Digital Restaurant Checklists: Detailed Guide For Managers

What are Digital Restaurant Checklist?

Digital restaurant checklists are a helpful tool for operations management using digital forms/logs or templates. These productivity tools increase efficiency and standardize performance in service and safety helping GMs and shift leads with communication and manageability.

From managing stock to maintaining kitchen hygiene and food safety, there has to be a restaurant checklist for every facet of running the business.

The figures don't deceive: data is critical, and when this data is readily available for your team, being able to view this information in real time helps managers to train their team and and keep people on track for continuous improvement.

Controlling the details can convert a dining experience into something clean and smooth, something memorable. You can create an extraordinary dining experience for your guests and staff because every aspect of the operation is constantly being refined towards perfection.

Getting straight to the point, a digital checklist allows managers to impose their will without being there.

For example, As a GM, when you conduct your daily inspection, you notice that the walk-in fridge temperature is all over the place. Instead of having to constantly remind the staff to check the temperature, you can add a SOP that asks,

Is the walk-in fridge temperature within the safe range?

The appropriate staff member can then mark it as “yes” or “no,” giving you real-time visibility into your operations and allowing you to address any problems immediately. This is a big advantage that digital checklists have over paper-based systems.

Managers and workers at restaurants often utilize basic digital checklists for restaurants to ensure that all tasks are completed correctly. These checklists include crucial duties like:

• Opening and closing schedules
• Assigning jobs to staff
• Making sure the kitchen is clean and stocked
• Ensuring customer happiness

There has to be a restaurant checklist for every facet of running the business.

A digital restaurant checklist can be seen as a helpful tool to keep track of all the little details that add up to a better dining experience for both guests and employees.

What to Include in Digital Checklists for Restaurants?

If you own a restaurant, you know how important it is to have a digital restaurant checklist to follow before, during, and after business hours. Here are some items that should be on the list:

• Name of restaurant
• Date 
• Time of completion
• Restaurant shift (opening or closing) 
• Name of assigned checker
• Task list
• Action owner
• Remarks

The Problem with Paper Checklists

You know the drill: you put in a lot of time and effort to write up a thorough list of tasks for your team, but then it either gets coated with BBQ sauce, disappears, or ends up in the garbage.

After that, it's time to play detective and see who was responsible for what and when. Certainly not a productive use of your time, is it?

Next, there's the problem of contradiction. Each worker has their own unique perspective on the checklist's instructions. The result might be assignments that aren't finished at all, or at least not to your standards.

It's similar to a game of telephone with your employees, but instead of laughing at the end, you'll only wind up confused and frustrated.

At last, we can discuss responsibility. It is tough to keep track of who accomplished what and when when using paper checklists and training binders.

Because it is difficult to hold people responsible when there is a lack of openness, your restaurant could grow less efficient and productive.

Why Choose Digital Restaurant Checklists?

With digital solutions like Xenia's all-in-one software for restaurant operations and training, you can easily manage your restaurant operations from any location and at any time. Digital checklists for restaurants allow you to establish criteria for the completion of activities and guarantee that they are met consistently. 

Furthermore, because everything is traceable and readily available, there is no longer any need to play detective when you have the best checklist software in place.

Some convincing statistics that show how effective going digital is are as follows:

• Improved Efficiency: Businesses that completely commit to digital transformation have the potential to see a 40% increase in productivity.

• Better Customer Experience: An overwhelming majority of consumers (84%) consider a company's customer service to be just as essential as the quality of its goods and services. Businesses with strong digital capabilities can provide their clients with experiences that are both easy and tailored to their individual needs

• ‍Drive Profits: Companies whose operations are more tech-savvy enjoy three times the revenue increase of companies whose operations are less tech-savvy.

Types of Digital Checklists for Restaurants

For every aspect of managing a restaurant, you can create a digital restaurant checklist. Restaurants often utilize the following types.

1. Manager’s Opening Checklist

One of the most essential tools for a successful restaurant launch is a checklist. Before opening your doors to the public, several items on this digital restaurant checklist must be attended to. 

Ensuring all of your equipment is operational, setting up workstations, inspecting and refilling merchandise, opening doors, and turning on lights are all examples of possible duties. 

Restaurant opening checklists aid in getting the restaurant ready for daily operations by methodically attending to these things. For an effective and coordinated opening ritual, this is crucial.

• The accuracy of the cash register balance.
• Make sure there is adequate stock to begin the day by coordinating with the culinary crew.
• Making extra purchases from suppliers if needed, and coordinating delivery for the day.
• Gathering some cash for payment.
• Planning the day's activities and sales projections.
• The front-of-house personnel needs an explanation of the daily specials.
• Examine the eatery to make sure it is clean.

2. Manager’s Closing Checklist

Digital checklists for restaurants for closing down the day's activities are just as crucial; they include all that needs doing to ensure a proper conclusion. 

Cash register settlement, building security, and end-of-day cleaning and upkeep are all items on this list.

Restaurants need to have opening and closing checklists that coordinate to make sure the establishment is secure, tidy, stocked, and prepared for the start of each shift.

• Going over the books
• Keeping track of tips and dispersing them as per company policy
• Going over the plans for the next day's employees
• Getting ready for the following day by making sure everything is tidy
• Verifying the accuracy of your finances by reviewing day-end reports
• Powering down all large appliances and electronics
• Configuring the security system
• Closing your restaurant

3. Shift Change Checklists For Restaurants

Managers should collaborate at the end of each shift to make sure their teams transition smoothly to the next one. This restaurant management task list could help them remember to attend to things like:

• Outlining the assignments that have been completed
• Alerting others to any irregularities, such as a lack of staff or missing inventory, is essential
• Talking about what needs doing to be productive today

4. Kitchen Operations Checklist

The kitchen, being the nerve center of every restaurant, is the ideal location for an operations digital restaurant checklist. The daily chores needed for the kitchen to run well are outlined in these checklists. 

This could entail keeping the kitchen clean and organized, monitoring and refilling materials as needed, and adhering to standards for food safety and hygiene. A comprehensive kitchen equipment management checklist may be part of this as well. 

Kitchen personnel regularly maintain high standards in food preparation, cleanliness, and organization with the use of proper digital checklists for restaurants.

5. Front & BOH Restaurant Operations Checklist

A front-of-house/ BOH restaurant operations checklist is created to improve the eating experience by addressing the customer-facing components of restaurant operations. 

Meanwhile, the “back of the house” component focuses on streamlining restaurant operations to a standardized level, where the speed of service, quality and overall process is fine tuned to deliver a delightful customer experience.

Everything from taking orders to setting the tables to making sure the dining room is always inviting falls under this category. The front desk personnel will be ready to provide outstanding service if they follow this digital restaurant checklist.

6. Restaurant Employee Training Checklist

When hiring new workers, it's important to have a staff training checklist. 

To make sure that new employees learn the restaurant's safety rules, customer service standards, and processes, it serves as a training guide. 

A solid digital restaurant checklist ensures that new team members are consistently and thoroughly oriented by methodically addressing these training aspects. This ensures that all employees get training that meets the required standards.

7. Food Safety Checklist

A food safety checklist is an important tool for any business that wants to keep its customers' food safe. 

Checking the temperature on a regular basis, following correct protocols while handling food, and keeping an eye on when products expire are all items on this digital restaurant checklist. 

8. Cleaning and Maintenance Checklist

Keeping a restaurant clean is a huge component of the job. 

Consequently, a cleaning element should be included in the restaurant's opening and closing checklists.

A maintenance and cleaning checklist offers a comprehensive structure for regular cleaning schedules, whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly. Using this checklist, you can be sure that every part of the restaurant, from the kitchen to the dining rooms, gets the care it needs.

9. Inventory Management Checklist

Keeping expenses in check and maintaining a consistent supply of products both depend on efficient inventory management. 

Maintaining accurate stock counts is a breeze with the help of an inventory management checklist. You can always place an order for goods when you need them, allowing you to reduce waste.

Some items on your list may include making an inventory consumption sheet, arranging your restaurant's stock, and delegating the responsibility of doing frequent and precise stock takes to a team.

What are the Benefits of Digital Checklists for Restaurants?

The following are a few of the most important reasons why you should have a restaurant opening checklist and a restaurant closing checklist:

1. Saving Time and Money

Using restaurant opening and closing digital checklists for restaurants will mostly result in significant time savings while staffing the establishment, as well as significant money savings in material and labor expenses.

If you and every other top manager didn't have to guide your team members through every job they were responsible for, think of how much more productive you could be.

When running a business, it's tempting to rely on gut feelings and conventional knowledge. However, a well-organized checklist can save you and your employees a ton of time.

Contrarily, if you can keep your assets intact, you can save a ton of money over time. The likelihood that your workers will forget to switch out the lights in each room right before they leave will be reduced if you include this requirement in your checklist.

Similarly, you can lower the likelihood of losing important inventory by requiring your kitchen staff to check certain perishables for expiry dates daily.

2. Inspecting is Easier Than Ever

As the saying goes, it's easier to inspect, if you know what to expect. What this implies is that using a checklist at a restaurant makes it much simpler to keep your employees responsible than before.

You can verify who is accountable for what, when you have your team members verify and sign off on each completed job at the bottom of the page or in the electronic form.

Managers can optimize workplace processes with the help of digital checklists for restaurants, which also make employees feel more accountable for their jobs. When everyone knows that a given work is crucial for your daily operations it seems less like your boss is always bothering you to get it done.

3. Keeping Your Restaurant Safe

Your restaurant's safety procedures should be among the first and foremost items on your checklist. Everything from turning off the gas burners to setting up the alarm system at nightfall are items that are often part of your opening and closing digital checklists for restaurants.

If you suspect petty theft at your restaurant, there are extra safety measures you can take. For example, you can have your management match the end-of-day data from the POS system with each individual transaction. A restaurant safety checklist is a great tool to have on hand for achieving these objectives.

4. Improved Accountability And Transparency

Using a digital restaurant checklist to run your business efficiently has several advantages. One of the most apparent is that it facilitates employee tracking. You may monitor the status of tasks and their completion times in real-time using a computerized system. 

Those who own and operate more than one restaurant may find this feature very useful. No matter whether you're in the kitchen or 1,000 miles away, it's your job as a manager to keep your employees informed and on the same page. Inquire as to the status of the ovens, the dicing of the garlic, and the serving of table three. 

You can remain organized and productive at all times by accessing your checklist from any location. Prepare yourself; be prepared.

5. Eliminating the Guess Work

Digital checklists mitigate the need for guesses and assumptions in day-to-day restaurant BOH or FOH  activities. Via clear digital restaurant cleanliness checklists, shift managers can create a transparent plan that everyone knows and understands, ensuring that everybody is on the same page.

How many times have you gone to a restaurant and thought, ‘Who put the trash can in the middle of the dining area?’

Moreover, a simple digital restaurant checklist for janitorial personnel could stop the incident of employees incorrectly placing a trash can in a place it is not usually staged, ending the confusion and unwanted results that could take place.

6. Inspect What You Expect

The third major benefit of using checklists is that they provide an opportunity for you to inspect what you expect - to ensure that your processes are operating as designed. 

As a manager or a business owner, it’s your responsibility to guarantee that everything is being done up to your standard – from cleanliness to service standards, product quality to portion control, and of course, food safety.

But the power of digital restaurant checklists is that you can break any process down into simple, step-by-step tasks that are easily verifiable. And that makes it a whole lot easier to hold your employees accountable for their work.

Based on a Gallup survey, workers who are subjected to accountability are 26% more productive and 30% more profitable than those without (source: Gallup).

By utilizing restaurant digital checklists you will be able to streamline your operations, as well, as create accountability among your staff.

For instance, let’s say you have a digital restaurant checklist for opening the restaurant. On the bottom of the sheet, in an electronic form, or however, you require your team to verify and sign off on each task. 

Therefore, you know exactly who is responsible for what and when it was accomplished. Now everyone is in the know thus you can avoid employee theft and mismanagement. With digital checklists, you can quickly see, and verify that everything is being done to your standard.

7. Have Full Control of Multi-Location Restaurant

Companies with more tech-savvy operations enjoy a three-time higher revenue growth than the low-tech-savvy companies. Obtaining end-to-end visibility and control of your restaurant operations is necessary for growth.

Using digital checklists to achieve this, you can get real-time insights and dashboards that provide you with a bird’s eye view of multiple sites. This allows you to identify and correct downward performance trends before they impact your bottom line.

The real-time dashboard might depict 95% for Site A, 80% for Site B (required action), and 98% for Site C on food safety protocol compliance.

Area managers can take immediate action to address Site B's issue and ensure all your sites continue to meet the highest standard and provide excellent experiences to your customers.

With its responsive dashboard and real-time insights, you can now add a new level of visibility and control to drive business success.

 How to Implement a Digital Checklist For Restaurants?

1. Ensure Food and Health Safety Compliance 

Achieving compliance through effective recordkeeping is a daunting task.  No one will argue this fact.  

But one of the major leaps in food safety came when governing regulatory bodies, like The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), started defining clear and robust compliance requirements. 

While keeping up with those requirements can be a headache, it is critical to ensure your food safety initiatives are being followed.

Some tasks that should be included in your checklist are:

• Regularly cleaning and sanitizing all equipment and surfaces.
• HACCP, HIPPA, temperature monitoring, and other food safety logs
• Properly controlling pests and waste.
• Making sure employees maintain proper hygiene and properly wash their hands.

2. Set Realistic Expectations 

As a Shift Lead, you understand the importance of staying on top of to-dos and ensuring your team is working effectively. 

But it’s just as important not to overload your team with too many tasks that can’t reasonably be done in a shift. When employees feel overwhelmed, they tend to become frustrated and uprooted. Mistakes ensue, work slows, and the environment turns noxious.

To prevent that from happening, it’s important to be realistic and transparent about just how much work people can complete in a given time frame. Take a closer look at your checklists. Prioritize and focus on what can be completed in a reasonable amount of time.

Divide and conquer - so start your shift by breaking down large tasks into manageable chunks and assigning yourself and your team specific goals. Get high-priority tasks tackled first and manage resources and time accordingly. 

Don’t forget to allow yourself a bit of cushion time for unforeseen tasks and interruptions. By being realistic about workloads and setting goals you can achieve, you'll be able to cut down on frustration and burnout. 

3. Be Flexible 

When there is a sudden equipment malfunction, some General Managers (GMs) have a tough time dealing with it. Not everything will go the way you want at a restaurant. Remember to be able to switch things in your list if you have unexpected situations.

There are a few examples that could happen:

• Equipment doesn’t work or needs repairing
• Staff doesn’t show up or too many call-ins
• Delays in preparation that you can’t prevent
• Changes in preparation or table inventory

4. Keep Your Checklist Up-dated

To keep your list effective and ensure that new challenges and opportunities are seasonally addressed, review and update it regularly. 

For each item, try to tie in specific time frames like “before work every day” “monthly” or “annually” rather than simply saying regularly, which can get vague and lose meaning over time:

• Seasonal menu changes and inventory updates
• New employee training and onboarding
• Changes in food safety regulations or guidelines
• Customer feedback and satisfaction surveys

Some More Tips for GMs

• Make sure your checklist follows the SMART criteria: specific, measurable, a
• Align tasks with specific members of your team or their roles so nothing gets missed
• Have a column titled “done” or “completed” so everyone can visually see what needs to be done yet
• Continually and consistently go over this checklist with your team to align everyone

Try Xenia Digital Restaurant Checklists to Improve Operation Standardization

Xenia is a mobile-first operation execution platform that has built-in custom functionality to allow restaurants to knock down checklists and tasks quickly on the go.

Centralizing everything from Back of House (BOH) restaurant operations and front-end customer service, you’re not only streamlining your tasks. You’re increasing accountability across the boards, ultimately changing the way you will scale your business.

And that’s exactly where this end-to-end digital restaurant checklist app helps. Restaurateurs don’t want to have to individually set up work orders to address every back-of-house issue or front-of-house problem.

Xenia enables restaurant managers to log and track issues with ease, access a knowledge base of best practices and solutions, and automatically generate and retain records and documents, which leads to greater restaurant management efficiency.

That's just a glimpse of what this program can do. Let's take a closer look at how it simplifies tasks for GMs and shift leads.

1. Restaurant Workflow Optimization Solution 

Xenia’s suite of templates and checklist builders offers all the tools needed to prioritize tasks and get started. Shift leads and GMs can customize and standardize checklists, logs, and SOPs for any scenario (maintenance, food safety, etc) using ready-to-use templates or starting from scratch. 

This enables a fast SOP rollout, with setup taking minutes not hours.

The app's mobile dashboard provides full visibility into your tasks and deadlines, so work won't fall through the cracks. With task management features, you can create, assign, and track tasks (or work orders) in seconds. This promotes performance and accountability, so you can provide a better customer experience. 

As tasks are completed by team members, they are updated in real time so that issues can be addressed swiftly as they arise. This immediate integration of scheduling, task management, and data collection allows you to move quickly and decisively to rectify anything that might diminish your customers' experience.

For instance, If a restaurant opening checklist shows a walk-in fridge temperature is off, a task can be assigned at that exact moment with a request for immediate corrective action. Automated log alerts to the management team to let them know to take prompt action to prevent food spoilage.

In addition, you can access precise and current temperature monitoring via Bluetooth thermometers and other IoT gadgets such as temperature sensors. This integration allows you to take quick and proactive steps to make sure that your customers get the best possible experience.

2. Keep Records and Documentation of Sops 

As a restaurant shift lead, it’s imperative to swiftly recognize and react to issues. 

Regrettably, this is burdensome for many GMs who must wade through paperwork to make certain their SOPs are current or tested frequently. 

The digital checklist app for restaurants makes all of this effortless. Track repair history, maintenance schedules, and routine checks on one platform. Furthermore, the intuitive calendar view evaluates past performance and identifies areas for improvement instantaneously.

3. Maintain Brand Unity 

Xenia’s capabilities extend to a much broader audience: home officers, district managers, regional managers, and franchise business consultants, in addition to general managers. 

When performing audits for specific restaurant chains, these professionals often have a challenging job to do in terms of back-office time management. 

Typically, 40 minutes are spent catching up with the GM, reviewing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and auditing paper logs with a thick red pen – a highly burdensome and time-consuming process.

Xenia makes this process easy and simple. 

With the ability to review recurring tasks and SOPs before you go into the restaurant even if you aren't physically present that day, gives you full visibility into brand procedures since your last visit. 

Being able to see all this information at a click, you can identify areas that need your improvement, making sure brand standards are being accomplished constantly throughout every single one of the locations.

For instance, if during the audit you observe a problem with bathroom cleanliness, you can keep track of historical performance for this particular question of the audit. 

You can also quickly take pictures and add remarks to better coach and train GMs. This lets you identify where you need targeted improvement and track it over time.

4. Track Employee and Work Performance 

The mobile dashboard as well as the web portal provide essential metrics on critical areas such as task achievements. 

This not only serves to provide invaluable insights into the efficiency and effectiveness of your operation, but also allows you to evaluate the quality of work generated by your employees, ground areas that are in desperate need of improvement, and direct training to alleviate these distressed areas. 

Such metrics also allow you to create a data-driven system to assess the success of your shift managers, demonstrating which individuals are excelling and deserve the best reward and incentives.

Summing it Up 

Running a restaurant becomes much easier with the right checklists in place. Making sure you've thought of everything becomes much simpler with more comprehensive digital checklists for restaurants.

Every management of a restaurant should make it a point to create and regularly update them. 

We suggest having at least one daily checklist for a restaurant, but you can split them up into an opening checklist and a closing checklist if you want.