---
title: "Guest Count & Covers Reporting | SpotOn Express (FOH)"
canonical: "https://help.spoton.com/space/SK/5181767717/Guest%20Count%20%26%20Covers%20Reporting%20%7C%20SpotOn%20Express%20(FOH)"
format: markdown
---
## Overview

Guest Count tracking lets you record the number of guests for any dine-in check directly from your POS. Once entered, the data appears in your Daily Recap Report and End-of-Day screen — giving you accurate total guest count per shift and average spend per guest so you can better understand your restaurant's performance.

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**Quick Links**

> Macro (toc)

## Set up Guest Count

Guest count entry is available on all dine-in checks with no setup required. If you want your staff to be prompted to enter guest count every time a new table is opened, you can turn on that option in your Dashboard.

**To turn on the guest count prompt (optional):**

1. Log in to the **[SpotOn Dashboard](http://dashboard.spoton.com)**
2. Go to **Account & Settings **>** POS UI settings**
3. Select **Required** for Guest count
4. **Save**

When this is on, a prompt appears each time a server opens a new table, asking for the number of guests before the order begins.

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## How it works

### Add or edit guest count from the POS

1. Open an active dine-in check
2. Tap **Add** in the guest count field on the check screen
3. Enter the number of guests
4. Confirm

You can update the guest count at any point while the check is open. Once a check is closed, the guest count is locked.

### Guest count and split & combine check use cases

If you split a check, the guest count stays on the original check. Any subsequently created checks will not have a guest count. 

If you combine two or more checks, you will need to re-enter the guest count for the party.

### View guest count data

**Daily Recap Report (Dashboard)**

Two metrics appear in your Daily Recap:

- **Average Spend per Guest** — your net sales divided by the number of guests recorded across all checks that have a guest count
- **Total Guest Count** — the total number of covers logged for that fiscal day

Only checks with a guest count recorded are included in the average — checks with no count entered are excluded.

**Daily Recap & End-of-Day Screen (POS)**

The Daily Recap & End-of-Day screen on your POS shows the same guest count metrics. Managers see data for the whole location; servers see data for their own checks.

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## What staff will see

The guest count field appears on every dine-in check. Before a count is entered, it shows **"Add."** After entry, it shows the number. Staff can tap it to update the count at any time before the check is closed.

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## Common questions

**Q: Does entering guest count change how payment splitting works?**  
A: Not in this release — guest count is recorded for reporting purposes. Even payment splits are handled separately from guest count.

**Q: Will my Daily Recap show average spend per guest if only some of my servers use guest count?**  
A: Only checks with a guest count entered are included in the average. If some servers skip entering a count, those checks are excluded so they don't pull the average down.

**Q: What happens to guest count when I close out a check?**  
A: It's locked — guest count cannot be edited on a closed check. You can review it in your Dashboard reporting.

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## Things to know

- Reporting and metrics related to guest count is only for dine-in checks.
- The auto-prompt is off by default. Turn it on if you want staff to enter guest count every time a table is opened.
- Guest count is one piece of a larger Seat & Guest Management feature — future updates will add the ability to assign specific items to individual guests.

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## Related articles

- [Daily Recap & End of Day Report on POS | SpotOn Express (FOH)](https://help.spoton.com/space/SK/4292345865/Daily+Recap+&+End+of+Day+Report+on+POS++%7C+SpotOn+Express+(FOH))