# Area Manager Site Visit Audit: free UK download

Canonical: https://paddl-ai.co/templates/area-manager-site-visit-audit
Last reviewed: 2026-09-11 by the Paddl team

Free area manager site visit audit template for pubs, restaurants and hotels: brand standards, food safety, licensing and people, scored per visit

## In one sentence

The Area Manager Site Visit Audit is a free PDF for UK food businesses with 6 record sheets: visit summary sheet: site, date, manager present, scores by section, top three actions, front of house and brand standards audit (exterior, entrance, dining and bar areas, toilets, service, menu and allergen information), kitchen and food safety audit (temperatures, sfbb diary, cleaning, allergens and labels, pest control, structure). Download it, print it or fill it in, and keep it with your food safety records; Paddl keeps the same records on a phone with timestamps and reminders.

An area manager visits a site to see what the dashboard cannot: whether the standards are being lived, not just recorded. Without a structure the visit becomes a conversation and a coffee, and two visits to the same site are not comparable. This free audit gives the visit a shape: five sections scored the same way every time, a brand standards section that reads as the customer sees the site, food safety and cellar checks that mirror what the inspector looks for, a licensing and people section covering the DPS, Challenge 25 and training, an actions log with owners and dates, and a one-page summary that goes to the site manager before the car leaves the car park.

## Why you need it

- Two visits to the same site become comparable, and ten sites can be ranked on the same scale
- Brand standards are checked as the customer experiences them, not as the manual describes them
- The food safety and cellar sections mirror what the EHO and the licensing officer look for, so the visit finds it first
- Actions leave the building with an owner and a date rather than a promise

## What is included

- Visit summary sheet: site, date, manager present, scores by section, top three actions
- Front of house and brand standards audit (exterior, entrance, dining and bar areas, toilets, service, menu and allergen information)
- Kitchen and food safety audit (temperatures, SFBB diary, cleaning, allergens and labels, pest control, structure)
- Cellar and bar audit (line cleaning, gas safety, temperatures, stock rotation, glasswash)
- Licensing and people audit (DPS and licence conditions, Challenge 25 and refusals log, training records, rota and right to work)
- Actions log with owner, due date and follow-up

## Record sheets

- **Visit Summary**: columns Section, Score (1-5), Key Finding, Action Agreed, Owner, Due
- **Front of House and Brand Standards**: columns Check, Standard, Met? (Y/N), Notes / Photo Ref
- **Kitchen and Food Safety**: columns Check, What Good Looks Like, Met? (Y/N), Notes / Photo Ref
- **Cellar and Bar**: columns Check, What Good Looks Like, Met? (Y/N), Notes / Photo Ref
- **Licensing and People**: columns Check, What Good Looks Like, Met? (Y/N), Notes / Photo Ref
- **Actions Log**: columns Action, Section, Owner, Due Date, Follow-up Visit, Closed (Y/N)

## How to use it

1. **Start at the front door as a customer** Walk the exterior, entrance and dining areas before you speak to the manager, and score the brand standards section as you go.
2. **Check the kitchen and cellar against the records** Compare what the SFBB diary and temperature records say with what the fridges and probes show. A gap between the two is the finding.
3. **Check the licence, the DPS and the people** Confirm the named DPS is in post, the refusals log is in use, and training records for the staff on shift are current.
4. **Agree the actions before you leave** Write each action with an owner and a date on the log, review the summary with the manager, and leave a copy.
5. **Compare across the estate** Enter the section scores for every site visited this month into the group compliance review, so the pattern is visible and the next visit list writes itself.

## Tips

- Score every section 1 to 5 the same way at every site; consistency across managers is what makes the scores useful
- Photograph findings and attach them to the actions; the next visit checks the photo, not the memory
- Do the cellar and the toilets every visit, because those are where standards slip first
- Use the same template for a pre-opening visit on a new site, with the licensing section done first
- Paddl records the daily checks this visit verifies, scores every site daily and lists overdue items per site, so the visit starts with the data rather than looking for it

Download the file from https://paddl-ai.co/templates/area-manager-site-visit-audit (email required). The Paddl features that keep the same records: https://paddl-ai.co/features/compliance, https://paddl-ai.co/features/routines, https://paddl-ai.co/features/team, https://paddl-ai.co/features/licences.