When there are no customers in the shop, a shop assistant can check the shelves, replace damaged price tags, replenish displays and learn about the products. The owner should decide in advance which tasks take priority, who is responsible for serving customers, and how to check the results. Each task should allow the assistant to return to a customer quickly.
Assign the shop assistant work that falls within their job duties. Prepare a short checklist for routine tasks. For a stocktake, agree separately on the products to count, the counting procedure and any sales restrictions. Check that price tags have been corrected, shelves replenished and problems resolved. Set the length of work blocks to suit the shop: the 15–30 minutes suggested below is an illustrative planning example.
First, decide who serves customers
Set a shop rule: customers come first. If the shop assistant is working alone, they choose tasks in the sales area where they can see the entrance and approach a visitor right away. Plan work in the back room for times when another employee is responsible for the sales area and the till.
If several shop assistants are on shift, the shift lead assigns areas and identifies who will greet customers. Before going to the stockroom, an employee tells a colleague. If more visitors arrive, the shift lead stops support tasks and returns employees to customer service.
This is a sufficient starting order:
- Clear obstructions from aisles and tell the person in charge about damaged goods or unsuitable storage conditions.
- Check price tags and products on empty shelf sections.
- Replenish displays and investigate stock discrepancies.
- Review product features and practise advising customers.
The owner can change the order to suit the situation. For example, if customers have already asked for a product missing from a shelf, replenishing it should come before a scheduled check of another display.
Agree on tasks within the employee’s job duties
Before introducing a checklist, the owner reviews the employment contract and job description, if there is one. Article 31 of the Labour Code of Ukraine (КЗпП) prohibits requiring work that is not provided for in the employment contract. A checklist itself does not authorize adding duties such as photography, copywriting or social media management to a shop assistant’s role.
If work outside the agreed duties is needed, first agree on it with the employee and properly document the arrangement. As a general rule, Article 32 of the Labour Code of Ukraine requires consent to transfer an employee to another job. The law provides specific exceptions, including to prevent or address dangerous circumstances. During martial law, the relevant exception is set out in Part 1 of Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX. The absence of visitors is not, by itself, grounds for applying that exception.
Also, do not treat every period without customers as downtime. Article 34 of the Labour Code of Ukraine defines downtime as a suspension of work due to a lack of necessary organizational or technical conditions, force majeure or other circumstances. If the shop is operating and the shop assistant can perform agreed tasks, an empty sales area alone does not mean that work has been suspended.
Shop assistant checklist for the sales area
Assign tasks for a specific area: one display, one product group or a list of product codes. This makes the scope of work clear to the shop assistant and lets the shift lead check the result.
| Area | What the shop assistant does | How to check the result |
|---|---|---|
| Shelves | Places products in agreed locations, turns packages so their labels face customers, removes empty packaging and checks that aisles are clear. | Products are visible and easy to pick up, and boxes do not obstruct movement. |
| Price tags | Matches each product to its price tag by name, product code, size or pack size. Checks the price against current shop records and verifies promotion terms. Replaces missing or unreadable tags. | The product has a matching price tag. Any disputed prices have been referred to the shift lead. |
| Dates and storage | Reads package labels, checks packaging integrity and storage conditions. Records products with approaching dates and reports any problem items. | There is a list of products that need a decision from the responsible employee. |
| Stock | Checks whether the required product is available in the sales area and back room. For agreed items, compares the quantity found with the stock records. | It is clear where the product is stored and which items have discrepancies. |
| Replenishment | Brings products to the shelf up to the agreed display capacity. If there is no stock, records the item for ordering. | The empty shelf section has been replenished, or the shortage has been reported to the person who orders products. |
| Product knowledge | Using the manufacturer’s instructions, reviews the purpose, differences, contents and limitations of several products. | The shop assistant can answer common questions without inventing product features. |
| Service | Practises a short consultation with a colleague: asks what the customer needs, shows suitable options and explains the differences. | The shop assistant gives a clear explanation and identifies questions that still need clarification. |
The shop assistant records the problem and reports it to the person in charge. A price change, markdown, write-off or order must be handled by an employee authorized by the owner to do so.
How to check use-by and best-before dates
For food products, pay attention to the exact date wording. “Best before…” and “Best before end…” indicate a minimum durability date. “Use by…” is used for foods that spoil quickly because of their microbiological properties. The State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection (Держпродспоживслужба) also reminds businesses to follow special storage and use conditions, including after a package has been opened.
Include this action in the shop checklist: the shop assistant removes from sale any package with a past date, signs of spoilage or questionable labelling and immediately informs the person in charge. They record the product name, batch if available, quantity, date on the package and problem found. The responsible person then follows the shop’s procedures for that product category.
Schedule a follow-up check for products approaching their date. When replenishing stock, place eligible packages with the earliest dates where they can be reached first, if this is consistent with storage and display requirements. For cosmetics, household chemicals and other non-food products, check their own labels and instructions; food date markings should not be applied to the entire range.
How to plan 15–30 minute work blocks
A short block works well for a task that can be interrupted and resumed from a clearly marked point. Record the area, expected result and approximate time. For example: “Check price tags on the mug display; replace damaged ones; record disputed prices; target time: 15 minutes.”
Illustrative plan for two shop assistants: one serves customers while the other checks a display for 20 minutes. They then switch tasks if the situation in the sales area allows. If there is only one shop assistant, choose a small area near the service point.
Illustrative time calculation: 30 minutes were scheduled for a task, but a customer consultation took 8 minutes and checkout took another 4. That leaves 30 − 8 − 4 = 18 minutes for the check. The shop assistant marks the last item checked and resumes from there later. Scheduling 30 minutes does not guarantee the entire area can be completed.
Example of replenishing a shelf
Suppose the agreed shelf capacity is 12 identical packages, 5 remain on the shelf, and 9 are in the back room. To fill the shelf, the shop assistant needs 12 − 5 = 7 packages. They move 7, leaving 12 on the shelf and 9 − 7 = 2 in the back room. The total remains 14 packages: 5 + 9 = 12 + 2.
This calculation applies if no products were sold, returned or received during the check. If a customer takes a package, the shop assistant accounts for it before completing replenishment. The owner determines separately how many units to order from the supplier, taking existing stock and the shop’s needs into account.
Checking stock, printing price tags and conducting a stocktake in Torgsoft
Before replenishing products, open “Warehouse → Warehouse Status” and select the required warehouse or accounting center. The form shows the product quantity, size and selling price. Compare the recorded stock with the quantity physically found: a program record alone does not confirm that a package is on the shelf. If the figures do not match, refer the item for review.
To replace a price tag or label, select the required products in “Warehouse Status” and choose single-item label printing. This prints one label for each selected product; printing by stock quantity uses a different count. Before printing a full batch, check the price and template and print a sample. The guide to printing tags and labels explains how to select quantities and set up a template.
Agree on a stocktake with the shift lead before starting. In “Block product after first scan” mode, the program records the stock quantity and temporarily blocks sales of a product once counting begins. After the “Counting completed” status is confirmed, the product becomes available for sale again. The mode without blocking requires monitoring concurrent sales and completing the count on time. Recheck discrepancies before closing the stocktake record, because closing it changes warehouse stock. The guide to stocktaking products provides the detailed terms.
How to check the work
Prepare one task list for the shift. For each item, it is enough to note the area or product, the shop assistant, the result and any unresolved issue. For example: “Display 2 — checked 18 price tags, replaced 3; a price decision is needed for two product codes.”
At the end of the shift, the shift lead reviews open issues and spot-checks completed work. For each issue, the shift lead specifies the next action, the person responsible and the deadline: “Check the price before opening,” “Recount stock before ordering,” or “Confirm the product feature against the manufacturer’s instructions.”
If the shop assistant did not finish an area because they were serving customers, take that into account when assessing the work. Do not add repeat tasks just to keep them busy. Once the agreed list is complete, the employee returns to their usual work in the sales area, and the owner reviews whether further tasks are needed.
Official sources
- Labour Code of Ukraine No. 322-VIII: Article 31 — limits of job duties; Article 32, Parts 1–2 — transfer and reassignment; Article 33 — temporary transfer; Article 34 — definition of downtime.
- Law of Ukraine “On the Organization of Labour Relations under Martial Law” No. 2136-IX: Article 3, Part 1 — special conditions for transferring an employee without consent.
- State Labour Service of Ukraine: “Work Not Specified in the Employment Contract” — guidance on Article 31 of the Labour Code of Ukraine.
- State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection: “Food Safety: Food Product Shelf Life” — date markings, exceptions and information about special storage and use conditions.
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