Lightspeed Reporting vs. Marty Managed Profit Control
If your restaurant group uses Lightspeed, start by checking what your current account already provides. A reporting backlog can be a workflow problem, a data-access problem, or an unresolved operational issue. Buying another tool before identifying which one you have can duplicate work.
The useful comparison is between the tools already available in your Lightspeed setup and the managed work needed to keep issues from remaining unresolved.
Marty targets U.S. restaurant groups with 5–50 locations and $10M–$100M in revenue, led by an owner, COO, CFO, controller or operating partner who needs consistent follow-through across locations.
What Lightspeed already provides
Lightspeed Restaurant includes reporting beyond end-of-day totals. Its K-Series documentation describes real-time POS reports and scheduled report emails. O-Series Insights Live documents live sales information and alerts for deleted orders and reconciliation variances. Features depend on product series, plan and configuration. Check your account rather than assuming every Lightspeed customer has the same setup. Lightspeed K-Series reports, O-Series Insights Live.
Where managed follow-through can add value
The question is whether an exception becomes a supported diagnosis. A high labor percentage does not explain whether sales fell, hours increased or the report excluded part of payroll. An unmatched deposit does not prove cash is missing; timing and documentation need checking.
Take one unresolved issue at Location A. Collect the relevant report, source records and manager explanation. Ask:
- Do the records cover the same location and business period?
- Is the amount confirmed, estimated or still unmatched?
- Who owns the next action?
- What evidence will show whether that action worked?
This is a useful test of your existing process before adding anything.
Compare the jobs, not an invented feature gap
| Decision | Lightspeed setup | Marty approach |
|---|---|---|
| Run sales and restaurant POS workflows | Evaluate your existing Lightspeed product | Does not replace the POS |
| Access reports and available alerts | Check series, plan and permissions | Uses available records within agreed scope |
| Decide which issue to address first | May require your team to investigate | Findings ranked by dollars and location |
| Establish ownership and next steps | Review your current process | Assign actions, follow up and verify results within agreed controls |
What to confirm before starting
Provide your Lightspeed series, locations, report access and unresolved questions. Confirm the supported access method, available history, refresh cadence and scope before work begins.
If the problem is simply a report nobody receives, configure the report first. If issues repeatedly remain unexplained or unaddressed, evaluate the diagnosis and continuing follow-through your team needs.
Example: a Lightspeed exception handed to an owner
This is a proposed workflow, not a claim that a Marty connector is installed. In a configured O-Series account, start with an Insights Live reconciliation-variance alert; in K-Series, start with the applicable report. Keep the series-specific capabilities separate.
| Step | Existing records and team responsibility | Proposed Marty responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Find | Retain the dated report or alert, tender detail available in the account, drawer count and deposit reference | Check whether records explain the difference; retain missing evidence |
| Assign | Finance confirms who can obtain the bank match; GM supplies close context | Prioritize the supported issue and assign the agreed next action |
| Follow up | Responsible employee obtains the missing record or corrects the close process | Follow up and escalate missed actions within the agreed scope |
| Verify | Finance retains the bank match or documented remaining difference | Check the evidence before marking the issue resolved |
Configure existing reports first when delivery is the gap. Add managed support when evidence or actions repeatedly stall. Choose a different POS only if transaction workflows themselves need replacing. No native Marty connection, account entitlement or price is established by this example. The vendor capabilities above are from the linked Lightspeed documentation.
The source-backed review findings illustrate why transaction context and missing records matter. For the next operating decision, use the location-level profit review approach to connect the issue to an owner and a later check.
Close the Lightspeed exception loop
Marty is a managed profit-control layer: Find → Assign → Follow up → Verify. The paid Cash Recovery Plan establishes what to watch first, with evidence, owners, actions and a 30-day plan. Delivery is seven business days after required access is complete; read-only access and the flat fee are confirmed first.
Optional Managed Profit Control continues the agreed checks, manager alerts, follow-up, escalation and verification. Start the Cash Recovery Plan.