Say goodbye to scattered notes and missing logs

Yes — the 7shifts restaurant manager log book template is completely free to download with no sign-up required. It’s a file you can start using immediately, and you can customize it to fit your restaurant’s specific tracking needs. There are no hidden costs, and you don’t need a 7shifts account to use it.

You can use the template across multiple locations, but you’ll need to maintain a separate file for each one since it’s an Excel spreadsheet. If you’re managing two or more locations, a platform like 7shifts gives you a shared log book for your management team at every location — with automatic daily email summaries sent to everyone assigned to each site, so nothing gets lost between shifts.

A shift report is a snapshot of one specific shift — sales, covers, and any notable incidents. A manager log book is the running record that collects all of those shift reports over time, giving you a searchable history of your restaurant’s operations. Think of the shift report as a single page and the log book as the whole binder. Having both means you can respond to what happened tonight and also identify patterns — like which shifts consistently run over on labor — week over week.

7shifts has a built-in digital manager log book that goes well beyond what an Excel template can do. Inside 7shifts, managers can write and categorize shift notes, tag entries, and have the log automatically emailed to the full management team at the end of each shift. Unlike a spreadsheet, the 7shifts log book is connected to your real labor and sales data, so your notes and your numbers live in the same place. The free template is a great starting point, but the built-in tool is designed for teams that need more speed, accountability, and visibility.

The easiest way is to move your entries into a shared digital tool instead of a spreadsheet or paper binder. Platforms like 7shifts let every manager add entries directly into a shared Log Book, with categories for things like sales, labor, and shift notes. You can also turn on a daily email summary — sent automatically or on demand — to everyone assigned to that location, so nothing gets missed between shifts. This gives you the same structure as a manual log book, minus the risk of a notebook getting lost or a spreadsheet version going out of sync across your team.

Yes. Since the manager log book template is an Excel file, you can print any section for managers who prefer a physical copy during their shift. Keep in mind a printed log won’t sync with other locations or update in real time — if you’re managing more than one site, you’ll need to re-enter or file printed pages manually to keep a searchable record over time.