Store manager duties: daily, weekly and monthly checklist

A store manager's duties come down to running one branch so that it hits its numbers and keeps the brand's standards, every day, including the days the manager is off. In Philippine chains the same job goes by several names: store manager, branch manager, branch head, outlet manager or restaurant manager. In small chains, a store supervisor often does it.

The title changes, the work doesn't. Branch manager duties and responsibilities fall into five areas.

• People: hiring with HR, scheduling, training, coaching, discipline and keeping good staff.
• Product and service: making sure what the customer gets matches the brand's recipe, service steps and look.
• Money: sales against target, cash handling, labour cost, stock, waste and shrinkage.
• The customer: handling complaints at the counter and online, and keeping the branch clean, safe and pleasant.
• Standards and reporting: following the operations manual, passing audits, sending reports to the area manager on time.

Print this and keep it at the counter. The manager on duty initials each line. On the store manager's day off, the shift supervisor uses the same sheet, which is the point: the standard doesn't depend on who is in.

• Before opening: check the endorsement or logbook from last night's closer; count the opening cash fund; check deliveries against the order; check that equipment works (fryer, espresso machine, aircon, POS).
• Before opening: walk the branch as a customer would, from outside the door to the restroom; check that prices, menu boards and promos are the current ones.
• Opening huddle (5 minutes): today's sales target, who is on which station, one standard to focus on, any complaint from yesterday and what changed.
• During peak hours: be on the floor, not in the office. Watch the line, the wait time and the product leaving the counter. Step in on complaints early.
• Mid-shift: spot-check stock of the top sellers and reorder before they run out; check cleanliness of tables, floor and restroom on a schedule.
• Shift change: hand over cash and endorsement in writing; check the incoming team is complete and in uniform.
• Every day: read new reviews of the branch on Google and Facebook, and answer them or pass them to whoever answers for the brand.
• Closing: count and reconcile cash and e-payments against the POS; record waste; lock up stock; write the endorsement for the opener.
• Closing: send the daily sales report to the area manager in the format they use.

Daily work keeps the branch running. Weekly and monthly work keeps it improving.

• Weekly: make the next week's schedule, matched to the busy days and hours, and post it early.
• Weekly: count the key stock items and compare with what the POS says you sold; investigate any big gap.
• Weekly: review sales by day and hour against target and last year; plan for paydays (the 15th and 30th) and long weekends.
• Weekly: one-on-one with each shift supervisor; on-the-job coaching for one crew member.
• Weekly: read the week's complaints, at the counter and in reviews, and pick one thing to fix.
• Monthly: full inventory count; review waste, shrinkage and labour cost against budget.
• Monthly: go through the audit or mystery shopping report with the area manager and agree two or three fixes with dates.
• Monthly: check the branch's Google profile: hours, special hours for upcoming holidays, phone number, and photos that still look like the branch.
• Monthly: plan local activity with the area manager, such as a tie-up with an office or school nearby.
• Monthly: training records, staff evaluations, and hiring needs for the next month.

Every chain has its own list, but most store manager KPIs are some version of these. Know your numbers before your area manager asks.

• Sales against target, by day and by week, and against the same period last year.
• Transactions and average sale per customer: is the branch losing customers, or selling less to each one?
• Labour cost as a share of sales, and overtime hours.
• Food or product cost, waste and inventory variance: what you should have used against what you did use.
• Cash variance: overs and shorts per shift.
• Audit and mystery shopping scores, and whether last month's fixes held.
• Complaints: how many, what about, and how fast they were resolved.
• Google rating, new reviews this month, and reviews still unanswered.
• Staff turnover and training completion.

Many customers meet a branch on Google Maps before they meet the crew. Whether the store manager edits the profile or head office does depends on the brand, so ask. Google lets the owner of a profile add other people as managers with their own Google Account. Managers can edit hours, reply to reviews and post photos, but can't add or remove users. That is usually the right access for a store manager. Our guide to Google profiles for several locations shows how brands set this up.

The duties are small and regular. Keep the hours right, especially in a mall that changes its hours. Set holiday hours ahead: Google's special hours cover a temporary change or a closure of up to 6 days in a row. The free holiday hours checker shows the upcoming Philippine holidays. Replace photos when the branch changes.

Then the reviews. Our suggestion: answer 1 to 3 star reviews within one working day and 4 to 5 star reviews within 3 days, or pass them on if the brand answers from head office. Replies are posted under the business's name, not yours, and Google notifies the customer when you reply. If the same complaint comes up twice in a week, tell the area manager. The brand's review response guidelines set the tone and the full escalation ladder. Handle the complaint at the branch too; how to handle angry customers has scripts for the counter.

One thing a store manager must not do is set review targets for the crew. Google's policy bans "merchants requesting that staff solicit a certain number of reviews". It also bans asking for reviews that name a staff member, and pressuring customers to review while they are in the branch. Ask every customer the same way, or not at all, and let the branch's rating reflect the service.

The store manager owns the branch's results. The assistant store manager runs it with them and takes over on their days off. A duty manager or shift supervisor runs one shift: opening, closing, the cash and the crew on that shift. An area manager sits above several store managers and checks the branch against the brand. Our area manager job description covers that job and the weekly branch scorecard.

Recruiters skim. Write duties as results with numbers, and keep each line to one line. Replace the brackets with your own figures.

• Managed a [12]-person branch of [BRAND] in [CITY], open [7] days a week, with sales of [₱X] a month.
• Grew branch sales [X]% against last year by fixing staffing at peak hours and the stock of top sellers.
• Cut cash variance from [X] to [Y] a month with a written turnover between shifts.
• Trained [X] crew, [Y] of them promoted to shift supervisor.
• Scored [X]/100 average on monthly audits and mystery shopping visits over [12] months.
• Kept the branch's Google hours and holiday hours current and replied to low-star customer reviews within [one working day].