Bar opening and closing checklist
Get the bar ready before the doors open and make sure nothing gets missed after last call. Use these opening and closing checklists to cover prep, cleaning, stock, cash and safety, then download and customize them for your team.
The opening and closing lists
Order the lines the way someone walks the bar. Each line says when the job is done. The bartender closing checklist runs from last call until the manager signs the sheet.
Opening checklist
Scroll sideways for all three columns.
| Area | Check | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Hand sink | Stock the hand sink and keep it clear | Soap and towels in; nothing stored in it |
| Sanitizer | Mix it for the buckets and sink | Strength checked with a test strip |
| Glass washer | Fill and run once | Sanitizer strength or rinse temperature in the manufacturer's range |
| Fridges | Read and log each thermometer | Milk, cream and prep at 41 °F (5 °C) or below; any warmer fridge reported to the manager |
| Prep on hand | Check every date | Out-of-date prep thrown out and logged |
| Ice | Fill the wells from a clean bin | Wells full; scoop in its holder, not in the ice |
| Prep | Work through the prep list | Made for how busy tonight will be; labeled and dated |
| Garnish | Cut and store | Covered and chilled; herbs in water |
| Rail and well | Set each station | Bottles in house order; spouts clean; tools in place |
| Back bar | Turn labels out; check stock | Low bottles replaced; the 86 list (drinks you can't serve tonight) written |
| Glassware | Polish and stock | Enough for the first hour |
| Draft | Read the keg cooler; pour one beer per line | Cooler at 36 to 38 °F; beer clear, good head |
| Register | Open the shift | Float (the drawer's starting cash) counted; matches the sheet |
| Room | Walk the floor and restrooms | Clean, stocked, lights and music set |
| Pre-shift | Brief the team | The 86 list, bookings, one drink to recommend |
Bar closing checklist
Scroll sideways for all three columns.
| Area | Task | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| Last call | Call it at your bar's time; stop serving when your license says | Last orders closed out |
| Stock count (count nights only) | Count stock before anything is cleaned away | Every shelf counted in the usual order |
| Prep | Sort today's prep | Labeled, dated and chilled, or thrown out |
| Garnish | Clear the cut garnish | Thrown out or stored |
| Soda gun | Soak the nozzle and its holder | No syrup film |
| Bottles | Wipe the necks; cover the spouts | No sticky necks; labels out |
| Ice wells | Empty and clean | Clean and dry |
| Tools | Wash and sanitize tins, jiggers, strainers | Set out to dry |
| Glass washer | Drain and clean as the manufacturer says | Empty, door open |
| Espresso machine | Backflush; clean the group heads | Cleaned as the manufacturer says |
| Fridges | Log the temperatures | Logged; doors shut |
| Losses | Log spills, breakage and comps | Each one written down with a reason |
| Restock | Bottles, mixers and glasses to the opening levels | Anything short on the order list |
| Surfaces | Bar top, rail, mats, floor, drains | Clean and dry |
| Cash | Close the register | See the next section |
| Walk-through | Restrooms, stockroom, back door | Nobody inside; doors and windows shut |
| Lock-up | Trash out, lights off, doors locked, alarm set | Manager has signed |
The file has an opening sheet (19 lines, including extras such as menus) and a closing sheet (23 lines, with a "Your rule" prompt for each cash step), both filled in as an example. Critical checks (food temperatures and dates, sanitizer, the hand sink, cash and lock-up) are marked with a !. Each line gets a status (Done, Needs attention or N/A), and the list counts what is finished and how many lines need attention. Under each list is a handover box for anything not done or not right, with the next step and who is on it, and a line for the next shift to initial. A third sheet holds the jobs not done every shift, and two blank sheets (20 rows each) are for your own lists. Each list prints on one page.
Cash and the jobs between shifts
Cash at the end of the night
A new closing bartender needs the cash routine written down more than anything else. The table lists the steps; your bar writes the rule for each one.
- Print the end-of-day report from the POSWho prints it; which totals they read
- Count the drawerWho counts; who watches
- Take out the floatHow much stays; where it is kept
- Record any difference (over or short)The difference that needs a manager; where it is written
- Record card and cash tipsHow tips are logged; when they are paid out
- Put the cash in the safeWho opens the safe; where each deposit is logged
- Second person signsWho signs when only one manager is working
Jobs that are not done every shift
These jobs are easy to forget. Give each one a day and a name on the sheet.
- Clean draft lines with a caustic cleaner; take the faucets apartEvery two weeks (14 days). Brewers Association, Draught Beer Quality Manual, 4th ed., p. 65
- Remove mineral buildup in draft lines with acid cleanerEvery three months. Same, p. 65
- Clean the ice machine, ice bin, soda nozzles, syrup linesAs the manufacturer says, or before dirt or mold builds up. FDA Food Code 2026, 4-602.11(E)(4)
- Stock countEvery week, on the same night. House rule
How to use the checklist
With a written checklist, nobody has to remember a job or guess when it is done. The close leaves the bar ready for the opener and records anything lost during the night. If something goes wrong, the signed sheets show what was done.
Print one sheet per shift, or use a shared spreadsheet on a tablet. Whoever does a line initials it and writes the time. The manager on duty signs at the end. Keep the signed sheets: they also show a new hire what a normal shift is.
Cut the lines you don't need and add your own, but keep each list to one page. If you are opening a bar, write both lists before the first service.
Before the first guest
Check the dates on existing prep before you make more: cold prep can go out of date overnight. For food made in house that needs cold holding, the US FDA Food Code sets 7 days at most; whether an item needs that depends on how it's classified. The day it was made counts as day 1. Your own limit can be shorter: see the shelf life for each prep.
If the back bar has no Amaro Nonino, the Paper Plane goes on the 86 list until the next delivery. The team hears it at the briefing, before a guest orders one.
A busy night needs more batches than a quiet one, so make prep to match. A prep list turns that into quantities.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Food Code 2026. Cold holding at 41 °F (5 °C) or below: 3-501.16(A)(2). Untreated shell eggs in equipment with ambient air at 45 °F (7 °C) or below: 3-501.16(B). Ready-to-eat TCS food made in house held 7 days at most, day of prep counted as day 1: 3-501.17(A). A test kit for sanitizer concentration: 4-302.14. Hand sink used for handwashing only: 5-205.11(B); soap and hand drying: 6-301.11 and 6-301.12. Ice bins, beverage nozzles, ice makers and beverage and syrup lines cleaned as the manufacturer specifies, or often enough to prevent soil or mold: 4-602.11(E)(4), chapter 4.
- Brewers Association Technical Committee, Draught Beer Quality Manual, fourth edition (2019). Every two weeks (14 days), caustic clean and faucets disassembled; quarterly, lines de-stoned with an acid cleaner: chapter 7, p. 65. Keg cooler air and beer at 36 to 38 °F, and lines cleaned every 7 to 14 days: Behind the Scenes Checklist, pp. 49 to 50.
- Sarah Dawn MarsWrote this · Head of customer success and community
Sarah co-founded and ran Teresa Cocktail Bar, a Tales of the Cocktail nominee. She was also the first customer success hire at Loaded and now builds Overproof.
Checklist questions
Who should do the closing checklist?
The closing bartender works through it. A manager, or the most senior person on the close, checks it and signs. Closing takes judgment, such as which prep to keep or what to do about a short drawer, so give it to someone with experience.
Do draft lines need cleaning if the bar sells little beer?
Yes. Clean them at least every two weeks, however little beer goes through the system. The Draught Beer Quality Manual says so; its Behind the Scenes Checklist gives 7 to 14 days. Check your local rules too.
Can raw shell eggs go in the same fridge as the juice?
Yes, if that fridge is at 41 °F (5 °C) or below. Milk, cream and prep need that temperature. Under the Food Code, raw shell eggs only need 45 °F (7 °C) or below, so the colder fridge is fine for them too. Your local code may differ.
A pre-shift checklist built from the plan
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