Square knows what you sold. EZTime knows who was working. Put them side by side and staffing decisions get easier.
Square holds transactions: items, discounts, refunds, tips and the location where each sale happened. EZTime holds time: who clocked in, where, for how long, and under which job. Keep that split in mind and most setup questions answer themselves. Sales stay in Square. Hours stay in EZTime. The connection gives you a place to compare them.
To record clock-ins, breaks and overtime automatically, see EZTime time and attendance software.
The data points, direction and timing for your account are confirmed with the EZTime team during setup, so use this page to prepare your questions rather than as a technical specification.
Pick one definition before you build a report, and keep it. Gross sales include items before discounts and refunds. Net sales are after. A cafe that runs a lot of loyalty discounts will see labor cost as a percent of sales move by a couple of points depending on which number is the base. Write the definition at the top of your weekly report so nobody argues about it later.
A cafe in a downtown location has made-up numbers for a Saturday:
| Daypart | Net sales | Labor hours | Sales per labor hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 to 11 | $1,480 | 20 | $74.00 |
| 11 to 3 | $2,310 | 24 | $96.25 |
| 3 to 7 | $690 | 18 | $38.33 |
Late afternoon brings in $38 per labor hour against $96 at lunch. That points to moving two of the three afternoon shifts, not to cutting the whole team.
If your staff share tips, the record needs the day’s card tips from Square and the hours each person worked in the pool. The split is then tips divided by pool hours, multiplied by each person’s hours. Decide who is in the pool before you start. Managers and owners may not take from a tip pool, and employees who are not in tipped roles may not be eligible under your state’s rules.
A bar that closes at 2 a.m. has a Saturday that ends on Sunday morning. Check that Square’s business day and the EZTime workweek line up. If one location closes at midnight and another at 2, set up each location separately instead of using one cut-off for both.
| Measure | Formula | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Labor cost percentage | Labor cost / net sales x 100 | Whether wages are in line with revenue |
| Sales per labor hour | Net sales / labor hours | How productive each scheduled hour was |
| Transactions per labor hour | Number of sales / labor hours | Workload, useful where tickets are small |
| Scheduled vs actual hours | Actual hours / scheduled hours | Whether the plan was followed |
Pick two of these, not all four, and look at them by daypart. A single weekly number hides the hour in which the money is lost.
A comparison only pays off if it changes the schedule. Once a week, take the daypart with the lowest sales per labor hour and ask one question: could one shift start later or end earlier without hurting service? Make one change, keep it for two weeks, and check whether sales held. In EZTime, the schedule is linked to the clock and labor cost is shown as you build the week, so you can see the effect of moving a shift before you publish it.
Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, as amended in 2018, an employer may not keep employees’ tips, and managers and supervisors may not take part in a pool of tips. If you pay at least the full federal minimum wage without a tip credit, the U.S. Department of Labor allows a pool that includes back-of-house staff such as cooks and dishwashers. If you take a tip credit, the pool may include only employees who customarily and regularly receive tips.
Many states go further. Some do not allow a tip credit at all, and some restrict who may share in a pool. Check your state labor department’s guidance before you include new roles. EZTime includes EzTip for tip pooling; ask the team how it fits the pool rules you choose, and keep the split tied to approved timecards.
| Employee | Role | Hours in pool | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maya | Barista | 8 | $136.00 |
| Luis | Barista | 6 | $102.00 |
| Ari | Cashier | 4 | $68.00 |
| Total | 18 | $306.00 |
Card tips from Square for the day were $306.00, or $17.00 per pool hour. The shift supervisor worked 8 hours that day but is not in the pool. If an hour is corrected after the split, rerun the split for that day rather than adjusting one person.
It can, through the EZTime API (Premium plan) or a custom integration built by EZTime’s development team. Ask the EZTime team how it works for your account and which data points are available for your plan.
Not necessarily. Many teams use the EZTime app, a kiosk or an NFC tag, which also works for staff who never use the register. Decide which you prefer before you roll out.
Yes, if you keep each location separate on both sides so the comparison is like for like.
Under the FLSA, managers and supervisors may not receive tips from a mandatory pool. Some may keep tips they receive directly for service they provide, so check the DOL rules for your case.
Both are useful. Sales per labor hour is easier to compare between dayparts, and labor cost percentage is what most budgets use.
Wages as a share of revenue
How time clocks and registers fit
Targets for food service
Book a demo and bring one pay period or one week of sales. We will go through what you want to see and which data is needed.
Square is a trademark of its owner. EZTime is not affiliated with or endorsed by Square. This page is general information, not legal, payroll or tax advice. Rules differ by state, city and contract, and they change. Check with a qualified professional before you act. Numbers in examples are made up.