The booth weekend runbook

Two weeks out: sites, approvals and people

• Get the site agreement confirmed in writingAsk the store or property contact to confirm the date, hours and exact placement by email. A confirmed spot by the main entrance is worth far more than a friendly yes over the phone that the weekend manager has never heard about.
• File council approval for every single booth dateSubmit each date through your council process and save the approval where a co leader can reach it without you. Good looks like every booth on your calendar having a matching approval on file before the girls hear about it.
• Check screened adult coverage against the ratio ruleEach shift needs the required number of screened adults, and no family should be covering a public booth alone. Fill the second adult slot before you publish the shift, not after a parent has already claimed it.
• Post shifts with site, start time and load in detailsParents choose better when they can see the location, the parking situation and whether the site allows a table, a canopy or only a narrow doorway spot. Vague shift listings are the ones that sit unclaimed.
• Publish the shifts per family expectationState plainly how many shifts each family is expected to cover this season so the same three parents do not carry it. Publish the number with the arithmetic behind it, then track coverage where everyone can see it.
• Name a backup family for each booth weekendOne family per weekend agrees in advance to cover a dropout. Good looks like a named person on the calendar, not a group text on Friday night asking whether anyone happens to be free.

Load day: inventory, cash and the kit box

• Sign out every case to a named familyRecord the case count and varieties against the person taking them, not the vehicle they went into. The signature line protects the parent every bit as much as it protects the troop.
• Count the starting cash bank with two adultsTwo adults count the bank before it leaves, write the figure on the bag tag and both initial it. A large share of end of season shortfalls trace back to a starting count that nobody witnessed.
• Bring the small bills a booth actually needsOnes and fives move a line faster than a card reader on a weak signal. Pack enough change for the first busy hour, and keep it separate from the sales bag so the count stays clean.
• Test the card reader and the phone running itCharge it, pair it and run one small test sale before you leave the house. A reader that works on home wifi and not at the curb costs you the busiest thirty minutes of the shift.
• Pack the kit box against the written listTable cover, signage, price card, bags, pens, tape, wipes, hand warmers and a chair for the adult. Check the list rather than your memory, because the memory version is missing the tape every time.
• Print the shift sheet with names and phone numbersPaper survives a dead battery in the cold. Include the next family, the cookie manager and the site contact, plus space for the half hour running totals.

At the booth: custody, counts and handoffs

• Keep the money on one named adultOne adult holds the apron or cash bag for the whole shift and does not set it on the table. Custody that moves informally mid shift is where counts start to drift without anyone noticing.
• Log every restock at the moment it happensCases pulled from a car go on the sheet as the box opens, with the variety and count. Reconstructing three restocks at four in the afternoon has never once produced an accurate number.
• Run the coverage check at every handoffThe incoming adults arrive before the outgoing adults leave, and no youth is ever left with a single adult. Build a five minute overlap into the schedule so this happens by default.
• Count cash and remaining cases together at handoffBoth families count the bag and the cases side by side and sign one line. This single habit prevents most of the disputes that otherwise surface weeks later in a text thread.
• Photograph the signed count sheetA phone picture before the paper moves gives you the record if the sheet gets wet, blows away or ends up in the wrong car. Send it to the cookie manager in the same message as the totals.
• Report the shift totals the same dayCash counted, card sales run, cases remaining. Same day reporting keeps the season balance current instead of turning into a reconstruction project the week the invoice is due.

After the last booth: reconcile and settle

• Match every case issued to sold, returned or owedGo family by family until the case count closes to zero. An unexplained case is a money question and should be treated as one immediately, not filed as an inventory note.
• Reconcile card deposits against your booth totalsCompare deposit dates and amounts with the shift by shift figures and note any processing taken off. Good looks like every booth accounted for on a single reconciliation line.
• Send each family a written balance statementShow the cases she held, what was collected and what is still owed. A clear statement gets paid far more often than a reminder text that never names a number.
• Close the troop account for the seasonBank the final deposit, pay the council invoice before the deadline and record the troop proceeds in your treasury. Keep the paperwork for as long as your council requires.
• Write the site notes for next seasonRank each booth by packages per hour and note traffic patterns, weather exposure, parking and the name of the person who said yes. Next January's schedule gets built from this one page.