Retail Store Opening and Closing Procedures Checklist
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December 11, 2020Managing a retail store is a task full of challenges; retailers must make every effort to run it successfully and smoothly. Retailers must be adept at handling customers in the store, recruiting the best staff members, sourcing products from wholesalers, managing the costs and expenses, and taking strategic decisions for growth. If done correctly and timely, all these will lead to smooth operations of a store, resulting in a constant flow of cash into the retailer’s pockets.
However, retail store owners, managers, and staff members must follow a few good habits to ensure that they are on track. These habits pertain to the opening and closing of the retail store at the beginning and end of the working hours, respectively. If everyone follows these daily habits diligently and consistently, it will lead to a more profitable and stronger business in the long run.
The daily opening checklist includes the following:
1. In the morning, the individual opening the store must conduct a security inspection daily to check if anything went wrong during the closed hours. Such an inspection includes:
- Checking the building exteriors
- Checking the working of the alarm
- Checking the entry doors and windows for any signs of entry by force
- Assessment of the security footage of the closed hours
- Checking if all the lights and bulbs are working properly
2. Before opening the doors to the public, the manager must get the store cleaned and made presentable. For this,
- Clean the floor, windows, doors, shelves, and fitting rooms
- Check for any spillage or breakage and remove the things that are a safety hazard
3. The store manager must check the store merchandise once daily to check if all the displays are in order, the shelves are placed correctly, and the numbers of products are correct as per the requirement. For this, the manager must:
- Take a thorough walkthrough in the store to check if there is any overstocking of a specific brand or lack of a product category
- Restock the shelves, if there are missing products or brands
- Inspect if all the signage and boards put up for current promotional offers or discounts are placed in the right position, the directional signs are showing the right directions, and any other signs for fitting rooms, billing desk, customer services, and product categories are rightly placed
- Evaluate all the shelves to check if the products are displayed as per the decided plan, shelves follow the planogram, and discounted, and products with offers are in the right display
- Check if all the product tags of size, price, discounts, promotional offers, and any other tags that are appropriate for the product are in order
4. The store manager must turn on all the electronic appliances, Point of Sale, and check if they are working appropriately and are charged.
- Retailers must switch on the electronic displays, computers, tablets, TV, sound system, HVAC, and similar gadgets in use in the store
- POS hardware must be switched on and checked for any signs of tampering
- The manager or the staff must launch the POS software and assess its working condition. Open the store and register in the software.
5. The manager must check the cash registers to see if money is available in all denominations to facilitate the change required to give to customers. Furthermore, the manager must count the cash once at the start of the day and note it down to avoid any calculation errors at the end of the day.
6. Have a small meeting with all the staff members to:
- Motivate them for the day
- Allocate the work according to their shifts and schedules
- Assign duties for merchandising, restocking, and cleaning
- Discuss the sales target for the day
- Point out anything wrong that they are doing in terms of customer interaction and what improvement can make it correct
- Point out any achievements of the previous day or anything, which was handled well by a staff member
After all of this is done, the manager must open the doors to let the public in and put on big smiles for a busy day ahead.
At the beginning of the day, the cashier must:
- Login to the POS system
- Open the cash drawer and do denomination wise cash count
- Enter cash so counted in the POS System
- Recount the cash if there’s a discrepancy and notify the manager
- If everything is fine, open till and start billing
The daily closing checklist includes the following:
- Managers must get the store cleared of all customers before the closing hours. The best habit is to announce to the customers that the store will close in another 30 or 15 minutes so that they are ready for the billing before time to avoid any last-minute hassles. The retailer must not allow any new customer to enter the store 15 minutes before the closing time to avoid delaying the closing time.
- Once all the customers are out of the store, the manager must conduct a complete run-through of the floor to check if:
- All the customers have left
- The changing rooms, bathrooms, and closets are all empty
- There is any additional stuff or thing in the store forgotten by any customer or employee
- There are any major changes to the layout or shelf that needs immediate correction
- The manager or allocated staff member must check the inventory to:
- Know about the immediate requirement of restocking
- The manager must check the displays and products at the end of the day. For this, they must:
- Check for any trash or spillage on the floor that needs immediate cleaning
- Check if the products are in their correct display section; reorganize and straighten if needed
- The staff member allocated for handling the POS or cash register for the day must make a final count of the cash and close the till and register. The member must also verify the card transactions for that day and settle all the machines used for credit cards and debit cards.
- The retail shop manager must close the store in the POS system, shut down the music system, computers, POS system, electronic displays, and any other electronic appliances.
- The last check involves shutting down the lights not required and switching on the alarm systems and surveillance cameras.
There must be two or more team members present when the opening and closing checklist is being conducted and while opening and closing the doors to be doubly sure of the store’s security. These guidelines will help retailers ensure that their store is safe and secure, operations are running smoothly, and customers have a good experience of shopping with them.
