Full Restaurant Operations Checklist + How To Improve Safety & Productivity By Going Mobile

Waitress talking to customers​

From preparing garnishes to setting up tables and ensuring your waiters are briefed on the daily specials, a comprehensive restaurant operations checklist is a crucial element in keeping your customers satisfied, receiving positive restaurant reviews and ultimately, preserving your brand image.

We’ll share what a restaurant operations checklist is, what it should include and how to simplify your own restaurant operations checklist to improve safety, save money and more using mobile forms.

Table of Contents

What Is A Restaurant Operations Checklist?

A restaurant operations checklist is a document that contains a list of tasks that your staff must complete at the start and end of their day.

When a task is completed, an employee places a checkmark next to the task. Traditionally, restaurant operations checklists are paper-based, filled out and replaced each day.

Restaurant opening and closing checklists are grouped by restaurant departments, such as the front of house and back of house.

Manager talking to the staff​

A restaurant operations checklist caters to both the front of house and back of house departments​

Benefits Of A Restaurant Operations Checklist

A restaurant operations checklist ensures that your establishment is ready to go before customers start arriving, and properly set up for success for the next day when it’s time to close up shop.

A restaurant operations checklist helps you:

1. Increase Safety

Restaurant closing checklists include turning off ovens, heaters and gas stoves, and ensuring that doors and windows are locked.

When you lock up the restaurant, arm the security system and make sure all appliances are turned off before your staff leaves, you ensure that your employees, business and belongings are safe.

2. Save Money

Restaurant violations can lead to hefty fines. In New York City, for example, kitchen surfaces that aren’t properly cleaned and sanitized after every use can result in a $350 fine alone.

A checklist helps ensure that your restaurant is clean and safe for customers, which in turn saves you money and upholds a respectable brand reputation.

3. Improve Productivity

A restaurant operations checklist allows your staff to focus on the tasks that need to be completed so nothing important is forgotten, whether opening or closing the restaurant. Tasks listed on checklists should be followed in order of priority , and initialed when completed.

4. Boost Service

A daily restaurant operations checklist allows your staff to provide consistent service.

From opening on time and having garnishes ready to go, to mopping up spills and disinfecting surfaces at the end of the night, customers can expect a positive, clean, safe and friendly experience each and every time they visit your restaurant.

What Should Your Restaurant Opening Checklist Include?

A comprehensive restaurant opening checklist streamlines your restaurant operations and ensures your team is set up for the day.

Here’s what your restaurant opening checklist should include:

Front Of House

Back Of House

Staff

What Should Your Restaurant Closing Checklist Include?

A restaurant closing checklist ensures your restaurant is properly cleaned after a day of operation and ready for the next day.

Here’s what your restaurant closing checklist should include:

Front Of House

Back Of House

Manager and staff talking behind the counter​

A restaurant operations checklist ensures that every step is taken to provide the best service and experience for your customers​

Digitize Your Restaurant Operations Checklist Using doForms

With doForms, paper checklists thumbtacked to walls or taped to doors are a thing of the past.

This pen and paper approach is inefficient, time-consuming, messy and costly — in fact, the average business spends as much as $8,000 per year on paper alone!

So, how can doForms help?

doForms is a mobile forms solution that moves your restaurant operations towards a paperless approach by allowing you to build detailed checklists and post-restaurant operations reports for improved organization, easy access and ultimately, streamlined management.

With more than 30 drag-and-drop features and a user-friendly dashboard, our mobile forms are the most effective and secure method for creating, storing and sending reports and checklists for your restaurant.

Whether you choose to work with templated forms or create your own, both options offer the same customization and flexibility for your checklists.

With doForms, you can easily customize your mobile forms at any time, gather data in real-time and deliver comprehensive reports.

While your employees are filing in their restaurant checklists with or without an internet connection, you can easily manage timesheets, payroll, inventory and more — keeping all of your forms in a secure, centralized location.

Along with restaurant opening and closing checklists, which you can customize and easily adjust when a new task arises, going paperless allows you to:

Simplify Restaurant Operations By Going Mobile

A restaurant operations checklist serves as a reminder for restaurant staff, to ensure each important task is completed, whether it’s refilling salt and pepper shakers, sanitizing kitchen equipment or making sure the bathroom is spotless at all times.

Traditional paper checklists are costly and time-consuming for a business that requires employees and management to be quick on their feet. It’s time to say goodbye to paper checklists and say hello to mobile forms!

doForms allows you to improve restaurant operations by cutting costs, improving productivity and more. Build, customize, edit, save and send your restaurant operations checklists whether online or offline, at any time, from anywhere!

Track timesheets, manage payroll, oversee inventory and further streamline your restaurant with smart and secure mobile forms.