Running a cashless venue without checking your numbers is like driving without a speedometer — you might be fine, or you might be way off course. The good news: ArcadePay surfaces the data you need in one place. The better news: you only need to check five things to know whether your locations are healthy and your revenue is on track.
Here's how to get the most out of your weekly dashboard review — whether you manage one arcade in a strip mall or a dozen kiosks across multiple routes.
1. Revenue Per Machine (Your Best Efficiency Signal)
Gross revenue is satisfying to look at, but it doesn't tell you where the money is actually coming from. Revenue per machine breaks down performance by individual unit, so you can see exactly which machines are pulling weight and which are collecting dust.
What to look for:
- A machine that's consistently below its venue average is a candidate for relocation, repricing, or a look at its physical condition.
- A machine that's suddenly spiking — up or down — is worth investigating. A spike up might mean a viral moment or a placed sign. A spike down might mean a hardware issue or a reader that needs attention.
- Compare week-over-week for the same day type (weekday vs. weekend) rather than comparing Monday to Saturday.
2. Transaction Volume vs. Revenue (Catch Pricing Mismatches)
If your transaction count is high but revenue is flat, your prices may be too low relative to play value. If revenue is strong but transaction volume is thin, you might have a friction point — maybe the machine is priced above the customer's comfort zone without enough perceived value.
The sweet spot is consistent average transaction value that aligns with what the machine or game is worth in your market. Use this ratio to test pricing changes: bump a single machine, watch for two weeks, compare before and after.
3. Active Locations vs. Inactive Readers
This one matters more than it sounds. A reader that's been offline for more than 48 hours may have lost its connection, need a firmware push, or have been physically damaged or unplugged. An offline reader means your customers are hitting "cashless accepted" signage and bouncing when nothing responds.
Check inactive readers at the top of every weekly review. If a location has been down for more than a few days, it's worth a call or a site visit — not a "we'll get to it" moment.
4. Settlement Timing (Make Sure Your Money Is Moving)
Most operators set and forget their settlement schedule, which is usually fine — until something changes. A bank account update, a payout threshold that was never adjusted, or a temporary flag can delay deposits without sending you an alert.
Once a week, confirm that your most recent settlement arrived and that the amount looks right relative to your transaction volume. If there's a gap between what you collected and what landed in your account, that's the week to catch it — not the week after payroll.
5. Refund and Dispute Rate (Your Support Health Gauge)
A low refund rate means your customers are mostly getting what they paid for. A high or rising rate is a signal worth digging into: Is one machine consistently giving credits that don't work? Is a location's staff issuing refunds for things that should be escalating? Are there patterns by time of day or day of week?
You don't need to manually review every transaction — just watch the rate. If it climbs above your baseline for two weeks in a row, investigate that location first.
Building the Habit
Fifteen minutes every Monday morning is enough. Pull up your dashboard, run through these five numbers, flag anything that looks off, and act on the one thing that matters most before the week gets busy. Over time, you'll develop a feel for what "normal" looks like — and that instinct is what separates operators who stay ahead of problems from the ones who discover them at the worst possible time.
ArcadePay is built to surface this data without requiring a spreadsheet or a dedicated analyst. Use it. The operators who check their numbers weekly consistently outperform the ones who only look when something goes wrong.
Ready to get started? If you have questions about reading your dashboard or want help setting up custom alerts for specific locations, reach out to the ArcadePay support team — we'll walk you through it.