Market Day Manager Checklist
A night-before to close-out checklist for the farmers market manager so nothing on market day depends on memory or a rained-on clipboard.
Reviewed for 2026, updated September 8, 2026.
Market day compresses a week of preparation into a few hours, and the manager is the one person who has to be visible, mobile, and decisive the whole time. This checklist splits the day into four blocks: the night before, the setup window, the market itself, and close-out. Print it, load it on a tablet, or paste it into whatever check-in system you use. It is written for a single manager or a lead volunteer running a weekly market, and it works the same whether your fee ledger lives on paper, in a spreadsheet, or in dedicated software.
The items are deliberately ordered. The close-out block is the one most markets skip when everyone is tired, and it is the one that saves the most time later: fee status confirmed while the vendor is still standing there, cash counted with two people, a photo of the final layout, and notes entered the same day. If you only adopt one block, adopt that one. Pair this checklist with our articles on running a market without the clipboard and tracking stall fees cleanly for the reasoning behind each step, and adapt the setup cutoff and sales question to your own rulebook.
- Make the weather call by your published deadline and send it on the official vendor channel.
- Send the weekly vendor message with the updated stall map, the setup window, and any reminders.
- Print or load the current stall map and a vendor roster showing each expected vendor's fee status.
- Review the waitlist and note which standby vendors are reachable early on market morning.
- Pack the manager kit: map, roster, chalk or tape, zip ties, first aid, cash box, receipt book, phone charger.
- Arrive before the setup window opens and walk the site for hazards, standing water, and blocked lanes.
- Mark stall corners and every lane that must stay clear for emergency vehicle access.
- Check in each vendor with a timestamp as they arrive, and note anyone who arrives late.
- Confirm each vendor is in the stall shown on the map before their tent goes up.
- Confirm any new or day vendor has the documents your rulebook requires before they set up.
- At the setup cutoff, mark no-shows and release those stalls to standby vendors.
- Collect any daily fees due and record each payment right away with the method and a reference.
- Walk the whole market on a regular loop so you are visible and can catch problems early.
- Log incidents, complaints, and rule reminders in the moment, with the time and the vendors involved.
- Note vendors who sell out early or break down before closing time.
- Collect one gross sales figure from each vendor before they leave, the same way every week.
- Update each present vendor's fee status: prepaid, paid today, or owed.
- Count cash with a second person and record the total before leaving the site.
- Photograph the final layout so placement questions can be settled later.
- Walk the site after breakdown for trash, damage, and anything left behind.
- Write down site issues to fix before next week and any follow-ups you owe vendors.
- Enter check-ins, fees, sales figures, and notes into your ledger the same day, without retyping.
https://stallbookr.com/templates/market-day-manager-checklist/Use it in your business, share it with your team, or link to it from your own site.
Also from StallBookr
- Stall Allocation Scoring Worksheet: A vendor-by-vendor worksheet for scoring stall applications against published criteria before you assign a single spot on the market map.
- Free calculators