Start the logbook on day one

Launch is a one-off checklist, but running a compliant venue is a daily, weekly and annual job from the moment you open: fridge temperature checks, cleaning sign-offs, fire alarm call-point tests, allergen reviews, extraction cleans, PAT testing, insurance renewals and more. Everything you have just finished setting up now needs a home to be logged and tracked going forward.

An EHO or fire officer visit six months after opening does not ask whether you registered — it asks for the logbook. No records means no evidence, whatever you actually did in practice.

Watch out for

• Keeping the first few weeks of records on scraps of paper "until things settle down" — those are exactly the records an EHO asks to see first.
• Assuming the fit-out contractor or previous occupier left usable records — start your own from day one regardless.
• Setting up the logbook but never assigning who is responsible for each daily check once the founder stops opening every shift.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Food safety management systems checked 2026-09-08
• GOV.UK — Workplace fire safety, your responsibilities checked 2026-09-02

See also

• Opening and closing checks— this becomes an ongoing job once you’re open →
• Cleaning schedule sign-off— this becomes an ongoing job once you’re open →
• Fire alarm call-point test— this becomes an ongoing job once you’re open →
• Register your food business
• Put up everything you're legally required to display
• Get ready for your first inspection