Start with the week ending date
Make sure you are reviewing the correct closed week before comparing numbers. A week mismatch can make otherwise valid sales, return and adjustment data look wrong.
RouteIQ Guide
How to read a bread route settlement.
A settlement is more than the check amount. The useful review is understanding what changed in sales, returns, deductions, credits and other adjustments—and whether those changes match the route activity you expected.
Separate sales from route earnings
Net sales describe product activity; route earnings are what remains after the settlement applies commissions, returns, deductions, credits and other adjustments. Do not treat the two as the same number.
Review returns as both dollars and rate
A return total is more useful when viewed beside sales. Looking at return rate over several weeks can help distinguish a one-week spike from a recurring store or product problem.
Read deductions and credits line by line
Recurring charges, route-loan payments, fees and credits can have very different meanings. Grouping every adjustment together can hide the reason route earnings changed.
Compare the settlement with operating history
Week-over-week context helps explain whether a change came from sales, returns, promotions, adjustments or a missing data point rather than from the settlement total alone.
A simple weekly review checklist
- Confirm route identity and week ending date.
- Compare net sales with recent weeks.
- Review return dollars and return rate.
- Inspect deductions, credits and route-loan activity separately.
- Flag unusual changes for store- or product-level follow-up.
RouteIQ keeps the weekly context together.
RouteIQ is designed to keep settlement history tied to the correct route and week so sales, returns, deductions and route performance can be reviewed in the same workflow.