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Free template · Head office and area managers

New Store Opening Readiness Checklist Template

Open each new store at the standard of your best one, instead of letting it find its own standard in the first month.

Who and whenOpening manager, from two weeks before opening to opening day
Serves the goalNew stores open at the standard of the best store
Counts towardStore presentation
Run this in RakuOps
14 checks · 2 photosTap a check to tick it off

1Two weeks out

  • Fit-out snagging list closed
  • Equipment installed, commissioned and serviced
  • Licences, insurance and inspections in place
  • Tills, card terminals and network tested

2One week out

  • Team hired, trained and rota published
  • Opening stock ordered; delivery dates confirmed
  • Every daily checklist this store runs is set up and assigned

3Day before

  • First delivery received and checked
  • Display set to match the best-store photoPhoto
  • Store frontPhoto
  • Practice run done: the team serves friends and family

4Opening day

  • Opening checklist completed
  • Doors opened atTime
  • Issues to fix in week oneNotes

In RakuOps, a check answered No, a reading outside its limits, or a photo that does not match your best store's opens a fix for that store, with an owner and a due date.

Why chains run this check

A new store's habits are set in its first weeks. If it opens before its checklists, training and display standard are in place, it builds its own way of doing things, and that is hard to undo.

This list makes "ready" mean the same thing for every opening, including having every daily checklist assigned before the doors open.

How it runs at every store

  1. One standard. Send this checklist to every store, on a schedule, to whoever is on shift.
  2. Evidence back. Photos, readings and answers come back from the phone, timestamped and named.
  3. Problems become fixes. Anything that fails opens a fix for that store, due in hours, not at the next visit.
  4. Best against worst. The scorecard ranks your stores on it and shows which check the worst store misses.

Run it at one store tomorrow morning

Free for one store, with unlimited users and no card. The checklist arrives ready to run, exactly as it is on this page, and you can change any check.

Run this template free
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Frequently asked questions

Is this template free?

Yes. Print it, save it as a PDF, or tick it off on this page. To run it at every store, with photos, readings that open a fix when they are out of range, and a scorecard that ranks your stores, use it in RakuOps. The free plan covers one store, with unlimited users.

When should a new store opening checklist start?

Two weeks before opening is the minimum for most stores; larger formats start four to six weeks out. The last week matters most, because that is when training and stock come together.

Why set up the daily checklists before opening?

So the store runs them from its first day. A store that starts without them has to be talked into them later.

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