# Opening and closing checklist: templates for stores, restaurants and offices

> Opening and closing checklist templates for stores, restaurants and offices, with cash counts, security, shift handoffs, evidence and a daily completion check.

Published 2026-09-28 by Easyflow team. Category: Process management.

The person who opens finds out what the person who closed actually did. Most mornings that's a clean floor, a counted drawer and a locked building. Some mornings it's a back door that was never bolted, a walk-in cooler that ran warm overnight, a drawer $40 short with no count from the night before to compare against, and nobody quite sure who closed.

Opening and closing are the two routines every location runs every day, usually with the fewest people around. That is exactly why they need a list, and why the list alone is not enough.

> **Key takeaways**
>
> - Treat opening and closing as one routine split by the night: the close sets up the open, and the open checks the close.
> - Keep each list to what must happen every day, in the order people walk the space. Weekly tasks go on their own schedule.
> - Count cash at close and again at open, record the actual numbers and the difference, and don't let one person count, record and deposit alone.
> - Know every morning whether both lists were completed, by whom and when, with evidence on the items that matter most: doors, alarm, cash and temperatures.

This guide gives you an opening and closing checklist for stores, restaurants and offices, then covers the shift handoff, cash, security, evidence and keeping the lists short enough to get done. It cites OSHA and FDA sources for context; it is practical guidance, not legal advice, and your state and local rules come first.

## What an opening and closing checklist is

An opening checklist is what must be true before the doors open: the space is safe, systems are on, cash is ready, the product or food is right and the team knows the plan. A closing checklist is the reverse: customers out, cash counted and secured, the space reset, equipment off and the building locked.

They work as a pair. A good close makes the open fast, and the open is the first check on whether the close really happened. The core is the same everywhere, with additions by type of business:

| | Store | Restaurant | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main risk at opening | Cash and floor not ready | Food safety, equipment | Access, systems |
| Main risk at closing | Cash, theft, doors | Food storage, equipment left on, cash | Doors, alarm, papers left out |
| Extra items | Price tags, displays, fitting rooms | Temperatures, prep list, sanitizer | Meeting rooms, printers, visitor log |

## Opening checklist template

Order the list by the route the opener walks. Delete what doesn't apply.

| # | Item | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Check the outside before going in | No signs of forced entry |
| 2 | Disarm the alarm | Alarm off, no overnight alerts left unexplained |
| 3 | Walk the whole space | Back rooms, restrooms and storage checked, exits clear |
| 4 | Lights, heating or air conditioning | On, thermostat at the set point |
| 5 | Read the closing notes | Every item handled or passed on |
| 6 | Count the opening cash | Matches the closing record, any difference written down |
| 7 | Start the point-of-sale system and card terminals | Log-in and a test transaction work |
| 8 | Check refrigeration (food businesses) | Cooler and freezer readings recorded as numbers |
| 9 | Get the floor ready | Restocked, displays faced, price tags right |
| 10 | Brief the team | Roles assigned, specials or promotions shared |
| 11 | Open the front door | Unlocked and sign switched on time |

## Closing checklist template

| # | Item | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Last customers out, front door locked | Locked at closing time |
| 2 | Close the registers | End-of-day report saved |
| 3 | Count the cash | Count by denomination recorded, difference from the expected amount written down |
| 4 | Secure the cash | Deposit in the safe or bank bag, opening cash set aside |
| 5 | Store the food (restaurants) | Covered, labeled, in the cooler, readings recorded |
| 6 | Clean and reset | Floor, counters, restrooms and trash done to the daily standard |
| 7 | Turn equipment off | Ovens, fryers, coffee machines, heaters off |
| 8 | Walk the whole space | Nobody left inside, back doors locked |
| 9 | Write the closing notes | Low stock, broken equipment, cash differences |
| 10 | Lights, alarm, front door | Alarm set, building locked, closer leaves with a coworker where possible |

For an office, the same structure works with fewer items: access and systems at opening; windows, doors, confidential papers, kitchen appliances and the alarm at closing. If cleaning is part of your close, our [office cleaning checklist](https://easy.wf/blog/office-cleaning-checklist) has "done when" standards you can reuse.

## Restaurants: temperatures and the person in charge

**Record the reading, not "OK".** The FDA Food Code is a model that local, state, tribal and federal regulators use to develop or update their own food safety rules. In the [2026 edition](https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2026), section 3-501.16 says food that needs time and temperature control for safety must be held at 135°F (57°C) or above when hot, or 41°F (5°C) or less when cold, with a few listed exceptions. Your jurisdiction may follow an older edition or its own numbers, so check with your local health department and print the limit next to the reading. A column of "OK" ticks can't show a cooler drifting from 38°F to 44°F over a week. A column of numbers can.

**Name the person in charge.** The same code says that, with a few exceptions, the permit holder must make sure a person in charge is present during all hours of operation (section 2-101.11). Opening and closing are the edges of those hours, so the record should say who was in charge at each.

## Cash: count, compare, record the difference

Cash is where a vague checklist costs real money:

- **Use a fixed opening amount** for each drawer, so any difference at the end of the day stands out.
- **Count by denomination** and write down the total, not "drawer balanced".
- **Compare with the expected amount** from the point-of-sale system and record the difference, even when it is zero. A blind count, where the counter doesn't see the expected total first, makes the number more trustworthy.
- **Split the duties** where you can. In a two-person close, one counts and the other checks.
- **Look at patterns, not single cents.** Decide in advance what difference starts a conversation, and review differences by shift over a month.

For stores open late, OSHA's [recommendations for late-night retail](https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/OSHA3153.pdf) include drop safes, a minimal amount of cash in each register, doors locked before and after business hours, delivery and garbage doors locked when not in use, and checks of lighting, locks and security cameras built into daily procedures. They are recommendations, not a standard, but they read a lot like a closing checklist.

## Security without blocking the exits

A closing list that says "lock everything" can go wrong while people are still inside. OSHA requires that employees be able to open an exit route door from the inside at all times without keys, tools or special knowledge ([29 CFR 1910.36(d)](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.36)), and that exit routes stay free and unobstructed, with no materials or equipment in them, even temporarily ([29 CFR 1910.37(a)](https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/regulations/standardnumber/1910/1910.37)).

So the close locks doors against people coming in, never chains or blocks the doors people need to get out, and keeps boxes out of the back hallway. Never shorten the final walk-through: restrooms, storage and offices, every night, before the alarm is set.

## The handoff between closing and opening

The closing notes are the handoff. They answer one question: what does the next person need to know before they open? Cash differences and what was done about them, equipment that broke, items running low, deliveries expected, anything unusual.

The opener reads the notes before counting cash and confirms the close: alarm set, doors locked, cash matching the closing count. Anything that doesn't match goes to the manager that morning, while the closer still remembers the night. Found the next morning, a difference usually has an explanation. Found three days later, it is a mystery.

## Keep the list short enough that people do it

At 11 p.m. after a busy shift, a 40-item list gets skimmed and ticked. A few rules keep it honest:

1. **Daily items only.** Deep cleaning, the monthly fire extinguisher check and stock counts get their own schedule.
2. **One action per line.** "Lock up and set the alarm" is two items, and the one that gets missed is the one hiding in the middle.
3. **Walking order.** Nobody should walk back across the store for item 4.
4. **The standard, not the activity.** "Cooler reading recorded and within the limit", not "check the cooler".
5. **Test it with someone new.** If a new hire needs to ask questions, it is missing information.
6. **Review it every few months.** Remove what no longer applies, add what went wrong.

## How to know it happened every day

A clipboard shows what happened on the days someone filled it in. The day nobody did leaves no trace, and that is the day you most need to know about. So the daily check has two parts:

- **Was each list completed today, on time, and by whom?** Look for missing records first.
- **Is there evidence on the items that matter?** A photo of the floor at opening, the cash count with its difference, the cooler readings, and a named person and time on the close. Photos are most useful when the device stamps the date, time and place, rather than someone typing them.

Then look at the month: late openings, cash differences by shift, readings creeping up. Our guide to [proof of task completion](https://easy.wf/blog/proof-of-task-completion) goes deeper into evidence and spot checks.

## Frequently asked questions

### What should be on an opening and closing checklist?

Opening: security, systems, cash, the floor and the team. Closing: cash counted and secured, cleaning, equipment off, a full walk-through, notes for the opener and the alarm. Restaurants add temperatures and food storage. The templates above list each item.

### Who should complete the opening and closing checklist?

One named person per shift, usually the manager or shift lead on duty, even when several people do the tasks. In a restaurant that is normally the person in charge. When you can, have different people open and close, so each shift checks the other.

### How do you get employees to follow a closing checklist?

Keep it short and in walking order, write each item as a visible result, look at completed lists every day, and follow up on missing ones the next morning. People skip lists that nobody looks at.

### Should you count the cash drawer at opening and closing?

Yes. The closing count tells you how the day went, and the opening count confirms nothing changed overnight. Record both numbers and the difference, and compare them with the point-of-sale report.

## Running it in Easyflow

The gallery has a **Store opening checklist**, a **Store closing checklist** and an **End-of-day cash count**, plus a **Food temperature log** for kitchens. In Easyflow each is a short, linear process. The routine is a **Checklist** field, readings and cash go in number and amount fields, a **Calculated** field can work out the difference from the expected total, and a **Photo evidence** field stamps the date, time and, when required, the location onto photos taken with the phone. A follow-up step with a **Run condition** only runs when someone reports a problem, so the area manager gets the details instead of a group chat message.

**Schedules** start both lists automatically every day, a deadline makes a late opening show up as overdue, and escalation brings in the area manager. Each schedule has a **History** that shows, day by day, whether the routine was **Done on time**, **Done late**, **Still open** or **Missed**, so "did we close properly every night this month?" has an answer at a glance. Where opening times vary, print the process **QR code** and put it next to the alarm panel, so whoever opens starts the list from their phone.

If you are writing these routines down for the first time, our guide on [how to document a business process](https://easy.wf/blog/how-to-document-a-process) helps you settle the owner, the order and the "done when" for each item.

Page: https://easy.wf/blog/opening-and-closing-checklist