Restaurant Opening and Closing Checklist (Free Template)

This restaurant opening and closing checklist covers what to do before the doors open, during service and after the last guest leaves. It is written for Singapore restaurants, cafés and bars, and it draws the kitchen items from Singapore Food Agency (SFA) guidance. Copy the printable template at the end, remove what doesn’t apply and add anything specific to your outlet.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Food safety rules come from SFA pages reviewed for our SFA hygiene inspection guide; check the latest with SFA.

Why opening and closing checklists matter

• Consistency. Different managers open differently. A checklist means the outlet is ready at 11am whether the owner, the head chef or a new supervisor opened it. For the rest of the manager’s routine, see our restaurant manager checklist.
• Food safety. Most hygiene lapses SFA lists are routine things: chillers without thermometers, raw food stored above cooked food, dirty equipment, uncovered bins. A daily checklist catches them before an inspector does.
• Cash control. Counting the float at opening and cashing up against the POS at closing is how you spot shortages early, while people still remember what happened.
• Handover and training. A written list is the fastest way to teach a new hire what “ready” means. For changeovers mid-day, use our shift handover checklist template. Our staff training checklist covers onboarding more broadly.

Opening checklist by area

Start 45 to 90 minutes before opening, depending on your prep load. Assign each area to one person, who signs it off.

Front of house

• Switch off the alarm, unlock and check for any signs of forced entry or overnight leaks.
• Lights, air-conditioning and music on; toilets checked, clean and stocked with soap and toilet paper.
• Tables and chairs wiped, set and aligned; floor swept; entrance and windows clean.
• Menus clean and current; QR table codes in place and readable; specials board updated.
• Check reservations and large bookings for the day; note allergies and special requests (see allergen handling).
• SFA licence (with its QR code) displayed where customers can see it.

Kitchen

• Read and log the temperature of every chiller and freezer. Every chiller must have a thermometer. Keep chilled food out of the 5°C to 60°C danger zone and act on any unit that is outside your set range.
• Check storage: cooked and ready-to-eat food above raw food; everything covered and labelled with a date; oldest stock used first.
• Check any food thawing overnight was thawed in a chiller held between 0°C and 4°C, not at room temperature.
• Probe thermometer clean and working. Food cooked for service should reach at least 75°C internally for 2 minutes.
• Hand-wash stations stocked with soap and paper towels; colour-coded boards and utensils for raw and ready-to-eat food ready.
• Staff in clean uniforms, nails short, cuts covered with waterproof dressing; anyone unwell sent home.
• Gas, hoods, fryers and dishwasher on and working; complete the prep list against expected covers.
• Receive deliveries: check temperatures, dates and quantities against the delivery note before signing.

Bar

• Ice machine clean and full; garnishes cut, covered and dated.
• Beer lines, coffee machine and blenders cleaned and tested.
• Stock fridges filled; bottles checked against the par list.
• Glassware clean and polished; bar mats and tools washed.

POS and payments

• POS terminals, tablets and handhelds on and logged in with each staff member’s own login, so actions are tied to a person.
• Open the day or shift on the POS if your system uses them, and count the cash float into the drawer. Record the amount and who counted it.
• Test kitchen printers and the kitchen display system with a test order to every station.
• Card terminals on and connected; PayNow QR displayed and scanning.
• Online ordering and delivery apps switched on at the right time, matching your actual opening hours.
• Mark sold-out (86’d) items on the POS, QR menus, online ordering and delivery apps, so no one orders what you can’t serve. Ask your vendor how sold-out status syncs across channels.

ChaChaCha is a web/hybrid POS that keeps taking orders if the internet drops and syncs later, which is worth knowing before the first rush. It prints kitchen tickets in English or Chinese and supports Epson cloud printing to multiple printers.

Pre-service briefing

Five to ten minutes before doors open, gather the team. Keep it short and cover the same points every day:

1. Numbers. Bookings, expected walk-ins, large parties and delivery forecasts.
2. Menu. Specials, sold-out items and any recipe changes. Let front-of-house taste new dishes.
3. Allergies and VIPs. Tables with allergy notes, birthdays or regulars to look after.
4. Sections. Who covers which tables, who runs the pass, who handles delivery orders.
5. One focus. A single thing to improve today, such as suggesting a drink with every main or clearing plates faster. Our upselling guide has ideas.

Mid-shift checks

Between lunch and dinner, or every few hours in all-day outlets, run a quick check:

• Log chiller temperatures again. A mid-service reading catches doors left open during the rush.
• Check hot-held food: keep it above 60°C, or use it within 4 hours. SFA treats keeping food in the danger zone for more than 4 hours as a serious offence.
• Clean and restock toilets, wash stations and service stations.
• Empty bins before they overflow; keep them covered and lined.
• Update sold-out items on every channel; restock the bar and prep for the next service.
• If you change shifts, count the drawer and hand over, so each person is accountable for their own shift.

Closing checklist by area

Kitchen cleaning

• Switch off and clean grills, fryers, ovens (including pizza ovens) and hobs; filter or change fryer oil on schedule.
• Wash food-contact utensils with detergent, rinse with hot water and dry with a clean towel.
• Clean prep surfaces, chiller handles and seals, floors and drains; check drains have no odour.
• Wash cloths and put them to dry; sign the cleaning log.

Food storage and labelling

• Cool leftover prepared food quickly by dividing it into smaller portions, then refrigerate immediately.
• Cover and label everything with the item and date; store raw food on the lowest shelves.
• Move tomorrow’s frozen items to the chiller to thaw; never on the counter or floor.
• Log final chiller and freezer temperatures and make sure every door is closed.

Waste

• Record wasted and expired food on a waste sheet, with reasons. It feeds your food waste and stock take numbers.
• Empty all bins, reline them and close the lids; take refuse to the bin centre.
• Check for signs of pests and report them to your registered pest control operator. Our pest control guide covers what SFA and NEA expect.

Cash-up and end-of-day reconciliation

• Close all open bills and tabs on the POS. Any bill left open distorts the day’s figures.
• Run the end-of-day (Z) report or daily sales summary from your POS reports.
• Count the cash drawer, remove the float for tomorrow and compare the remainder with expected cash on the report. Record any variance and the reason.
• Check card, PayNow and e-wallet totals against the terminal or provider settlement. Our daily sales reconciliation guide walks through handling variances.
• Note refunds, voids and discounts, and who approved them.
• Seal cash for banking, store it in the safe and get two signatures if possible.

ChaChaCha supports PayNow, PayLah!, NETS, Visa/Mastercard and GrabPay through DBS, UOB and 2C2P, with split payments and automated reconciliation, which cuts manual matching at close. See POS payments.

Delivery apps and online ordering

• Switch off or pause GrabFood and any other delivery platforms, and close your online ordering page, at your last-order time, not when the last staff member leaves.
• Check for delivery orders still waiting for pickup.

Security

• Gas, stoves, fryers and non-essential power off; air-conditioning and music off. More ideas are in our guide to saving energy in a restaurant.
• Back door and windows locked; safe locked; no one left in toilets or storerooms.
• POS terminals logged out or locked; tablets charging.
• Alarm set; front door locked; closing manager signs the sheet.

Weekly and monthly add-ons

Frequency	Task
Weekly	Deep clean chillers and shelving; descale the dishwasher and coffee machine; spot-check the daily sheets.
Weekly	Walk through the pre-inspection checklist in our SFA guide; review cash variances by staff member.
Weekly	Check delivery platform payouts against POS sales by channel.
Monthly	Full stock take; review waste sheets; update prep pars.
Monthly	Check every food handler’s WSQ Food Safety Course Level 1 refresher dates and SFA registration.
As scheduled	Pest control visit by a registered operator; keep each report on file.
At least every 12 months	Kitchen exhaust duct and hood degreased and cleaned by a specialist, with records kept, as SFA’s guidelines say.

How to roll out the checklist

1. Start from this template, then trim. Walk through your outlet with the head chef and a supervisor, cross out what doesn’t apply and add anything specific, such as a tandoor or a live seafood tank.
2. Give every line an owner. Write the role (opening chef, bar lead, closing manager) next to each section.
3. Sign, don’t tick. Initials and a time next to each section make people accountable. Keep sheets in one folder with the temperature logs.
4. Use photos for key items. A photo of the locked back door, the cleaned hood or the chiller display, sent to the manager’s group chat, shows the job was done.
5. Audit weekly. Have the owner or an area manager check a few items against the sheet without warning, or use mystery shopping for the guest-facing side. Discuss misses at the next briefing, not in front of guests.
6. Review quarterly. Update the list when you change your menu, equipment or opening hours.

Printable opening and closing checklist template

Copy these tables into a document, print them and keep a fresh sheet for each day. To move these checks off paper, compare restaurant checklist apps.

Opening

Area	Task	Done (initials)	Time
FOH	Alarm off, premises checked, lights and air-con on
FOH	Tables set, floor clean, toilets clean and stocked
FOH	Menus, QR codes and specials board ready; bookings reviewed
Kitchen	Chiller and freezer temperatures logged (unit / reading)
Kitchen	Storage checked: raw below cooked, covered, labelled, dated
Kitchen	Wash stations stocked; staff hygiene checked
Kitchen	Equipment on; prep list complete; deliveries checked
Bar	Ice, garnishes, machines and stock ready
POS	Terminals on; shift opened; float counted ($ ____ )
POS	Printers and KDS tested at every station
POS	Card terminal and PayNow tested; online ordering and delivery apps on
POS	Sold-out items marked on every channel
Team	Pre-service briefing held

Closing

Area	Task	Done (initials)	Time
Kitchen	Equipment off and cleaned; utensils washed; surfaces, floors and drains clean
Kitchen	Leftovers cooled, covered, labelled and stored; raw on lowest shelves
Kitchen	Final chiller and freezer temperatures logged; doors closed
Waste	Waste sheet completed; bins emptied, relined and covered
Bar	Machines cleaned; stock counted against par; glassware washed
Cash	All bills closed; end-of-day report printed
Cash	Cash counted; variance $ ____; reason noted
Cash	Card and e-wallet totals checked; cash sealed in safe
Online	Delivery apps and online ordering switched off
Security	Gas and power off; doors, windows and safe locked; alarm set
Sign-off	Closing manager name and signature

If you are opening a new outlet, pair this with our soft launch checklist. To see how ChaChaCha’s POS, KDS and reports fit into your daily routine, contact us.