Retail Store Daily Checklist

The pre-open is a security and life-safety walk before it is a merchandising walk. OSHA's late-night retail guidance frames the lighting, lock, and camera checks as daily procedure, and the exit rules make the blocked back door a citation, not a habit.

1. Walk the exterior before entering; any sign of forced entry means do not enter, call police.OSHA 3153
2. Enter, secure the door behind you, disarm the alarm, confirm the panel shows no overnight events.OSHA 3153
3. Sidewalk and entry apron clear of debris, standing water, ice, and snow.The sidewalk is the most common slip-and-fall origin, and generic lists start at the threshold.OSHA 1910.22
4. Exterior and parking lighting fully working, including over the entry and back door.Only a night frame proves a lamp works.OSHA 3153
5. Register and service area visible from outside; window signage low or high, never at sightline height.A photo from the sidewalk looking in is exactly the test, and it is a federal recommendation no merchandising checklist mentions.OSHA 3153
6. Every exit door opens from inside without a key, tool, or special knowledge.A photo of a door does not prove it opens; the push-bar test does.OSHA exit rules
7. Nothing stored in any exit route; line of sight to every exit sign unobstructed.The single highest-value daily photo in retail: the returns cart parked in the exit path is a citation in one frame.OSHA exit rules
8. Every exit sign lit and legible.OSHA exit rules
9. Electrical panel has 30 inches of clear working space and nothing stored in it.The item most likely to have drifted overnight, and fully photographable.OSHA 1910.303
10. Fire extinguishers in place, unobstructed, gauges green, monthly tag initialed for the current month.The cadence is exact: monthly visual inspection, annual maintenance with a retained record.OSHA 1910.157
11. First aid kit present, stocked, in its posted location.OSHA 1910.151

1. POS, network, printers, scanners, and payment terminals up; previous day closed out cleanly before a new day opens.Field
2. Every card reader and PIN pad inspected for tampering: mismatched color, loose overlay, extra cable, broken seal.The row where a same-angle daily photo beats a checkbox outright: skimmers are detected by difference, not inspection.Field
3. Cash float set and recorded; register cash at the stated maximum; drop safe in use.OSHA 3153
4. Limited-cash signage posted and legible where a robber would read it.OSHA 3153
5. Cameras recording and covering register, entry, and back door; recorder retained yesterday.OSHA 3153

The ADA rows are the ones no daily checklist carries: under 28 CFR 36.211, a store must MAINTAIN its accessible features in operable condition, which makes the endcap parked in the 36-inch route a daily compliance failure, not a merchandising preference.

1. Every main aisle at 36 inches clear width minimum, nothing protruding more than 4 inches into the path between 27 and 80 inches height.Measurable from a photo when a fixed reference like a tile line is in frame.ADA
2. Accessible checkout lane open, clear, and staffed, not a stocking staging area.ADA
3. Floors dry; spill kit and wet-floor signage staged; any wet area signed.OSHA 1910.22
4. First 15 feet fronted and faced: the decompression zone sets the read on the whole store and degrades first.One fixed-position frame from just inside the door, shot the same way daily.Field
5. Today's promotional signage matches today's promotion; expired campaign signage down.16 CFR 424
6. Shelf-tag prices spot-verified against the register, weighted toward recent price changes; under 98 percent agreement is a fail to fix before open.The federal examination threshold: a store passes only if at least 98 percent of displayed prices match the charged price. A photo shows the tag; the receipt shows the charge; the item needs both.NIST EPPV
7. Advertised items in stock and on the shelf, or a rain check or comparable substitute authorized and known to staff.For food retail this is federal law, not a courtesy.16 CFR 424
8. Required consumer postings up and legible: refund policy, licenses, hours.Field
9. Floor lighting full, including feature displays and fitting rooms.Field
10. Music playing from the approved source at the approved volume.The clearest example on this page of an item a checklist can only attest: photos cannot hear.Field
11. HVAC running, floor at target temperature.Field

1. Stacked stock stable, blocked or interlocked, height-limited.OSHA 1910.176
2. Stockroom aisles clear and their markings visible.OSHA 1910.176
3. Loading zone and yard clear of trip hazards; vehicle paths separated from walking paths.OSHA 1910.176
4. Delivery and refuse doors locked when not in use; deliveries scheduled in daytime hours.OSHA 3153
5. Waste receptacles covered and not leaking; compactor and baler area free of pest harborage.OSHA 1910.141
6. Every decanted chemical container labeled with identifier and hazard; SDS accessible from the floor without asking a manager.Hazard communication was OSHA's second most-cited standard in FY2025, and the unlabeled spray bottle behind the counter is its retail form.OSHA 1910.1200
7. Restrooms clean, stocked with soap and towels, running water hot or tepid.OSHA 1910.141

1. Every scheduled associate clocked in; the schedule matches who is physically present.Field
2. Huddle: today's target, promotion, staffing gaps, one operational reminder.Field
3. Every associate can state the emergency procedure, the assembly point, and the distress code.The emergency action plan must be written, available, and its elements knowable; the knowledge check is a conversation, not a photo.OSHA 1910.38
4. Uniform and name-badge check.Field

Stores do not drift overnight; they drift by 1 pm. Every ranking page stops at the open, which is why this phase does not exist anywhere else.

1. Re-walk the decompression zone and the two highest-traffic aisles; re-face and clear anything that migrated into an aisle or exit route since open.The comparison to the morning frame is what makes the midday photo useful.OSHA 1910.22
2. Restroom stock and floor condition re-checked.OSHA 1910.141
3. Fitting room and returns backlog cleared off the floor.Field

1. No customers remaining in fitting rooms, restrooms, or back corners before locking.Field
2. Exterior signage in; high-value merchandise out of window displays.Field
3. Floor recovered: returns re-homed, sizes ordered, shelves faced, so the open starts from a known state.The closing frame and the next morning's opening frame should match.Field
4. Count down, settle terminals, drop cash, record the variance.Field
5. Final exit-route and extinguisher sweep before arming: nothing parked in an exit path overnight.OSHA exit rules
6. Lights, alarm, lock; arming signal confirmed.OSHA 3153