COGS Waste Diagnostics lives in the Reports page, under the Inventory category — the report is labeled "COGS Waste Diagnostics" in the report list. It takes the date range you've already set on the Reports page (clamped to somewhere between 1 and 365 days) and, on request, returns a shop-wide film-waste percentage, a breakdown by film category and by individual product, and — only when there's enough usage data — a short AI-written note pointing out which category or product is running notably higher waste than the rest of the shop. It's read-only and advisory: nothing is created, flagged, or sent anywhere automatically, and no purchase order, staff action, or customer-facing document comes out of it. You're the one deciding what, if anything, to do with what it shows you.
Running the report
Open the report and you'll see a short description of what it compares, plus a "Run diagnostics" button — it doesn't run on page load, since the AI portion of the report is a billable call. Click it and the report pulls every film-usage record in your selected date range, groups it by film category (ceramic, carbon, dyed, and so on) and by individual product, and works out a waste percentage for each: how much of the film consumed ended up as scrap versus how much was actually used.
If there isn't enough usage data in the window — SalesThumb needs a minimum number of usage records before it will say anything about a pattern — you still get the honest raw numbers (shop-wide waste rate, whatever categories/products do have data), but the report tells you plainly that there isn't enough volume yet to call out a trend, and it skips the AI note entirely rather than guess from too little data. That floor applies per-bucket too: even once the whole shop clears it, a specific category or product still needs its own reasonable volume before the note will single it out by name. Thinner categories and products still show up in the tables underneath — the product table is limited to your top matches by waste rate if you carry a very large catalog, but categories always show in full — they just won't be the subject of the written note. If every bucket is too thin, the note says so instead of manufacturing a finding.
Reading the results
Once there's enough data, the top of the report shows your shop-wide waste rate and the number of usage records the run was based on. Below that is an "AI take" card with a short colored-dot indicator — green when it's a live, model-generated read, amber whenever it isn't (see "When the note isn't live" below for the reasons that can happen) — and, when it is live, two to three sentences flagging whichever category or product is running meaningfully above your shop's own average waste rate, phrased as something worth a check rather than a verdict. That note only puts words to numbers your own usage data already produced; it can't introduce a category, product, or figure that isn't actually in your records. Underneath the note, a by-category list and a by-product table show waste percentage, square footage wasted versus used, and record count for each — including the smaller buckets the note didn't call out by name — so you can compare the full spread, not just whatever got singled out.
Things to know
- Plan requirement: the report itself — shop-wide waste rate, category and product breakdown — just needs the Inventory module, which is included from the Growth plan up. The live AI-written note on top of those numbers needs the Professional plan, the same tier as SalesThumb's other analytics-tier AI-assist tools like Inventory Reorder. On a plan below Professional, you still get the real numbers; the note is a placeholder instead of a model-written read.
- When the note isn't live: the "AI take" card shows an amber dot (instead of green) any time the note isn't a genuine, model-generated read of your data. That covers a few different situations — the workspace doesn't have `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY` configured, your shop's plan is below Professional (see Plan requirement above), or your shop has enough total usage data to run the report but nothing in any single category or product was distinct enough to call out. In every one of those cases the note is a placeholder line rather than a real read of your specific waste pattern — the shop-wide numbers and category/product tables are still your real data either way, since that part never touches the AI at all.
- Installer identity is deliberately left out. This report only ever looks at film category and product — it never includes who performed the install. The underlying data given to the AI has no installer field in it at all, so there's no way for the note to name, imply, or hint at a specific person, even indirectly. If you're looking for per-installer waste tracking for staff management, that lives in a separate report elsewhere in the app; this one is scoped purely to materials and COGS.
- The note never accuses, it flags. It's written to be observational — pointing at what might be worth a closer look on the materials or technique side — not a judgment call about a person or a directive to act.
- It's a diagnostic, not an automation. Nothing about running this report reorders film, edits your catalog, or touches a purchase order — it's purely something you read and decide what to do with.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Where do I find COGS Waste Diagnostics?
A: On the Reports page, under the Inventory category — it's listed as "COGS Waste Diagnostics." It uses whatever date range you've already set on the Reports page.
Q: Does it point a finger at a specific installer?
A: No. The report deliberately never includes who performed the install in what the AI sees — it only works from category- and product-level totals, so there's no way for it to name or imply blame on a person. Installer-level waste tracking, if you need that, lives in a separate report.
Q: Why does it say there isn't enough data yet?
A: SalesThumb needs a minimum number of usage records in your selected date range before it will call out a pattern — otherwise it would just be guessing from too little information. Below that floor, you still get the real numbers, just without an AI note attached. The same logic applies per category or product: a specific one needs enough volume of its own before the note will single it out, even once your shop total clears the floor.
Q: Does anything happen automatically when the report finds a high-waste category?
A: No. It's read-only and advisory — nothing is created, ordered, or sent as a result of running it. You decide what to do with what it shows you.
Q: What does it mean if the AI take shows an amber dot?
A: It means the note isn't a live, model-generated read of your data — the shop-wide numbers and category/product breakdown tables above it are still always your real usage data regardless. An amber dot can show up for a few reasons: the workspace doesn't have live AI configured (ANTHROPIC_API_KEY isn't set), your shop's plan is below Professional, or there's enough usage data overall but nothing in any single category or product stood out enough to call out by name. In all of those cases the note is a placeholder line rather than a genuine read of your shop's waste pattern.
Q: What plan do I need for this report?
A: The report itself — shop-wide waste rate and the category/product breakdown — is available anywhere the Inventory module is, which starts at the Growth plan. The live AI-written note on top of those numbers needs the Professional plan, tier-gated the same way as SalesThumb's other analytics-tier AI-assist tools. Below Professional you still get the real numbers, just a placeholder note instead of a live one.