4 ways to automate your weekly management meeting

#1 - Simple meeting

Who it's for: Single-site operators who run a weekly meeting themselves and want it in one place instead of scattered notes.

What it is: A weekly management meeting is where you step back from service, review how the week went, and agree what happens next. This version captures the meeting as one record with three sections: the numbers (last week's sales, food cost, labour cost, labour hours, covers and leavers), the agenda (a standing checklist: bookings, staffing, maintenance, customer feedback, stock, compliance, this week's priorities), and actions and decisions (what was agreed). The numbers are the raw figures behind your food cost percentage, prime cost, sales per labour hour and turnover, reviewed in one sitting.

Available on: Basic.

In practice: Every Monday the manager enters last week's figures, runs down the agenda with the team, and writes the actions: "reorder glassware (Sam, Friday), fix the dripping tap (maintenance, this week)". The whole meeting, numbers and all, sits in one record you can look back on.

Why it works: Numbers, discussion and actions live in one place, so the meeting produces a record rather than a vague conversation. Capturing the figures here also builds the weekly trend, without needing a separate report.

Steps included:

• 1 grouped meeting record: the numbers (sales, food cost, labour cost, labour hours, covers, leavers), an agenda checklist, and an actions and decisions field

When to upgrade:

1. Someone other than you runs the meeting and needs it kept consistent
2. You want the figures reviewed evidenced with a photo
3. You want the meeting to follow up on last week's actions, not just agree new ones

#2 - With guidance

Who it's for: Operators who want the meeting run to the same standard whoever chairs it.

What it is: The simple meeting with a guidance note in the record: pull last week's figures from your POS and rota before you start, review the numbers, work the agenda, and finish by agreeing actions with an owner and a date for each. Keep it tight, a focused 30 minutes beats a rambling hour.

Available on: Standard.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. Whoever chairs it knows the flow and where the figures come from
2. Every meeting follows the same structure
3. Actions get an owner and a date, not just a mention

Why it works: The guidance sits in the record, so the chair runs the meeting the same way each week. It turns a meeting that depends on the chair into one the canvas carries.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance note (how to run the meeting and where to pull figures)
• 1 grouped meeting record (numbers, agenda, actions and decisions)

When to upgrade: When you want the figures evidenced with a photo (Management Meeting #3) or the meeting to follow up on last week's actions (Management Meeting #4).

#3 - With photo evidence

Who it's for: Operators who want the figures reviewed in the meeting tied to their source.

What it is: The guided meeting plus a photo of the POS report or figures reviewed, captured in the record. It ties the numbers in the meeting to where they came from, so the record can be checked and trusted.

Available on: Standard.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A photo of the source figures, captured at the time
2. Numbers that can be traced back, not just typed
3. A meeting record that's harder to fudge and easier to check

Why it works: A meeting that reviews numbers is only as good as the numbers. A photo of the source ties the review to the real figures.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance note (how to run the meeting and where to pull figures)
• 1 grouped meeting record (numbers, agenda, actions and decisions)
• 1 photo of the source figures

When to upgrade: When you want the meeting to close the loop on last week's actions, not just agree new ones (Management Meeting #4).

#4 - With action follow-up

Who it's for: Teams that want the weekly meeting to close the loop, reviewing last week's actions before agreeing this week's.

What it is: The photo meeting plus a "last week's actions" review at the top of the record. Before agreeing anything new, the chair runs through what was agreed last week: tick off what got done, carry over what didn't. It stops actions being agreed one week and forgotten the next.

Available on: Standard.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A review of last week's actions before new ones are agreed
2. Unfinished actions carried over, not lost
3. A meeting that builds week to week instead of starting fresh each time

Why it works: Most meetings agree actions and never check them. Reviewing last week's first makes the meeting accountable to itself, so what gets agreed actually gets done.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance note (how to run the meeting and where to pull figures)
• 1 grouped meeting record (numbers, agenda, last week's actions, actions and decisions)
• 1 photo of the source figures

When to upgrade: When you want Poppi to turn the figures into food cost percentage, prime cost and sales per labour hour, surface what to discuss, and roll every site's meeting into one report. Those versions are coming in the next post update.

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know our product to choose. Just answer three questions about how you meet.

Is it always you running the meeting, or does someone else?

If you run it yourself and know the flow, a plain record is enough. The moment someone else chairs it, the structure needs to be on the screen. If only you run it, #1 is fine. If others do, start at #2.

Do you need the figures evidenced?

A typed meeting record tells you what was reviewed. A photo of the source lets you trust and trace it. If typed is enough, stop at #2. If you want the numbers checkable, #3 adds a photo.

Do you want it to follow up on last week's actions?

A meeting that only agrees new actions can forget last week's. If you're happy tracking actions yourself, #3 is enough. If you want the meeting to review last week before agreeing this week, #4 adds an actions review.

Related workflows

• Food safety audit - the operational review that sits alongside the numbers
• Daily kitchen cleaning checklist - the routines behind the cost figures

Conclusion

A weekly management meeting is where the numbers, the issues and the decisions come together, if it actually happens and leaves a record. Running it as a workflow makes it consistent, captures the figures for free, and sets you up for automatic reporting once Poppi lands. The versions above move from a simple meeting record to one that closes the loop on last week's actions.

Five more versions are coming in the next refresh that bring AI into the meeting. Poppi can compute the ratios, surface what to discuss, and roll every site's meeting into one report. Those need more review time and will land separately.

→ Build your own weekly management meeting on Pilla. The Basic plan unlocks the simple meeting today.