The hustle and bustle of a busy salon is fulfilling, but it requires nonstop attention to detail. From guest requests to stylist needs, the day is full. That means there’s little time left over for administrative tasks, organizing, and overall housekeeping. Set yourself up for success by doing a few tasks with your staff while the salon is empty. Whether it’s late into the night or first thing in the morning, a salon opening and closing checklist is key to getting it done. Here’s what to include to ensure every day is a productive one.
The importance of a salon opening and closing checklist
As a salon manager, you probably have years of experience seeing to your daily tasks. From sweeping the floors to organizing the color cabinet, you could probably accomplish the salon to-do list in your sleep.
Unfortunately, you can’t be everywhere at all times. That’s why creating a thorough and hands-on to-do list for your entire team to use—whether it’s a hard copy or digital format—can help.
The importance of a salon opening and closing checklist is crucial for maintaining consistent standards in your hair salon. It can serve as a guide for staff members who may be responsible for opening or closing on any given day.
This list ensures that tasks such as cleaning salon surfaces, straightening the waiting area, wiping down salon chairs, and emptying garbage cans are completed on a daily basis by staff members, keeping the entire salon safe and welcoming for customers.
From managing front desk operations and petty cash to restocking paper towels and other cleaning tasks, having a well-defined routine for opening and closing procedures is essential for business success, fostering client trust, and delivering a superior experience to salon clients.
Check out our Guide to Owning a Hair Salon
Start the morning off right with a Salon Duties Checklist
We all know the feeling of waking up late. You end up feeling stressed, rushed, and unprepared for the day ahead. This is why it’s so important to start off on the right foot.
You should feel calm and collected when your first guest opens the door. To make this happen, it’s important to arrive at the salon at least an hour before opening. This will provide plenty of time to prepare for the day ahead.
As you begin to craft a salon opening and closing checklist that fits your specific business, think about every little detail. From the lights and music to your product displays, everything should be presentable when the day begins. Here are ten tasks to include as a starting point:
- Turn off the alarm and turn on all of the lights
- Clean up the waiting area by straightening chairs, organizing magazines, etc.
- Organize and wipe down the front desk
- Prepare the beverage station by making coffee, filling water pitchers, and putting out clean cups
- Turn on music and/or televisions (include specific instructions regarding station and volume level)
- Double check the bathroom for cleanliness and well-stocked toilet paper
- Straighten up stylist stations and re-stock with clean capes, towels, and other supplies
- Check on supplies like color, shampoo, and other treatments to ensure they are organized and in stock
- Organize retail inventory and check to make sure there is plenty of stock available for popular items (a mobile inventory app like SalonBiz can help!)
- Take a look at your appointment book for the day and take note of your waitlist to see if you can accommodate anyone that is on it
As you create this checklist, remember that each salon is unique. Be sure to include anything that is important to you as a manager. No detail is too small!
Set up for another successful day
At the end of a long day, it can be tempting to lock up and head home for some R&R. Unfortunately, this just creates a longer to-do list for the morning. By completing a few important tasks before leaving, you’ll have less to worry about the next day. Plus, nothing beats walking into a fresh and clean salon in the morning!
From throwing towels in the washer to re-stocking gift cards, there is plenty to do before you shut off the lights. Here are ten tasks to get you started:
- Sweep up stylist stations and other common areas and make sure to turn off flat irons, curling irons and wax pots, blow out any candles
- Clean up the beverage station by washing cups and emptying any remaining coffee or water
- Empty all garbage cans and replace with new trash bags
- Start any remaining loads of laundry that must be completed (towels, capes, etc.)
- Put tablets and computers on “sleep” mode, charge ipads and other mobile devices
- Make sure any petty cash in the register is accounted for and accurate
- Craft and send important marketing emails or social media messages for the next day
- Re-stock gift cards and make sure they’re organized wherever they’re on display
- Take a look at product inventory to ensure nothing is running low, and set up any orders
- Check on the financial side of the business to see how productive the day was (services completed, products sold, appointments booked, etc.), perform your daily professional and tester product adjustments and run your daily summary report
Finally, be sure to provide details about closing procedures for safety purposes. From locking the door to setting the alarm, be specific. This will keep the salon safe in the event that one of your employees is in charge of closing.
Stay on track with SalonBiz
If you’re looking at your salon opening and closing checklist and feeling overwhelmed, SalonBiz can help. When you have our software on your side, many of these tasks are automated behind the scenes.
Here are a few ways SalonBiz can help:
- Guests and stylists have complete control over making and changing appointments online or on our mobile apps
- Add your own unique branding to emails, schedule them in advance from templates, and monitor your email open rates and conversions
- Create customized gift cards for both physical and online sales
- Reduce no-shows with automated appointment reminders and confirmations
- Easily manage color inventory through quantity monitoring, automatic ordering, and product usage tracking
- Keep track of your salon financials with 24/7 access to information on sales, inventory, marketing ROI, and guest trends
Ready to simplify how you manage your salon? SalonBiz makes it easier than ever. Your stylists will love having power over their appointment books. Guests will love the convenience of an easy and integrated check-out process. What’s more, you’ll reap the benefits of having a salon that practically runs itself!
Contact us to learn more about SalonBiz!
