Frequently Asked Questions and Tips

What is Toma?

Toma is your custom business analyst, trained specifically on your business data and insights. Instead of digging through reports or waiting for a consultant, you can simply ask Toma questions about your sales, customer behavior, or trends and get actionable answers in seconds.

How do I ask Toma questions?

You can type to Toma like you would speak to a teammate or partner. Be as specific as possible so Toma can give you the best answer. 

Good practice: Include details like product names, timeframes, or scenarios.
Avoid: Very short or vague prompts like “sales?” or “what’s good?”

Sample questions that work well

• About sales trends:
  “Show me my best‑selling items over the past 30 days.”
  “Which menu items do people usually order together?”
  “How did afternoon sales last week compare to the week before?”

• About pricing or revenue:
  “If I raise the price of my latte by $1, how much extra revenue could I expect per month?”
  “Are there items that aren’t selling enough to justify their inventory cost?”

• About customer behavior:
  “What do my highest‑spending customers typically buy?”
  “Are there differences in sales patterns between weekdays and weekends?”
  

For quick calculations or research:
“What percentage of sales came from online orders last month?”
“Can you estimate the profit margin if I add a 10% increase to drink prices?”

How to get better answers?

Be specific:
Instead of: “How are my sales?”
Try: “How are my coffee sales this month compared to last month?”

Include context:
Add time periods, item names, or locations when relevant:
“For my downtown café only, what were the top 5 selling items in July?”

Ask follow‑up questions:
Toma remembers context during your session.
“What about just weekend sales?” (after asking about a timeframe)

Experiment:
Toma can handle comparisons, what‑ifs, and summaries. Don’t be afraid to try new questions.

Consumer Buckers

Customer Buckets is a crucial part of your Take My [Advice] experience. This is where all your POS data input is going, creating personas of customers (Consumer Buckets) without having to obtain hard data from individuals.

What does this mean?

You have statistical data that breaks down who your customers are (and who you are missing) through complex calculations and analytics. Now you know exactly WHO your business serves, without needing to collect any data from the customer. Privacy is important!

How do you use this to your advantage?

That is the best part, ask Toma! Toma can help you understand these consumers even further, by catering your business to them completely. Whether that be marketing, operations, menu changes, your opportunities are endless!

Bonus: Regenerate your buckets after implementing new data files to see how your business may have changed!

Tips for non‑technical users

• You don’t need special commands write like you’re chatting with a colleague.

• Start broad, then refine: Ask a general question first, then ask follow‑ups.

• Use simple language: Toma understands plain English.

• When in doubt, ask Toma how to ask:
  “What are some examples of questions I can ask about my data?”
  
  Need inspiration? Try these starter phrases

  • “Show me…”

  • “Compare…”

  • “Estimate…”

  • “List my top…”

  • “Break down…”

  • “How do my sales change if…”

  • “Which items…”

Remember

Toma is built just for your business.

The more you use it, the more you’ll see how much time and effort it saves.
If you ever get stuck, reach out to our team. We're here to help you make the most of your data.