Free Restaurant Manager Log Book Template

Start by writing down the date and managers on duty in the first section.  The weather is also important to record, as a sunny hot day will bring more customers in if your restaurant has a patio, while an unexpected snow storm or power outage caused by wind will drastically reduce your customer numbers.  It's important to remember you might be looking back at these log book reports many months later, and won't remember all the details of the day.

Your restaurant coverage report in your log book entry will contain a breakdown of breakfast, lunch, dinner and closing customer numbers.  Record down how many reservations and no shows you had, with an estimated walk in count.  Also record your staffing levels of your servers, support staff (host and bus service), and bartenders. Compare your total number of customers with your forecasted numbers, with your overall staff levels to make sure your scheduling as efficiently as possible.

Split up your total bills and record in your log book the amount customers spend on food, liquor (hard spirits), and beer & wine.  You can use this data to see where to focus more on scheduling for certain types of days.  Maybe your restaurant has become a busy spot for lunch, but then gravitates towards a full blown bar at night and you'll need more bartenders on.  Take a look at your food % numbers and see if that lines up with your goals.

Equipment breakdowns are a hassle any way you put it, but in order to keep compliant with local health codes you should be recording issues with your equipment such as dishwashers and ovens.  If you had to make a service call for repairs, jot down the problem and solution here so you have an accurate record of the situation.

Customer complaints and praises, or conflicts between staff and customers should be recorded down.  You may need to refer to them in future, especially if the police get involved if the situation is serious enough.

Every BarSight subscription comes with a digital version of our manager log book that you can modify to suit your own needs.  All entries are searchable, printable, and able to be reviewed instantly.  No more paper copies getting lost in the trash, or running out of ink printing these every day.  Register today for a free trial and see why our digital version is a real time saver!

To get going even faster, we've loaded BarSight with a few more logbook templates available free to all BarSight subscribers.  With already designed forms such as Daily Log Book, Guest Incidents, and Equipment Repair, you can install them into your account quick and easily.  Once the form is installed, you can edit the form to fit your needs, or just get started filling it out.