Restaurant Checklists Kit Pro: Opening, Closing & Cleaning Checklist Templates for Excel

Think of it as one list per area, done in order. Kitchen: cooler and freezer temperatures (41 °F and 0 °F or below), equipment on, the line set up and mise en place checked. Front of house: lights, tables and the service station set, the allergen chart at hand, reservations reviewed and a pre-shift meeting. Bar: drink stock, ice, garnishes, the coffee machine and glassware. And the building itself: alarm, lights, POS, security gate, patio. Every task needs who does it, a due-by time and initials. The "Opening & Closing Checklists" workbook has the three areas already written, and the "Restaurant Opening & Closing Checklist" covers the whole building.

Cleaning and shutdown by area (kitchen, front of house and bar), food labeled, dated and stored, equipment off, the cash drawer counted against the POS Z report, and the building locked up: POS and HVAC off, security gate and doors closed, alarm set. In this kit, the closing checklists by area and the whole-building "Restaurant Closing" tab have those tasks already written, and the "Cash Drawer Opening & Closing" workbook works out the over/short for you.

Daily cleaning belongs in the closing checklists. On top of that, this kit schedules a deep clean by zone every week (the "Weekly Deep Clean" tab), a weekly FIFO check of walk-ins and dry storage, and monthly equipment maintenance. Contracted services go on the "Quarterly & Annual" tab: kitchen hoods are cleaned on the NFPA 96 schedule (monthly with solid fuel, quarterly in high-volume kitchens, every six months in moderate-volume ones) and the hood fire-suppression system is serviced every six months, alongside pest control, fire extinguishers, the grease trap and the rest.

Side work is everything servers and bartenders do besides serving guests: setting and restocking stations, rolling silverware, refilling condiments, polishing glassware and the cleaning duties of each shift. When it isn't written down, it falls on whoever stays last. The "Daily Duties & Side Work Checklists by Role" workbook has one checklist each for the head chef, sous chef, FOH manager, server and bartender.

Yes, you will find free checklist templates online, and a blank one is fine to get started. This kit is something else: 11 Excel workbooks with 491 restaurant tasks already written and sorted by shift, area and role, a counter on every checklist that skips the tasks you mark N/A, °F temperatures under the FDA Food Code and a cash count in US dollars. Print it on US Letter, or save any sheet as a PDF from Excel.

Yes. Every checklist comes with the most common tasks of a casual restaurant already written. You'll want to make it yours: adjust tasks to your restaurant, delete the ones that don't apply and add your own. The editable cells are green, and each table ends with 5 free green rows that the counter already includes.

Each checklist has columns for who does it, when (a due-by time on the daily lists, a day on the weekly ones, a frequency on the monthly ones and a lead time on the event lists), ✓ Done and initials. The manager prints the checklist and hands it to the team, and each person checks off and initials their tasks. At the end of the shift, the shift manager checks it and signs at the bottom.

Checklist apps charge a monthly fee per location and need connected tablets or phones. This kit gives you the same task lists in Excel for $19, a one-time payment. No subscription, no internet needed. What it is not: there are no reminders, photos or notifications on your staff's phones.

Yes. One purchase covers one business with all of its locations, which makes it a good fit for restaurant groups and multi-unit operators. If you are a consultant, you can use the checklists with your clients, but you can't hand them copies: each business buys its own.

Yes. There are checklists for private events (from booking to event day), Valentine's Day, Christmas & New Year's Eve, and opening and closing patio season. And the bonus calendar lists 22 key US dates for restaurants, from the Super Bowl to New Year's Eve, with their tasks and recommended lead time.

Yes, with a few edits, all in cells you can change. The kit is set up for the US: temperatures in °F under the FDA Food Code (41 °F cold holding, 135 °F hot holding), the 9 major allergens and a cash count in US bills and coins. In the UK, the legal limits are 8 °C for cold holding and 63 °C for hot holding, and allergen information covers 14 allergens: edit those task lines, because every task is an editable cell. In Canada and Australia, check your provincial or state food safety rules the same way. Your patio is your terrace or beer garden. For pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, unprotect the cash count sheet (there is no password) and change the label and value of each bill and coin. The holiday calendar has a UK note (Mothering Sunday, bank holidays, Boxing Day) and free rows for your own dates. Every English edition also includes the US · UK · Canada · Australia Equivalents Guide, a bonus with the local terms, taxes, food safety and staff rules side by side.

The price is $19 USD, a one-time payment. At checkout, Stripe can show the amount in your local currency (for example GBP, EUR, CAD or AUD) and converts it for you.

No subscription: you pay once and get lifetime access to the online dashboard. When we add new templates or improvements, you get them at no extra cost — just download the files again.

Yes. A full 30-day guarantee. If you're not happy, we'll refund 100% with no questions asked.