Understand How Modifiers Appear in DataNow

Description: Learn how modifiers are counted in DataNow item reporting, why Items Sold figures may be higher than expected, and what options exist for venues where this affects reporting accuracy.

How DataNow Counts Items Sold

In DataNow, every line item on an order is counted individually — including modifiers. A modifier is treated as its own line item in the underlying data, separate from the parent item it is attached to.

This means that when a guest orders a Nachos with No Cheese, DataNow records two line items:

• Nachos — Qty 1
• No Cheese — Qty 1

Both are included in the Items Sold count. The same applies to variant-style modifiers. If Beer is a parent item with Lager, IPA, and Pale Ale configured as modifier options, an order of one beer results in:

• Beer — Qty 1
• Lager (or whichever variant was selected) — Qty 1

Note: This is working as designed. Modifiers are recorded as individual line items in the order data, and DataNow reports on what the order data contains. This behavior is consistent across all item-level reporting tiles.

Where This Appears in Reports

The Items Sold count is affected wherever item-level quantity data is shown. This includes:

• Sales Hub — Items tile and Revenue Center & Menu tile
• F&B Sales — Item Sales, Sales by Revenue Center & Item, All Category Sales, Reporting Category Sales
• Day over Day — Items Sold column in Order Totals

Note: Service charges and taxable service charges are automatically excluded from item-level reporting tiles in F&B Sales and Sales Hub. They are reported separately in the revenue summary figures and do not inflate Items Sold counts.

Does This Affect Sales Figures?

Items Sold is a quantity count only — it does not directly affect Gross Sales, Net Sales, or any revenue metric. Sales figures are calculated from the price of each line item, so a modifier with a $0 price (such as No Cheese) contributes nothing to revenue totals even though it is counted as an item sold.

A modifier that carries a price — such as an upcharge for a premium ingredient — will contribute its price to the order subtotal and appear in revenue figures accordingly. This is correct behavior.

What This Means for Your Reports

If your Items Sold count is significantly higher than the number of orders placed, modifier line items are almost certainly the reason. Dividing Items Sold by Order Count gives the average line items per order — if this number is consistently around 2x, it suggests most orders include at least one modifier.

Menu Configuration Considerations

Whether modifiers are counted as items sold is a direct consequence of how the menu is structured in Canopy. There is no setting in DataNow to exclude modifiers from item counts — the data reflects the menu configuration.

Depending on the type of modifier, there are different considerations:

Variant-style modifiers (e.g. different beer types, sizes, or flavors)

If a venue uses a single parent item (e.g. Beer) with variants configured as modifiers (e.g. Lager, IPA, Pale Ale), each selection adds a modifier line item to the order. If item-level sales accuracy by variant is important — for example, to understand which beer types are selling — configuring each variant as a separate parent item rather than a modifier gives cleaner per-item reporting.

Note: Separate parent items give cleaner item-level reporting but require more menu build and maintenance. Modifier-based variants are simpler to manage on the menu but result in double-counted quantities in DataNow.

Customization modifiers (e.g. No Cheese, Extra Sauce, Add Bacon)

Customization modifiers like No Cheese or Extra Sauce are inherently tied to a parent item and cannot meaningfully be reported as standalone items. For these modifiers, the inflated Items Sold count is an accepted limitation of how order data is structured.

There is no configuration change that removes these from item counts while keeping them on the order. If accurate item-level quantity reporting is critical, the only option is to evaluate whether the modifier is necessary at all, or to track items sold by referencing order count rather than items sold for affected categories.

Service charges and delivery fees

Service charges and taxable service charges are automatically excluded from item quantity counts in DataNow's item-level reporting tiles. They appear in revenue summaries (Gross Sales, Net Sales) but do not inflate Items Sold figures. No configuration change is needed for these.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this a bug or is it working as designed?

This is working as designed. DataNow reports on every line item in the order data, and modifiers are recorded as individual line items. This is consistent with how the underlying order data is structured across the platform.

My Items Sold count is about twice my order count. Is that right?

If most orders include at least one modifier, a ratio of approximately 2:1 items to orders is expected. Check the Item Sales tile in F&B Sales to see which individual line items — including modifiers — are driving the count.

Can DataNow be configured to exclude modifiers from Items Sold?

No. There is no filter or setting in DataNow that excludes modifier line items from item quantity counts. The count reflects what is in the order data. The only way to reduce modifier inflation in reporting is to review the menu configuration in Canopy.

Does the modifier count affect my revenue or sales totals?

Only if the modifier has a price. A $0 modifier (such as No Cheese or a flavor selection with no upcharge) does not affect Gross Sales or Net Sales — it only adds to the Items Sold count. A modifier with an upcharge does contribute its price to the order subtotal and revenue figures, which is correct.

Is there a workaround for variant-style modifiers like beer types?

Yes — configuring each variant as a separate parent item rather than a modifier removes the double-counting from item reports and gives cleaner per-variant sales data. This requires rebuilding the menu structure in Canopy and is a trade-off between menu management simplicity and reporting accuracy. Discuss with your account team if this is a priority for your venue.

Why are service charges not inflating my Items Sold count?

Service charges and taxable service charges are automatically excluded from item quantity reporting in DataNow's item-level tiles. This exclusion is built into the reports and requires no configuration on your end.