--- title: "Donut Shop Closing Checklist" canonical: "https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/donut-shop-closing-checklist/" --- > Source: https://peakscaleops.com/checklists/donut-shop-closing-checklist/ [Checklists](/checklists/) / [Donut Shop](/checklists/donuts/) / Closing - Unsold, Waste and Tomorrow's Bake # Donut Shop Closing Checklist Closing a Donut Shop is where tomorrow's waste number gets decided: **recover as much value as you can, step by step, log unsold by batch, then write tomorrow's bake plan for each time of day before you lock up**. These 9 checks cover cutting prices (markdown) at the end of the day, the no-carry-over rule on filled lines, weekly waste tracking and the fryer shutdown log - each backed by published waste and pricing research. [Run this checklist - free](/run/donuts/?list=closing) [Download PDF](/checklists/pdf/peakscale-donuts-checklists.pdf)[Download Excel](/checklists/excel/peakscale-donuts-checklists.xlsx) The checklist · 12 checks ### Recover value before you throw food away **1\. Run the end-of-day price cut or bundle deal on remaining plain items before you close** Getting back part of the price is better than getting back none. Pricing based on time of day cuts planned waste without cutting profit. **2\. Work through remaining stock in order: cut the price first, then give to staff or donate, and throw away only as a last resort** Throwing food away should always be the last option, never the first choice. Every step before it gets back some of what it cost to make. **3\. Throw away all unsold cream or custard-filled product** Filled products have the shortest shelf life and the highest risk. Throw them away every night, no exceptions. ### Record the numbers that set up tomorrow **4\. Log unsold units by item and by batch, with the reason** Knowing unsold items by batch is what fixes over-baking. One combined total just repeats the same mistake tomorrow. **5\. Log today's sell-outs and the hour each one happened** Sell-outs are lost sales that you can't see in the till. Logging them is the only way they help tomorrow's batch plan. **6\. Track waste as a percent of sales every week, against a target** One US supermarket report puts bakery loss at 8.0% of bakery sales, compared with 2.70% store-wide. The method behind this is not stated, so use it to support having a weekly target, not to set the exact number. ### Set tomorrow up **7\. Write tomorrow's batch plan by time of day, using today's log and the weekday pattern** One forecasting company's customers reported an average 30% cut in bakery returns when they used forecasts to plan production (reported by the vendor, a rough guide, not a target). Set the plan tonight, not during the morning rush. **8\. Reorder oil, fillings and toppings that are below your minimum level (par), before the supplier's order deadline** Missing the deadline for shortening or filling costs you a whole day of production, not just one order. **9\. Shut down and cover the fryer; log the closing oil-breakdown reading and cycle count** Covering the cooled fryer slows down overnight oxidation. The closing log is what makes your oil-change schedule predictable instead of a guess. ### Hygiene & Safety **10\. Wash, rinse and sanitize every food-contact surface and tool before you close.** Food and sugar left overnight feed germs and pests. **11\. Check the sanitizer is still at the correct strength (ppm) before you do the final clean.** Sanitizer weakens through the day and may need a fresh mix. **12\. Take out all food waste and wipe down bins before you lock up.** Waste left inside the store draws pests overnight. ## Frequently asked questions **What should a donut shop do with unsold donuts at the end of the day?** Try these steps in order - markdown, then staff or donation, then waste - and bin all filled lines regardless. Cutting prices is worth doing properly: pricing that changes by time of day reduced planned waste by 20.82% compared with the best fixed-price plan in one multi-store study, while profit for that category still rose 2.88%. How much this matters shows up in the same chain, where roughly one-third of artisanal baked bread was wasted, and in Australia, where 12–20% of bread is returned to manufacturers in most states, compared with 2–6% where sale-and-return is restricted. **What is a good waste target for a bakery or donut shop?** Start at 5% of sales, tracked weekly - that is the default this pack ships, and the discipline is reviewing the number every week rather than at year end. There is no published end-of-day unsold benchmark for donut retail specifically, so your own weekly log is what moves the target after that. **What should be logged when closing a donut shop?** Three things: unsold units by item and by batch with a reason, sell-outs with the hour they happened, and the closing fryer TPM reading with the cycle count. Unsold-by-batch is what fixes over-production, sell-out hours are lost sales you otherwise never see, and the oil log is what makes your change interval predictable instead of a guess. Forecast-led production built on exactly this data was reported to cut bakery returns by an average 30% for users of one machine-learning forecasting service - a figure reported by the company that sells it, so treat it as a rough guide, not a guaranteed outcome. ## More Donut Shop checklists [Opening - Fryer On, Case Full](/checklists/donut-shop-opening-checklist/)[Fry Oil Quality and Change Schedule](/checklists/donut-fryer-oil-change-checklist/)[Glaze, Icing and Topping Station](/checklists/donut-glaze-topping-station-checklist/)[Display Turnover and Restocking by Time of Day](/checklists/donut-display-case-restock-checklist/)[Cream and Custard-Filled Product Control](/checklists/cream-filled-donut-handling-checklist/)[Weekly Checks](/checklists/donut-shop-weekly-checklist/) One free app has all of them: [open the Donut Shop Checklists app](/run/donuts/) - offline, no account, add it to your home screen. ## Sources Every statistic on this page comes from public inspection and food-safety data: - [Modified Test Kit for Detecting Polar Compounds in Reused Frying Oil, Foods](https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/9/1572) - [FSAI, Survey of the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat cakes, pastries and desserts](https://www.fsai.ie/getmedia/fa18aa77-da0b-41b0-9003-78226f4f28fa/7937-ready-to-eat-cakes-accessible-\(1\).pdf?ext=.pdf) - [NYC DOHMH Restaurant Inspection Results, dataset 43nn-pn8j](https://data.cityofnewyork.us/resource/43nn-pn8j.json) - [Dynamic Pricing and Organic Waste Bans, Marketing Science](https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mksc.2020.0214) - [Bread and Bakery Sector Action Plan, Love Food Hate Waste NSW](https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-02/Bread-and-Bakery-Sector-Action-Plan_Full-Report-1.pdf) - [Polar compounds: a quantitative indicator for life cycle assessment during protracted semi-continuous deep fat frying, IJFST 56(8):3903](https://academic.oup.com/ijfst/article/56/8/3903/7806157) - [Toast Restaurant Trends Report, Q1 2024](https://pos.toasttab.com/news/most-popular-coffee-and-tea-drinks-toast-restaurant-trends-report) - [Machine-learning-based demand forecasting against food waste, J. Industrial Ecology 28(5)](https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/inecol/v28y2024i5p1117-1131.html) - [Microbial Contamination of Cream Filled Pastries Supplied in Confectioneries of Zanjan, Iran](https://jnfh.mums.ac.ir/article_11732.html) - [Filtrox, Frying Oil Quality Legislation](https://www.filtrox.com/blog/2023/10/16/frying-oil-quality-legislation/) - [FDA, Outbreak Investigation of Salmonella: Mini Pastries](https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-mini-pastries-january-2025) - [FDA, Survey Data on Acrylamide in Food: Total Diet Study Results](https://www.fda.gov/food/process-contaminants-food/survey-data-acrylamide-food-total-diet-study-results) - [Commission Regulation](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32017R2158) - [wheresmyshrink.com, Sales and Shrink by Department](http://wheresmyshrink.com/shrinkbydepartment.html)