Store operations
Store Opening and Closing Checklist App: The Items, the Photos and the Timing
A store opening and closing checklist app is a phone app that opens the opening routine at opening time and the closing routine at closing time in each store, asks for a live photo and an audit answer on every item, and records who completed what, when, and how late. It replaces the printed sheet behind the billing counter and the 09:58 message that reads "Opening done sir". In a brand's own showroom or exclusive brand outlet the items cover the facade, the window, the display cars or mannequins, the demo units, the accessories wall, the billing counter, the trial rooms, staff grooming and the cash and security steps. This guide gives a complete opening and closing checklist for a showroom and for an apparel EBO, and the timing rules that make the app worth having.
What the app does
The opening checklist appears on the store phone at 09:30 in a store that opens at 10:00 and nowhere else. The store manager or the opening staff work through 15 to 25 items, each with a live photo, a yes or no or a scored answer, and a comment. The list closes with a timestamp. The closing checklist appears at 20:30 in a store that closes at 21:00 and closes the same way. Late is visible, incomplete is visible, and backdating is not possible because the photo is taken in the app and the time is the server's.
Each failed item can raise a ticket by itself: the facade light that is out becomes a maintenance ticket with an owner and a deadline before the store manager has finished the list. Head office sees a network view by 10:15: which stores opened on time, which are still open at 10:40, which items failed most often. The dealer principal or franchisee gets the same view for his outlets.
The checklists below are starting points, not templates to copy blind. The right list for your stores comes from walking one store at opening with the display standards document, described at /learn/store-operations-checklist-template-india/.
Showroom opening checklist
For an automobile, two-wheeler, consumer durables or electronics showroom with display units, demo bays and a billing counter. Window means the time after opening within which the item must be completed.
| Item | Photo | Audit question | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facade, signage and shutter | Full facade from the road | Signage lit and clean, shutter fully up, no posters or debris? | Before opening |
| Entrance and glass | Entrance doors | Glass clean, mats in place, door sensor working? | Before opening |
| Floor and lighting | Main floor from the entrance | All lights on, floor swept and mopped, AC running? | Before opening |
| Display cars or units | Each display position | Clean, positioned per layout, price board present and current, doors closed? | By opening |
| Demo units | Demo bay | Powered on, charged, demo content loaded, no exposed cables? | By opening |
| Accessories wall | Wall from two metres | Stocked to layout, hero slot correct, price tickets present? | By opening |
| Campaign elements | Standees and counter cards | Current campaign only, old pieces removed? | By opening |
| Billing counter and systems | Counter with screen | POS or DMS logged in, printer working, card machine online, counter clear? | By opening |
| Customer seating and refreshments | Lounge area | Clean, water and cups stocked, brochures current? | By opening |
| Washroom | Washroom door open | Clean, stocked, working? | By opening |
| Staff grooming and attendance | Team line-up | Uniform, badge, grooming per standard, headcount against roster? | By opening |
| Test drive or demo vehicle | Vehicle with fuel gauge | Fuelled, clean, documents in glove box, keys logged? | Within 30 minutes |
| Cash float and petty cash | Opening float count | Float matches the closing count, register signed? | Within 30 minutes |
| CCTV and alarm | DVR screen | All cameras live, alarm disarmed and logged? | Before opening |
| Day plan | No photo | Deliveries, test drives and service pickups for the day reviewed with the team? | Within 30 minutes |
Showroom closing checklist
| Item | Photo | Audit question | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily sales report | No photo | Walk-ins, enquiries, test drives, bookings and deliveries entered? | Before closing |
| Cash and card reconciliation | Settlement slip | Cash counted against POS, card settlement done, variance explained? | Before closing |
| Cash deposit or safe | Safe closed | Cash in safe or deposited, register signed by two people? | Before closing |
| Demo units powered down | Demo bay | Units charged or switched off per standard, covers on? | At closing |
| Display cars or units | Display positions | Doors locked, keys in key cabinet, cabinet locked? | At closing |
| Accessories wall and stock room | Stock room door | Wall counted, stock room locked, high-value items secured? | At closing |
| Test drive vehicles | Vehicle parking | Vehicles parked, keys logged, fuel level noted? | At closing |
| Floor, lounge and washroom | Main floor | Cleaned, bins emptied, refreshments cleared? | At closing |
| Lights, AC and equipment | Switchboard | Non-display lights off, AC off, printers and screens off? | At closing |
| Facade lighting | Facade from the road | Signage lit for the night, facade lights on timer? | At closing |
| CCTV and alarm | DVR screen | All cameras recording, alarm armed? | At closing |
| Shutter and locks | Locked shutter | Shutter down and locked, keys with the named holder? | After closing |
| Handover note | No photo | Pending deliveries, complaints and follow-ups for tomorrow noted? | After closing |
Apparel EBO opening checklist
For an apparel or footwear exclusive brand outlet in a mall or on a high street, with a window, mannequins, trial rooms and a billing counter.
| Item | Photo | Audit question | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Facade and fascia | Full frontage | Fascia lit and clean, festive dressing per docket, no stray notices? | Before opening |
| Window | Window from the marked spot | Mannequins in this week's docket looks, backdrop and props in place, glass clean? | Before opening |
| Entrance | Entrance | Doors open, mat in place, security tag gate working, greeter position staffed? | By opening |
| Floor lighting and music | Floor from the entrance | All lights on, music at brand level, AC running, floor clean? | Before opening |
| Mannequins on the floor | Each mannequin group | Styled per docket, complete looks, no price tickets showing? | By opening |
| Display standards on the floor | Each zone | Folds, hangers and spacing per standard, size runs complete, campaign hero at front? | By opening |
| Campaign elements | Standees and counter cards | Current campaign, correct offer text, old pieces removed? | By opening |
| Trial rooms | Each trial room | Clean, lit, mirror clean, hooks and stool in place, no stock left inside? | By opening |
| Billing counter | Counter | POS logged in, printer and card machine working, carry bags and tissue stocked, counter clear? | By opening |
| Staff grooming and attendance | Team line-up | Uniform of the day, badge, grooming per standard, headcount against roster? | By opening |
| Cash float | Float count | Float matches closing count, register signed? | Within 30 minutes |
| Stock room | Stock room | Aisle clear, cartons received yesterday opened and tagged? | Within 30 minutes |
| CCTV | DVR screen | All cameras live? | Before opening |
| Day brief | No photo | Target, offers and docket changes briefed to the team? | Within 30 minutes |
Apparel EBO closing checklist
| Item | Photo | Audit question | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily sales report | No photo | Walk-ins, bills, units, footfall counter reading and returns entered? | Before closing |
| Cash and card reconciliation | Settlement slip | Cash against POS, card settlement, wallet settlements, variance explained? | Before closing |
| Cash deposit or safe | Safe closed | Cash in safe or deposited, register signed by two people? | Before closing |
| Trial rooms cleared | Each trial room | No stock inside, hangers returned, floor clean? | At closing |
| Floor recovery | Each zone | Folds and hangers reset, sizes re-sorted, campaign hero restored? | At closing |
| Window and mannequins | Window | Untouched by customers, looks complete, lights on timer? | At closing |
| Stock room | Stock room | Returns and damaged items tagged and logged, room locked? | At closing |
| Security tags and gate | Gate | Gate tested, tag count against bills for the day? | At closing |
| Lights, AC, music | Switchboard | Floor lights off except window, AC and music off? | At closing |
| Bins and back area | Back area | Bins emptied, pantry clean, no food left? | At closing |
| CCTV | DVR screen | Recording, storage not full? | At closing |
| Shutter and mall handover | Locked shutter | Shutter locked, mall security informed, keys with the named holder? | After closing |
| Handover note | No photo | Alterations due, customer holds and follow-ups for tomorrow noted? | After closing |
Timing rules that make the app worth having
- The list opens in its window and nowhere else. An opening checklist that can be completed at 15:00 is a diary; one that opens at 09:30 and is marked late after 10:15 is a control.
- Each item has its own window where it matters. Facade, lighting and CCTV are before opening; the float count and day plan can be within 30 minutes. The table above shows the split.
- Late is a state, not a failure. A list completed at 10:20 is recorded as late with the minutes, so the network view shows a store that is late every Saturday rather than a store that is red.
- Missed escalates by itself. A list not started by 10:30 sends a message to the area manager; not started by 11:00, to the regional head. Nobody at HQ watches a screen for this.
- A photo carries the server's time and the GPS position. A phone with its clock changed still submits at the real time; a photo from another location is flagged.
- The closing list cannot be completed before the daily sales report is entered. Sequence the items so the thing stores skip is the thing that opens the rest.
- The weekly view is the one that matters. Any store is late once; the store that is late four times a week in the same item has a roster problem the store manager cannot fix alone.
The measured way: BorentisOps
BorentisOps at /solutions/products/borentisops/ runs opening, closing, shift and weekly checklists that open at the right time in the right store, with a live photo and an audit question on every item, per-item windows, late and missed as states with escalation up the hierarchy, and a ticket raised from any failed item with an owner and an SLA. Item text shows in Hindi, English and Hinglish, and the lists complete offline in a basement store and sync when the signal returns. The builder is no-code, so the tables above can be loaded and edited by the operations team in an afternoon, and the same routine can differ by store format.
The morning network view and the 19:30 digest email show which stores opened late, which items failed most, and which stores repeat the same miss, next to the sales-conversation score from Borentis Floor on one store scorecard. It is priced per store, so every member of the opening and closing team is on the app without a seat count.
Frequently asked questions
What should be on a store opening checklist?
Everything a customer could notice in the first minute, plus the money and safety steps: facade and signage, entrance, lighting and AC, the window or display positions, demo units powered on, the accessories wall, campaign elements, the billing counter and systems, trial rooms or lounge, washroom, staff grooming and headcount, the cash float, CCTV and a day brief. Fifteen to twenty-five items, each with a photo and a question.
What should be on a store closing checklist?
The daily sales report, cash and card reconciliation, cash to safe or deposit with two signatures, demo units powered down, display units or trial rooms secured, floor recovery, stock room locked, security gate tested, lights and AC off with the window lit, CCTV recording, the shutter locked with a named key holder, and a handover note for tomorrow. Sequence it so the sales report opens the rest.
How does a checklist app stop stores completing the opening list at 3 pm?
The list opens only in its window, for example 09:30 to 10:15 in a store that opens at 10:00, and is recorded as late with the minutes after that. Every photo carries the server's time and the GPS position, so a phone clock cannot be changed to fake it. A list not started by a set time escalates to the area manager by itself.
Should the opening checklist be the same for every store?
The structure should be the same so that stores can be compared, but the items differ by format: a showroom has display cars, demo units and test drive vehicles; an apparel EBO has a window, mannequins and trial rooms. A good app lets one brand run two or three formats with shared items and format-specific ones, and reports them on one network view.
Related reading
- BorentisOps, the store operations platform
- Store operations checklist template for India
- How to stop backdated store photos and fake checklists
- Exclusive brand outlet operations checklist
Where Borentis applies this
- Execution Scorecards: See the floor before the P&L does.
- Playbook Adherence: Your playbook, finally observed.
Borentis is the Agentic Operating System for Customer Interactions, built for Indian retail floors: consented one-tap capture on the advisor's phone, every conversation scored against your playbook with the evidence behind every number, leads created when a number is heard, and coaching from your own best conversations.