Voids
A void removes an item from a check. The cost question is whether the food was made: a void entered before the ticket fired costs nothing, and one entered after is a comp by another name. Systems that don't distinguish the two make both numbers useless.
| Type | Cost impact | What it signals |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-fire void | None | Order entry errors — a training or menu-clarity issue |
| Post-fire void | Full plate cost | Effectively a comp; belongs in the comp analysis |
| Void after payment | Full plate cost | Worth an explicit approval rule |
Void patterns are also one of the cleaner internal-control signals available. Voids concentrated in one employee, one terminal, or the last hour of a shift are worth a look — not as an accusation, but because that's exactly what a process problem looks like too.
Worked example · Separating the two on one month's data
- Total voids
- 218 items · $3,940 menu value
- Pre-fire (order entry errors)
- 181 items · $3,210
- Post-fire (food was made)
- 37 items · $730
- Cost of the post-fire voids at 30% food cost
- $219
- Actual cost impact
- $219, not $3,940
The headline number is eighteen times the real cost. Reporting voids without the pre/post split turns a small cost problem and a moderate training problem into one alarming number that describes neither.
Related terms
Comps
Food or drink given away — recovery, staff meals, promotions — real cost with no matching revenue.
Variance
The dollar gap between theoretical and actual food cost — the money that left without a sale.
Shrinkage
Inventory that disappears without a corresponding sale — waste, spoilage, error and theft combined.