meal %: The percentage of Actual sales (TB2) that represented employee/promo meals for the day shown in H3.

BB30 PTD/WTD Meal %: The percentage of WTD/PTD
sales (T87) t$at represented employee/promo meals for the WTD/PTD.

Bottom Bod Total Information BBTl Totals: The totals ox wei hted avers ea for ail columns shown in ' Bottom Bod .
30 .
Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bissar Page 034 09/28/00 12:02 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. -_ 0 035 Attorney Docket No.: B 199.101.102 Sales Mix Data Definition This report includes seven sections-header, module recap, sales mix rocap, ry, summary total, detail, and detail total. The Detail and Detail Total sections of this report are not shown ' this data definition. The data definitions are identical in content to the Summary and Summary Total sectio , except that a detail and detail total is displayed for each category, showing information in subsequent columns fo each item in the category.
Hl Stores: The stores included in the report, shown by group name an for store numver.
HZ Current Period: The beginning and end dates of the currant porio analyzed, including the number of da s in the eriod.
H3 Prior Period: The begitu~ing and end dates of the prior period anal ed, including the number of days in Module Reca Information MRl Date: The active date a for the module described in MR2.
MR2 Description: The description of the module.
C9loc Mdr lto~~n TnfnrmsWinn SMRl Sales: Total dollar value of sales nd the percentage of for the current and prior periods change between the two erioda.

SMR2 Transactions: Total number of transactionsd prior periods and for the current the percentage of chap a between the two eriods.

SMR3 Avg Price/Item: The avorage price per r periods and the percentage item for the current and pri of chap a betweon the two erioda.

SMR4 Avg Ticket: The average ticket for d the percentage of the current and prior periods chango between the two eriods.

SMRS Beverage Percent: The percent of salesthe current and prior that represent beverages ' periods and the ercenta a of char a between tho two eriods.

SMR6 Item/Transactions: The average number r the current and prior of items per transaction periods and the ercenta a of char a between the two eriods.

SMR7 Incidences: For selected menu items, er 100 transactions the number of transactions for the current and rior rinds and the ercenta a of than o between the two erio Cnmms~rv information Sl Cate or : The menu item category for n a _ears uent columns.
which summer informati ~ in subseg 82 # Items Current: The number of items that ware he current in the category shown in S 1 sold in eriod.
t 93 # Items Prior: The number of itexna at were in the cats o shown in S 1 sold in the rior rind.

S4 Change: The percentage of difference sold in between the number of its the current S3 eriods. (S2) and prior SS Item Mix Current: The percentage of the category total number of items sold shown in sold in the current eriod. S1 that were S6 Item Mix Prior: The percentage of totala category number of items sold in shown in in the rior eriod. S 1 that were sold S7 Chan e: The ercenta a of difference current between the item mix in SS and rior S6 erioda.

S8 $ Mlx Current: The ercenta a of total to or shown sales r resented b tho in S1 that were sold in Received Sep-26-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Bissar Page 035 08/28/00 12:02 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA.P~A. I~]038 Attorney Dloeket No.: B 199.101.102 the current eriod.

S9 $ Mix Prior: The percentage of total y shown in S 1 that sales represented by the catego were sold in the rior eriod.
S10 Change: The percentage of difference a category in the current between the dollar value of t (SS) and rior S6 eriods.

S11 Food: The weighted food cost percentageS1. (To ensure an accurate for the category shown i percentage, the cost of all items in n divided by the total the category were summed and sales for the cafe o Sl2 Paper: The weighted paper cost percentagein S 1. (To ensure for the category she an accurate percentage, the cost of all items in n divided by the total the category were summed and sales for the cafe o S13 F/P: The weighted total food and paper ory shown in S 1. (To cost percentage for the ca ensure an accurate percentage, the cost of all d and then divided items in the category were su by the total sales for the cafe o r.............. T~tul Twf'm.~nofinn STi # Items Current: The total of all categories ~ for S2.

ST2 # Items Prior: The total of all categories for S3_.

ST3 Change: The percentage of difference items sold in all categories between the total number o in the current STl and rior ST2 eriods.

ST4 Food: The wei fed food cost ercenta a for all cafe ories.

ST5 Pa er: The wei hted a er cost ercenta a for all cats ories.

ST6 F/P: The wei fed total food and a er ories.
cost ercenta a for all ca Periodic Sales Data Definition This report includes three sections-the header, detail, and module re p.
Haarlnr infnrmntinn Hi Stores: The stores included or store number.
in the report, shown by Brou name an H2 Current Period: ~ The ing dates pood analyzed.
bogimiing and end of the currenti H3 Prior Period: The be a 1 ed.
' inand endin dates of the rior eriod H4 Date Grouping: The time nt and prior periods period by which comparisons will be grouped of the c in the Date column D a wee week or eriod.
1 . The user ma choose an of the da s of H5 Data: The business metric of several metrics, for which data is shown. including sales, It could be on deposit, cash +/_, items , percent beverage, per transaction, average transactions, ticket, counter tick overring dollars, overring , delete percent, number percent, number of oven~ings, of deletes, delete do drive through time, counter s, drive through dollars time, number of cars, percent, drive through dol avers a er car or ICOS
variance.

Trefoil lninrmotinn D1 Date: The time period by which the comparisonss of the current and in subsequent co prior periods are broken down. The selected time periodhe re ort ie re uested variable, set at the time is shown in H4.

D2 Current: The total for the current eriodc shown in H5.
shown in H2 for the me D3 Prior: The total for the rior eriod shownwn in H5.
in H3 for the metric sh D4 Chan e: Tho difference between the current aad tier eriod.

D5 Inerease/(Deerease) %: The percentage the current period over of increase or decrease o the prior eriod.

Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Blgsar Pase 036 09/28/00 12:03 FAX B12 673 200b DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. - ~ 037 Attorney locket No.: 8199.101.102 Date:
of MR3 ~ Origia~ The origin of the module-eithor national or local.
Price Variation Report Data Definition This report includes two sections-the heading and the detail. The heading ' ormation appears only on the first page of the document. The detail is divided by menu item.
Hl Stores: The stores included in the report, shown by group name an or store numbor.
H2 Date RaageThe beginning and ending dates of the period analyze , as well as the type of dates shown calendar or accountin . -, -, H3 Overcha e: The total amount overchar ed to customers.
H4 Undercharee: The total amount undercharged to customers.
llwtnii infnrms~tinn Dl Menu Item: The six-character code of tho menu item.

D2 Menu Item Name: The descri five name of the menu item.

D3 Price: The price shown in the system sinst which the actual for the menu item; the price price paid by the customer taken from the Bail oxtract file is co aced.

D4 Over/ order : The total dollar value a item that r orted of the transactions for this a variance.

DS Business Date: The date which one or a item r orted a variance.
more transactions for this D6 Store: The store number and name r ortin the variance.

D7 uanti Sold: Number of menu items sold siness date 'ven in at a variance for the b D5.

D8 Price: The rice cha od for the menu item.

D9 Over/ nder : The total variance for D7.
the number of items shown ' Planned Sales Data Definition This report includes three sections the heading, the detail, and the totals. a heading information appears only on the first page of the documont. The totals are only shown at the end of the d ' , which may print on more than one page.
store Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 513 2005 To-Smart & Bissar Page 03T

09/28/00 12:03 FAX 812 573 2005 DICRE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.~.__ f~J038 __.
__-_ Attorney Locket No.: B 199.101.102 Dl Store Number: The store number for which inn numbers are W en n suuse em coiurtms.
D2 Menu Item Name: The lapped sales number for the eriod shows the column headin .
n~ Prlce: The total planned sales for the store shown in D1 for all 13 p 'ode of the ear shown in Hl.
D4 Period Total: The total planned sales for the period shown in the co umn heading DS Year Total: The total of planned sales for all 13 eriods of the esr hewn in Hl .
Day Part Mix Report Data Definition This report includes six sections-header criteria, header performance, su y, summary total, detail, and detail total. The Detail and Detail Total sections of this report are not shown in this ate definition; the data definitions are identical in content to the Sunnmary and Summary Total sections, except that ey give data for one store.
Header Criteria HCl Stores: The stores included in the ort shown b o name an or store number.
HCI Current Period: The period for which the report is made, includin the number of days in the period and the number of stores r rted.
HC3 Prior Period: The ptriod to which the currant period is compared, eluding the number of days in the period and the number of stores reported.
HP3 ~ Transactions per 15 Minutes: The average transactions in the da part shown in HPl divided by the number of 15-minute periods in the day part shown in HP 1.
Summary Sl Da Part: The da art for which data is umns.
rtad in subse uent c S2 # Tram Current: The number of transactionsfor in the current erio the da art shown in S
1.

S3 % Traps Current: The percentage of the urrent total transactions for the c period art shown in S 1. that occurred in the day S4 # Traps Prior: The number of transactionsa in the rior eriod for da art shown in S
1.

SS % Traps Prior: The percentage of the r total transactions for the pri period shown in S1. that occurred in the day part S6 % Change: The percentage of difference d between the current peri (S2) art shown in S 1. and prior period (S4) for the day S7 Salsa Current: The dollar value of the riod transactions in the current e for the da art shown in S
1.

S8 % Sales Current: The percentage of the rrent total dollar value for the u period art shown in S 1. that occurred in the day S9 Ssle Prior: The dollar value of the r art shown in S
transactions in the rior eriod the 1.
da S10 % Salsa Prior: The percentage of the period total dollar value for the pri that shown in S 1. occurred in the day part Sl % Change: The percentage of difference d l between the current peri (S7) art shown in S1. and prior period (S9) for the day Received Sep-28-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart & Biagar Paae 038 09/28/00 12:04 -FAX 812 573 2005 _._ DICKE,BILLIG&CZA~JA _P.~A. C~J039 Attorney Locket No.: B 199.101.102 S12 Avg. Tic Current: Tho average ticket t period for the day of all transactions in the curre part shown in S1. Also shown in HP2.
S13 % Var Day: The percentage of differencein the current period between the average tick (S12) for the day part shown in S 1 and the average ess day of the current ticket for the average entire b period (not shown on this r ort . *

S14 Av . Tic Prior' The avers a ticket of iod for the da art shown all transactions in the rior a in S1.

S15 % Var Day: The percentage of differencein the prior period between the average ticks (S 14) for the day part shown in Sl and the average ticketday of the prior period for the average entire busine (not shown on this r ort .

S16 % Change: The percentage of difference (S 12) and prior period between the current perio (S 14) for the da art shown in S1.

*Numbers less than 100 denote that the average ticket for the day part was les than the average ticket for the entire day (i.e., 99.4% would mean that the day part average ticket is .6% less than t a average ticket for that period).
Numbers over 100 denote that the average ticket for the day part exceeded th average ticket for the entire period by the amount over 100 (i.e., 110.4% would mean that the day part average ticks is 10.4% higher than the average ticket for the period).
c~..w.......... T..~..1 STl # Trans Current: The total of all S2 ~ for all day parts on the re ort.

ST2 parts on the re ort.
# Trans Prior: The total of all S4 for all day % Chan e: Tho avers a for all S6 for all da arts on the ort.

ST4 Salsa Current: The total of all S7 for all da arts on the r ort.

ST5 Sale Prior: The total of all S9 for all da arts on the ort.

ST6 % Chan e: The avers a for all S11 for all da arts on the r ort.

ST7 Av . Tic Current: The avers a of all ort.
S 12 for au da arts on the r ST8 Av . Tic Prior: The avers a of all S rt.
114 for au da arts on the r Menu Item Data Definition The Menu Item report includes two sections-the header and the detail.
Header H
Date:
rlnhoil rnfnrmufinn Dl Code: The six-di it code of the menu em. _ item taken from the POS sy D2 Desert lion: The lon er deacn~tion of coda in D1.
the item represented by th D3 Food Cost: The total cost for allfood used in r aria the item.

D4 Paper Cost: The total coat for all paperappers, ere.) that are items (cope, straws, lids, used in the sale of the item.

D5 Total Cost: The combined food and a er cost of an item.

D6 Price: The rice char ed for the item b the POS s tam.

D7 Cost %: The ercenta a of the rice of ward food and a er a the item D6 which oes nscs 5 .

D8 Margin %: The percentage of the price ins after subtracting of the item (D~ which re food and paper costs DS .

Received Sep-28-00 12:48pm From-812 573 2005 ~ To-Smart & Bissar Pase 039 09/28/00 12:05 FAX 812 573 2005 DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. I~J040 Attorney ocket No.: 8199.101.102 Although the invention has been describ with respect to specific embodiments, the description herein is intended to b illustrative of the many variations and alternatives contemplated by the inve ion. The invention contemplates reporting variables and functions other han the specific ones described herein, for example drive-through timer co nectivity allowing acquisition of data from a restaurant's drive-through imer, for reporting and analysis purposes. Audio and video broadcasting an e-mail, and chat communication capabilities, are contemplated as wel . Smart card integration enables customer recognition and personalizes a cus omer's experience. A
guest can swipe his or her smart card and can be gr eted by name, asked if he or she will have "the usual," told how much time ha elapsed since the previous visit, etc. Integration with other databases s contemplated, for example those tracking customer complaints, myste shopping reports, etc.
Other contemplated reports include sales tax report and per-store average sales reports. Transaction level detail analysis is als contemplated, to determine which items were bought within a specifi . transaction and to generate reports accordingly. A variety of progr g languages can be used to effect the various described and contemplated em odiments, for example SQL Visual Basic or other languages. As point-of s a systems change and as data becomes available from additional sources in c mputer form, embodiments of the invention will accept that data nd include that Received Sep-Z8-00 12:46pm From-612 573 2005 To-Smart 8~ Bissar Pase 040 09/28/00 12:05 FAX 812 b7S 200b DICKE,BILLIG&CZAJA,P.A. , 0 041 Attorney Docket No. : B 199.101.102 information in its reports. Any one of these or previo sly described functionalities, of course, can be considered optional o the overall system.
In summary, embodiments of the inventi n allow management information from a variety of sources to be moved q ' kly from the collection point in the store to the corporate office, combined in a variety of formats that take advantage of the data's interconnectedness, and pushed quickly back out to managers and store personnel, for example, so th operations can be refined and improved at all levels. As a result, users t all levels of a variety of business organizations can make business decisions that are based on current information describing all parts of the operation, in manner heretofore believed unknown in the prior art.

Received Sea-28-00 12:48pm From-812 573 2005 To-Smart & Bisaar Pase 041

Claims (27)

1. A method of generating custom reports based on point-of-sale data transferred between multiple remote computing devices and a central computing device, the method comprising:
(a) generating point-of-sale data at multiple remote locations;
(b) transferring the point-of-sale data to a central computing device from multiple computing devices at the respective multiple remote locations;
(c) defining a custom report format, the custom report format specifying at least two of the multiple remote locations and specifying a date range, the date range and the at least two multiple remote locations being freely selectable by a user;
(d) generating a custom report using the custom report format, the custom report being based on point-of-sale data related to the specified remote locations and the specified date range; and (e) communicating the custom report to a human being.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein (e) includes using the Internet.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the human being is at one of the remote locations.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein (c) includes communicating the custom report format over the Internet to the central computing device.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the custom report format is defined at one of the remote locations.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein (c) includes specifying a subset of the multiple remote locations on which to base the custom report.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the custom report format specifies a date range covering multiple days.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the custom report format specifies intraday time periods.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein (b) occurs automatically on a daily basis.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the custom report format specifies a current period and a prior period, further wherein (d) includes comparing point-of-sale data from the current period and the prior period.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein (d) includes excluding current-period point-of-sale data from the comparison if corresponding prior-period point-of-sale data is non-existent.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein point-of-sale data for each of the remote locations is stored at a location associated with the central computing device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the multiple remote locations comprise restaurants.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein (d) includes combining point-of-sale data transferred in (b) to create new data.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising (f) creating a report subscription, wherein (e) comprises automatically communicating one or more subscribed reports to the human being on a regular basis.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein (e) comprises communicating by e-mail.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein (a) occurs at one or more cash registers at each remote location.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising (f) enabling new users to define custom reports using an off-the-shelf-personal computer and Internet browser free of specialized hardware or software.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein (c) includes specifying any combination of multiple remote locations on which to base the custom report.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the human being is a non-user of the central computing device.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein (c) occurs using a graphical user interface.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein (c) includes defining the remote locations and/or remote computing devices in a hierarchical format and presenting the hierarchical format to the user.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the hierarchical format divides the remote locations and/or remote computing devices into organizational units, each remote location and/or remote computing device appearing in multiple organizational units.

24. The method of claim 1, wherein (b) includes e-mail communication.

25. A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for generating custom reports, comprising:
a code segment for generating data at multiple remote locations;
a code segment for transferring the data to a central computing device from multiple computing devices at the respective multiple remote locations;
a code segment for defining a custom report format, the custom report format specifying at least two of the multiple remote locations and specifying a date range, the date range and the at least, two multiple remote locations being freely selectable by a user;
a code segment for generating a custom report using the custom report format, the custom report being based on data related to the specified remote locations and the specified date range; and a code segment for communicating the custom report to a human being.

26. A subscription service for communicating one for more subscribed reports to a human being on a regular basis, according to the method of claim 15.

27. A computer system for generating custom reports according to the method of claim 1,