Sales reports help you track revenue, analyze customer behavior, monitor payment performance, and evaluate sales channels. This guide covers all 13 sales reports available in Pulse Commerce, explaining what each report does, when to use it, and the key business decisions it supports.
Sales Order Analysis Report
Navigation: Reports > Sales Order Analysis
The Sales Order Analysis report provides comprehensive visibility into individual sales transactions, combining order details with customer information, payment data, and fulfillment metrics. This report serves as your central hub for analyzing sales performance, customer behavior, and operational efficiency across all sales channels.
Key columns: Order Total, Total Discount, Payment Type, Payment Status, Total Amount Due, Channel Name, Shipping State, Billing State, Taxable Sales, Non Taxable Sales, Order Tax, Ship Date, Delivery Date, Shipping Method, Affiliate Code
When to Use This Report
- Monitor sales performance - Track revenue patterns and seasonal fluctuations across time periods
- Analyze payment behavior - Identify customer payment preferences and manage cash flow
- Optimize sales channels - Evaluate which channels generate the most profitable orders
- Track geographic distribution - Analyze orders by state to identify top-performing markets
- Manage tax compliance - Monitor tax collection across different states
- Assess fulfillment performance - Track delivery times and shipping method effectiveness
Payments Analysis
Navigation: Reports > Payments Analysis
What it does: Provides a comprehensive view of all payment transactions including sales orders, returns, and gift certificates. Track payment performance across channels, methods, and transaction types with detailed authorization codes and timestamps.
Key columns: Payment Type, Payment Status, Sales Channel, Transaction Type, Payment Transaction ID, Payment Authorization Code, Payment Date, Transaction Date, Customer Name, Payment Admin Notes
When to Use This Report
- Monitor payment method performance - Analyze success rates to optimize checkout options
- Track multi-channel payment trends - Compare payment processing across different channels
- Reconcile financial records - Match internal records with payment processor statements
- Analyze customer behavior - Understand purchasing preferences and identify high-value customers
- Manage cash flow timing - Compare transaction dates vs payment dates
- Audit payment processing - Review transaction records for compliance
Cash Receipts
Navigation: Reports > Cash Receipts
What it does: Provides a comprehensive view of all payment transactions including successful payments, refunds, credits, and failed transactions. This is your central financial reconciliation tool for tracking money flow.
Key columns: Transaction ID, Authorization Code, Payment Type, Status (Successful, Failed, Denied, Credit, Debit), Created By, Amount
When to Use This Report
- Daily financial reconciliation - Match deposits with actual transactions
- Payment method analysis - Track success rates and identify issues
- Refund management - Monitor credit transactions alongside original debits
- Failed payment investigation - Identify and recover potential lost sales
- Multi-channel tracking - Distinguish web vs admin-processed payments
- Transaction audit trail - Maintain complete payment history for disputes
Sales by Customer Summary
Navigation: Reports > Sales by Customer Summary
What it does: Provides a comprehensive view of customer performance and profitability by aggregating order history, financial metrics, and demographics. Combines transactional data with customer relationship insights.
Key columns: Gross Sales, Order Total, # of Orders, Profit, Gross Profit %, Past Due, 1-30 Days, 31-60 Days, 61-90 Days, >90 Days, Customer Group Name, Gender, Last Ship State, Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value, Loyalty Points, Mailing List
When to Use This Report
- Identify top customers - Focus retention efforts on high-value accounts
- Monitor profitability - Determine which customers generate the best margins
- Manage accounts receivable - Track aging buckets and prioritize collections
- Segment for marketing - Create personalized campaigns using demographics
- Analyze lifecycle patterns - Use RFM metrics to identify at-risk customers
- Track engagement - Monitor loyalty points and mailing list status
Customer Reward Points
Navigation: Reports > Customer Reward Points Report or Customers > Customer Reward Points Report
What it does: Tracks customer loyalty program participation by monitoring point accumulation and redemption patterns across your customer base.
Key columns: Total Points Awarded, Total Points Redeemed, Current Points Available, Customer Group Name, Company Group Name
When to Use This Report
- Identify loyal customers - Recognize top program participants for campaigns
- Track engagement levels - Compare redemption vs accumulation patterns
- Segment by activity - Target customers who accumulate but don't redeem
- Monitor program liability - Track outstanding reward obligations
- Optimize communication - Re-engage customers with high balances
- Analyze by segment - Determine which groups engage most
Sales by Daily Summary
Navigation: Reports > Sales by Daily Summary
What it does: Provides a comprehensive daily breakdown of sales performance metrics, allowing you to track key business indicators on a day-by-day basis.
Key columns: Order Date, # of Orders, # of Repeat Orders, Gross Sales, Avg. Order Value, Total Discounts, Shipping & Handling, Tax, # of Units Sold, Gross Profit, Gross Profit %, COGS
When to Use This Report
- Monitor daily trends - Identify peak selling days and seasonal fluctuations
- Analyze loyalty patterns - Compare new vs repeat orders
- Optimize pricing - Review average order value and margin trends
- Evaluate promotions - Assess discount impact on profitability
- Track fulfillment costs - Analyze shipping and tax patterns
- Measure inventory velocity - Understand product movement rates
Sales by Item Summary
Navigation: Reports > Sales by Item Summary
What it does: Provides comprehensive sales performance analytics at the individual product (SKU) level, combining sales metrics with profitability data and current inventory status.
Key columns: SKU, Product Name, Qty. Sold, Gross Sales, # of Orders, # of Customers, Average Price, Gross Profit, Gross Profit %, Total Cost, Current Qty On Hand, Preferred Vendor, Product Category, Product Type, Sell Through %
When to Use This Report
- Identify top products - Focus marketing on bestsellers
- Optimize pricing - Find opportunities for margin improvement
- Make inventory decisions - Combine sales velocity with stock levels
- Analyze engagement - Understand repeat purchase behavior
- Evaluate vendors - Optimize purchasing relationships
- Assess portfolio - Identify underperforming segments
Sales by Bundle SKU Summary
Navigation: Reports > Sales by Bundle SKU Summary
What it does: Provides comprehensive sales performance analytics for product bundles, tracking order volume, quantities sold, pricing, and revenue generation.
Key columns: Bundle Name, BundleSKU, # of Orders, Qty. Sold, Average Price, Gross Sales, Product Category, Mfg. Name, Mfg. SKU, UPC Code
When to Use This Report
- Optimize bundle pricing - Identify which bundles generate highest revenue
- Identify top performers - Determine most popular bundles for inventory planning
- Evaluate portfolio - Compare performance across categories
- Make discontinuation decisions - Identify underperforming bundles
- Analyze suppliers - Assess manufacturer relationships
- Cross-reference products - Track UPC codes for external systems
Zero Sales Items
Navigation: Reports > Zero Sales Item Summary
What it does: Identifies products that have generated no sales within a specified date range, providing comprehensive product and inventory details to help evaluate non-performing inventory.
Key columns: SKU, Product Name, Sale Price, Cost, Qty. On Hand, Qty. On Order, Preferred Vendor, Preferred Vendor SKU, Product Category, Product Type, Preferred Location, Preferred Location Bin#, UPC Code, Mfg. Name
When to Use This Report
- Identify dead stock - Determine clearance or liquidation strategies
- Optimize inventory investment - Prevent over-ordering non-sellers
- Evaluate vendors - Assess which suppliers provide poor-performing products
- Streamline catalog - Identify categories needing repositioning
- Improve warehouse efficiency - Relocate slow-movers to less premium space
- Plan promotions - Create targeted marketing for specific products
Item Sell Through
Navigation: Reports > Item Sell Through
Report Type: Simple (Real-Time)
What it does: Provides real-time inventory performance metrics by analyzing how effectively products are converting available stock into actual sales. Combines inventory levels with sales velocity to calculate sell-through percentages.
Key columns: SKU, Qty. Available, Qty. Sold, Sell Through %, Pref. Vendor
When to Use This Report
- Identify slow-movers - Implement markdowns before stock becomes obsolete
- Optimize purchasing - Adjust order quantities based on performance
- Plan seasonal transitions - Determine optimal clearance timing
- Improve cash flow - Identify products tying up working capital
- Enhance merchandising - Spot high performers needing more inventory
- Monitor vendor performance - Compare sell-through across suppliers
Sales Channel Gross Margins
Navigation: Reports > Sales Channel Gross Margins
What it does: Provides a comprehensive breakdown of revenue, costs, and profitability metrics across different sales channels (website, Amazon, eBay, etc.). Calculates true gross margins by factoring in returns, promotions, shipping costs, and inventory costs.
Key columns: Sales Channel, Gross Sales, Returns, Net Sales, Item-Level Promotions, Order-Level Promotions, Cost of Inventory Sold, Gross Margin $, Gross Margin %, Shipping Revenue, Shipping Costs, Unit Sales
When to Use This Report
- Compare channel profitability - Identify most profitable revenue streams
- Optimize pricing - Analyze promotion impact on margins by channel
- Monitor return performance - Track return rates requiring attention
- Assess shipping profitability - Compare revenue vs costs
- Guide inventory investment - Understand true product costs by channel
- Allocate marketing resources - Focus on highest-margin channels
Discount Codes Performance
Navigation: Reports > Discount Codes Performance
What it does: Provides comprehensive analytics on promotional campaigns and coupon usage. Tracks redemption patterns, customer engagement metrics, and financial impact of each promotional code.
Key columns: Coupon Code, Discount Type, Discount Amount, Gross Sales Amount, # of Sales Orders, # of Customers, Discount Created Date, First Redeemed Date, Last Redeemed Date
When to Use This Report
- Measure campaign ROI - Compare discount vs revenue generated
- Identify top strategies - See which discount types (% vs $) work best
- Optimize timing - Understand promotion adoption patterns
- Segment responses - Track which offers attract new vs repeat buyers
- Clean up codes - Identify inactive promotions to remove
- Plan budgets - Analyze historical trends for future spend
Sales Commissions and Rebates
Navigation: Reports > Sales Commissions and Rebates
What it does: Provides comprehensive tracking of sales commissions and rebates across all transactions, combining order data with commission calculations for accurate compensation management.
Key columns: Sales Rep, Commission Amount, Qty Sold, Gross Sales, Unit Cost, Unit Price, Total Cost, Channel Name, RMA Number, RMA Status, Mfg. Name, Preferred Vendor
When to Use This Report
- Calculate compensation - Track commissions and adjust for returns
- Monitor sales performance - Evaluate individual and team productivity
- Track return impact - Adjust payouts for RMA activity
- Analyze channel profitability - Understand which channels are most profitable
- Audit calculations - Ensure formulas are applied correctly
- Manage vendor rebates - Identify rebate-eligible purchases
Video Tutorial: Sales Order Analysis Report
Video Tutorial: Sales By Item Summary Report
Video Tutorial: Sales by Bundle SKU Summary Report
Video Tutorial: Zero Sales Item Summary Report
Video Tutorial: Sales Channel Gross Margins Report
Video Tutorial: Payments Analysis Report
Essential Reading:
- Understanding Reports in Pulse Commerce - Report types, update frequencies, and export formats
- Working with Advanced Reports - Filtering, grouping, aggregating, and column management
- Creating Custom Reports - Save your customizations for recurring analysis
Other Report Guides:
- Inventory Reports Guide - Stock levels, backorders, profitability, and fulfillment
- Purchase Order Reports Guide - Vendor performance, costs, and procurement analysis
- Returns Reports Guide - Return patterns, costs, and customer behavior