Football Concession Stand Checklist

Preseason readiness

• Confirm the varsity and junior varsity schedules, home venue, dates, and kickoff times.
• Create a named administrator, game-day manager, inventory lead, volunteer lead, and treasurer reviewer.
• Build the current menu with product units, cost, selling price, and count zone.
• Complete and approve the physical baseline inventory.
• Create the school’s payment campaign and individual adult Tap to Pay users.
• Configure volunteer confirmation email and private shift-management links.
• Create the recommended football shift plan and adjust adult coverage.
• Run a complete practice game, including opening count, phone tests, QR check-in, simulated orders, closing count, and closeout.

A preseason readiness item should be complete only when the underlying work exists. A checkbox that says “inventory ready” is not useful if there are no products or approved counts behind it.

72 hours before each home game

• Verify the opponent, team level, kickoff, and any schedule change.
• Review weather and expected attendance context.
• Confirm every required adult and identify unfilled volunteer capacity.
• Invite any new adult Tap to Pay users and confirm app readiness.
• Review current stock, par levels, supplier lead time, and planned menu changes.
• Record purchases and in-kind donations when they arrive.
• Confirm the QR ordering decision, pickup location, queue capacity, and signage.

Opening the stand

1. Select the correct game on the counter iPad.
2. Open volunteer check-in and confirm the adult lead is present.
3. Assign count zones and complete the physical opening count.
4. Confirm cold holding, hot holding, sanitation, allergen information, and local food-safety requirements.
5. Turn on and test each Tap to Pay phone using the correct concession campaign.
6. Confirm the pickup runner and display the customer-order QR only when activated.
7. Open the concession stand in the portal.

During service

• Keep one adult responsible for the command screen and exceptions.
• Record waste at the moment it happens.
• Record complimentary team or volunteer items under the agreed policy.
• Record delivered purchases or donations before they are sold.
• Monitor low stock, the active pickup queue, and volunteer handoffs.
• Pause QR ordering before the queue becomes unsafe or unserviceable.
• Do not let cash or manual entries silently reduce inventory in a cashless stand.

Closing and review

1. Close public ordering and payment sales at the agreed time.
2. Finish outstanding pickups or move them to adult review.
3. Return products to count zones and complete the physical closing count.
4. Record final waste, comps, transfers, and donations.
5. Sync payments and review unmapped items, refunds, and unassigned transactions.
6. Enter the official reported attendance when available.
7. Review net sales, donations, margin, waste cost, and variance.
8. Add the short note the next game’s manager needs.
9. Lock the record after authorized review.

Download the working checklist

The downloadable file is deliberately simple: phase, owner, task, requirement, completion, and notes. Import it into your shared spreadsheet now, then replace it with a record-backed workflow as the operation matures.

Sources and review notes

This guide combines first-hand implementation work in a Jacksonville high-school concession program with the following official references. School, district, health, tax, and payment-provider rules can change; confirm the requirements that apply to your organization.

• Prince George’s County Public Schools — Operation of Concession Stands
• USDA — Food Safety Basics
• Zeffy — Setting up Tap to Pay