How to automate your front-of-house team

#1 - Restaurant opening checklist

When in the day: First thing, before the restaurant opens for service.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager or the senior FOH team member opening.

What it is: A morning walk-through of the dining room that confirms the restaurant is ready to receive guests. The team checks that tables are set to spec, glassware is polished, menus are clean and in the right places, the host stand is set up, music and lighting are at the right level, and the booking diary is reviewed. Anything missing or off-standard gets flagged before doors open.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: At 11am the manager walks the dining room, finds two tables missing their full cutlery sets (the closing team last night was short), photographs them, and the canvas captures the gap. A waiter sets them up before service. Without the check, the first two guests at noon notice they're missing a knife and the experience starts on the back foot.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Restaurant opens go wrong in dozens of small ways — table settings, menus, lighting, music, temperature — and a tired closing team last night leaves the gaps. The checklist makes every opening dependency visible and creates the dated handover the morning team can trust.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (opening walk: tables, settings, menus, host stand, lighting, music, bookings)
• 1 photo capture for any flagged item
• 1 notes field for issues raised
• 1 signature from the opening manager

More variations: Show more restaurant opening checklist templates →

#2 - Opening safety check

When in the day: First thing, alongside the opening checklist.

Who runs it: Duty manager or whoever's opening.

What it is: A short safety-focused walk-through that confirms the site is safe to open to the public. Fire exits clear, emergency lighting working, fire extinguishers in place and in date, first-aid kit complete, no spillages or trip hazards, electrical equipment in good order, signage where it should be. Anything failing gets flagged for fix-before-open.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: At 11am the duty manager walks the site, finds the side fire-exit blocked by a delivery pallet, photographs it, and the canvas escalates. The pallet is moved before doors open. Without the check, the exit stays blocked through service and becomes the first thing the EHO flags on their next visit.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Public-facing sites carry a much higher safety burden than back-of-house, and an unsafe restaurant is a closed restaurant when the EHO arrives. The opening safety check separates "we opened the doors" from "we opened the doors safely" and creates the dated proof that the daily check is happening.

Steps included:

• 1 checklist (safety walk: fire exits, emergency lighting, extinguishers, first aid, trip hazards, electrical, signage)
• 1 photo capture for any flagged item
• 1 notes field for issues
• 1 signature from the duty manager

More variations: Show more opening safety check templates →

#3 - Workplace safety walk

When in the day: Mid-shift, during the service or between services.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager.

What it is: A walk-the-site safety check that picks up the issues a busy shift creates — spillages on the floor, trip hazards, broken glass, a fire exit that's been propped open for ventilation, a fridge that's drifted, an electrical lead trailing across a walkway. The check is light enough to run multiple times a shift.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: At 8pm the restaurant manager walks the site, finds a wine spill near the bar that's been wiped but not signed off, finds the kitchen back door propped open with a chair, and photographs both. The canvas escalates immediately, the door is closed, and the floor is properly cleaned. Without the walk, the propped door is a security incident waiting to happen and the wet floor becomes a slip claim.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Restaurants get unsafe fast during a busy service — staff cut corners, things break, hazards accumulate. The mid-shift walk catches them while there's still time to fix them. The dated record also shows you take safety seriously, which matters for both the EHO and your insurer.

Steps included:

• 1 walk checklist (floors, exits, walkways, electrical, fridges, signage)
• 1 photo capture for any flagged hazard
• 1 notes field
• 1 signature from the manager

More variations: Show more workplace safety walk templates →

#4 - Daily restaurant cleaning checklist

When in the day: Through the shift, plus a deep clean after close.

Who runs it: FOH team — usually the duty manager assigning sections.

What it is: A rolling check that the dining room's hygiene-critical surfaces are kept clean — tables wiped and reset between sittings, condiments refilled, menus wiped, host stand kept tidy, toilets checked hourly, floors swept between services. The post-service deep clean covers windows, skirting, light fittings, and the back-of-house FOH areas.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: At 8:30pm the canvas pings the duty manager — the hourly toilet check is overdue. They send a waiter, who finds an empty soap dispenser and reports it. The canvas logs it, the dispenser is refilled, and the next guest finds it stocked. Without the check, the soap stays empty for the rest of the night and a guest leaves a one-star review.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: FOH areas degrade fast during service, and busy staff don't notice. The check puts the standards in front of the team at known intervals and creates a dated record of when each task was done — which matters for the EHO and for any guest-experience review.

Steps included:

• 1 rolling checklist (tables, condiments, menus, host stand, toilets, floors)
• 1 photo capture for any flagged surface
• 1 notes field
• 1 signature from the cleaning team member

More variations: Show more daily restaurant cleaning checklist templates →

#5 - Restaurant closing checklist

When in the day: Last thing, after the last guest leaves.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager or the last FOH team member out.

What it is: A final walk-through that confirms the restaurant is safe to leave and ready for tomorrow. Tables are stripped and reset, candles extinguished, music and lighting off, doors and windows secured, fridges closed, till is cashed up, the booking diary is set for tomorrow, and the closing notes are written for the morning team.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: At midnight the restaurant manager walks the site, photographs the cash count, locks the till, sets the alarm, and ticks the canvas. The morning team arrives to a site that's safe and ready, with last night's notes telling them about the broken candle holder on table 12 that needs replacing. Without the check, a candle is left lit overnight or the till float walks out the door with the last waiter.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: A restaurant left unsafe overnight is how fires, thefts, and security incidents start. The check is the final guard before the keys turn, and the dated record proves it was done — useful for incident reviews and for handing over cleanly between manager teams.

Steps included:

• 1 closing checklist (tables, candles, lighting, doors, windows, fridges, till, diary)
• 1 photo of the cash count
• 1 notes field for the opening team
• 1 signature from the closing manager

More variations: Show more restaurant closing checklist templates →

#6 - Allergen training

When in the day: Foundational — at induction, refreshed when the menu changes.

Who runs it: Every FOH team member who takes orders or speaks to guests.

What it is: A training programme covering the 14 major allergens, the dishes on your menu that contain each, the cross-contamination risks in your kitchen, and the protocol for handling a guest disclosure. The FOH-specific version emphasises the language and questions to use ("Are you allergic, or is it a preference?") and the chain of escalation back to the kitchen.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: A guest tells their waiter they have a severe nut allergy. The canvas-trained waiter immediately stops the order, opens the allergen matrix on Pilla, confirms which dishes are safe, alerts the kitchen via the canvas, and the meal is prepared in a clean section. Without the training, the waiter says "I think the chicken's fine" and the guest ends up in A&E.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Allergen incidents are usually FOH failures — wrong information given at the point of order. The training closes that gap, creates a dated record of the team's understanding, and gives an EHO exactly what they want to see during an allergen-focused visit.

Steps included:

• 1 rich-text training module (the 14 allergens, your menu's risks)
• 1 protocol walkthrough for guest disclosures
• 1 understanding check on the 14 allergens
• 1 signature confirming understanding

More variations: Show more allergen training templates →

#7 - Personal hygiene training

When in the day: Foundational — at induction, refreshed periodically.

Who runs it: Every FOH team member.

What it is: A training programme covering handwashing, uniform standards, jewellery rules, hair restraint, the 48-hour exclusion rule for illness, and the FOH-specific points about handling glassware, cutlery, and bread without contamination. The canvas walks each team member through the standards and captures their understanding.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: A new waiter joins on Friday. Before service, the canvas walks them through the hygiene rules — handwash after clearing plates, no jewellery on a hand that touches glassware, the illness exclusion rule. They sign off. Two weeks later they're sent home for a stomach bug, and the protocol they learned at induction is enforced automatically. Without the training, the standards drift and the team is told the rules inconsistently.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: FOH staff touch plates, glasses, cutlery, and bread that go directly to guests — a hand-hygiene failure becomes a food-poisoning incident. The training programme gets the rules in front of every team member and creates a dated record an EHO can audit.

Steps included:

• 1 rich-text training module (handwashing, uniform, jewellery, illness, glassware handling)
• 1 understanding check
• 1 photo capture of the team member in uniform (optional)
• 1 signature confirming understanding

More variations: Show more personal hygiene training templates →

#8 - Food poisoning reporting

When in the day: As needed — triggered by a guest complaint or illness report.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager.

What it is: A structured complaint-capture workflow for when a guest reports falling ill after a meal. The canvas captures the guest's details, the meal eaten, the time of illness onset, the symptoms, anyone else on the table who ate the same, and what's been done about it. The data goes into the kitchen-side audit trail and triggers the EHO-notification protocol if the case meets the threshold.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: A guest calls the next morning to say they were unwell after Saturday's lunch. The manager opens the canvas, captures the details — dish, time, symptoms — and the canvas pulls in the kitchen records for that dish at that time. The check turns up no other complaints and the temperature log shows the dish was probed and passed. The manager has a clean evidence pack to respond with. Without the workflow, the call is handled inconsistently and the kitchen records are searched in a panic.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Food poisoning complaints are high-stakes — they can become EHO investigations or legal claims. The structured capture means every complaint is handled the same way, with the same evidence pulled, by whichever manager picks up the call. The dated record is what your insurer and the EHO will both ask for.

Steps included:

• 1 guest details capture (name, contact, meal date)
• 1 meal capture (dishes eaten, time of meal)
• 1 symptoms capture (onset time, severity, duration)
• 1 group-size capture (others on the table)
• 1 evidence-pull from the kitchen records
• 1 manager signature

More variations: Show more food poisoning reporting templates →

#9 - Onboarding

When in the day: As needed — runs when a new FOH starter joins.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager or the senior FOH team member assigned as buddy.

What it is: A structured first-week onboarding workflow for new FOH starters. The canvas covers day-1 (uniform, locker, tour, allergen training kicked off), week-1 (shadowing a senior, learning the menu, learning the till, fire safety briefing), and the settling-in check (rating, feedback, gaps). The canvas captures each completed step and creates a dated record of training.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: A new waiter starts on Monday. The canvas walks the manager and the new starter through day-1 — uniform fitted, locker assigned, allergen training booked, restaurant tour. By Friday the canvas prompts a settling-in conversation, captures the new starter's questions, and flags anything missed. Without the workflow, the new starter learns by absorption and the manager has no record they were trained.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Most new FOH starters who quit do so in the first week. The structured onboarding closes that gap, gets the new starter up to speed faster, and creates a dated training record that protects you legally (allergen training, fire briefing, etc.). The settling-in check also flags issues before they become resignations.

Steps included:

• 1 day-1 checklist (uniform, locker, tour, IT setup)
• 1 week-1 checklist (shadowing, menu learning, till training, fire briefing)
• 1 settling-in conversation prompt
• 1 rating + notes capture
• 1 signature from manager and new starter

More variations: Show more onboarding templates →

#10 - One-to-ones

When in the day: Recurring — typically monthly or fortnightly per team member.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager (or the team member's direct line manager).

What it is: A structured 1:1 workflow that gives every team member regular face-time with their manager. The canvas walks both sides through a consistent set of questions — what's going well, what's frustrating, what they need from you, what they're working on next — and captures the action points that come out. The cadence is set per-team-member.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: The restaurant manager runs a 30-minute 1:1 with a waiter. The canvas surfaces last month's actions (still outstanding: bar training), captures this month's frustrations (rota changes too last-minute), and logs the action points (manager will publish rotas a week ahead, waiter will start bar training next Monday). Without the workflow, the conversation drifts, actions are forgotten, and the team feels unheard.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Most FOH resignations come from things that could have been raised in a 1:1 but weren't, because the 1:1 either didn't happen or wasn't structured. The canvas enforces the cadence, gives the conversation a shape, and tracks actions across sessions — turning 1:1s from "a chat" into the most valuable retention tool you have.

Steps included:

• 1 carry-over action list (from last session)
• 1 "what's going well" prompt
• 1 "what's frustrating" prompt
• 1 "what do you need" prompt
• 1 action capture for this session
• 1 signature from both parties

More variations: Show more one-to-one templates →

#11 - Performance reviews

When in the day: Recurring — annually or half-yearly per team member.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager (or the team member's line manager).

What it is: A structured review workflow that takes a more substantial look at a team member's performance, growth, and goals than a 1:1 does. The canvas walks both sides through the team member's responsibilities, achievements, areas to develop, and goals for the next cycle. The output is a dated, signed record that anchors pay, promotions, and any formal HR processes.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: A waiter's annual review is due. The canvas pulls in their 1:1 history, surfaces their action points from the past year, captures the manager's review notes, and captures the waiter's self-review. They meet, talk through it, agree goals for next year, and both sign off. Without the workflow, the review is verbal, the records are inconsistent, and any future HR process is built on shaky ground.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: Annual reviews matter — they're the data behind pay rises, promotions, and any underperformance process. The canvas creates a consistent, dated record that the team member, the manager, and HR can all rely on. It also forces structure into a conversation that managers often dread and rush.

Steps included:

• 1 responsibilities review (the role, what's expected)
• 1 achievements capture (what went well this year)
• 1 development capture (what to work on)
• 1 goals capture (next cycle's goals)
• 1 self-review from the team member
• 1 signature from both parties

More variations: Show more performance review templates →

#12 - Weekly management meeting

When in the day: Recurring — weekly, typically before service on a quiet day.

Who runs it: Restaurant manager with the leadership team (sous chef, bar manager, FOH supervisor).

What it is: A structured weekly meeting workflow that turns the leadership huddle from "a chat" into a focused review of last week's performance and next week's plan. The canvas walks the team through last week's numbers, any complaints or incidents, this week's bookings and staffing, and the action points everyone owns going into the week.

Available on: Standard.

In practice: Monday at 10am the restaurant manager and the senior team meet. The canvas surfaces last week's cover counts, average spend, any food-poisoning reports, and the rota for the week ahead. They run through it in 30 minutes, agree three actions, and the canvas logs them with owners. Without the workflow, the meeting overruns, decisions are vague, and nothing gets followed up.

Why it works for your front-of-house team: The weekly meeting is where a restaurant's standards are set and held. Without structure, it becomes a venting session that overruns; with structure, it becomes the cadence that keeps the team accountable. The canvas captures the action points across weeks so nothing falls off the radar, and the dated record gives multi-site groups visibility into how each site runs its leadership cadence.

Steps included:

• 1 last-week review (covers, spend, complaints, incidents)
• 1 this-week plan (bookings, staffing, events)
• 1 carry-over action list
• 1 new-action capture with owners
• 1 signature from the manager

More variations: Show more weekly management meeting templates →