First-week checklist:
seven habits that stick.

The first week with nouz is mostly about building the habit. Most owners think they need to set everything up perfectly before they start logging — every product, every fixed cost, every category fine-tuned. That's the wrong order. The right order is: log a sloppy first day, build the close-out habit, and refine the setup as you go.

01 Days 1–3: the bare minimum

Focus on getting through close-out every evening, even if the entries are rough:

• Log gross revenue every evening — split into cash (BAR) and card (EC). One row per day.
• Log COGS — your best guess is fine for week one. You'll calibrate after seven days of data.
• Log any variable costs from the day — supplies, milk, packaging, the unexpected repair.
• Don't worry about Statistics. The tab will be quiet until day eight. That's normal.

Skip product sales for now if you haven't set up your catalogue. Manual entries (one number per cash/card column) are completely valid and your P&L works the same. You can add products in week two and start logging product sales then.

02 Days 4–7: build the habit

Once the first three close-outs are under your belt, the habit starts to lock in. Now you can refine:

• Pick a fixed close-out time — most owners pick "after the till is counted, before the door is locked". Consistency matters more than which time you pick.
• Add the rest of your fixed costs. Internet, software subscriptions, insurance, the bookkeeper. The more complete this list, the more honest your daily EBIT becomes.
• Refine your COGS. By day five, compare your typed COGS against your actual supply spend for the week. Adjust your per-product numbers if they're off.
• Watch the week-so-far strip. By day four you can see whether you're ahead or behind last week's same days.

03 What unlocks on day 8

After seven close-outs, Statistics has enough data to start showing real patterns:

• Peak day / weak day insights — which days of the week pay best.
• Same-day-of-week comparisons instead of just yesterday-vs-today.
• The runway card — when this month will pay itself.
• Product performance ranking — once you have product sales logged.

Day eight is the moment most owners say nouz "clicks". Not day one. If you're finishing week one feeling like nouz is too quiet, the unlock is coming.

04 When you miss a day

Missing a day in week one is normal. The thing that breaks the habit isn't the missed day — it's skipping the recovery. Log today's close-out as usual, then quickly backdate yesterday from your Z-report. Two minutes total, habit intact. See Backdating an entry for the mechanics.