Retail compliance software is sold as a way to stop the store being fined, and the useful version of it is narrower and duller than that: a schedule of checks the store runs, a record that each one was done and by whom, and the documents the law expects a store to be able to produce when asked. This page is written for the owner of an independent store who has been asked whether the store is compliant and is not sure what the question covers. It sets out the records an employer is required to keep, the store checks that are worth putting on a schedule, what the software does with them, and the point at which a printed checklist does the same job. It is not legal advice: the rules that apply to your store depend on your state, your city and what you sell, and the adviser who knows them is named on the terms, not on this page.
The records the law expects an employer to keep
Federal wage and hour rules require an employer to keep, for each employee, identifying details, the hours worked each day and each week, the basis on which wages are paid, the regular rate, total earnings and the deductions taken, and to keep payroll records for a fixed number of years. A store that publishes a rota and pays from it has most of that in two places: the rota and the payroll. What compliance software adds is the link between them, the record that the hours paid were the hours worked, and a retention rule so the records are still there when asked for. If the store already keeps them and can find them, the software is a convenience; if it cannot, the software is the fix.
The store checks worth running on a schedule
Fire exits clear and marked. Extinguishers in date. Spills and trip hazards on the floor. Date checks on anything that expires. Price labels matching the till, which is a consumer protection matter in most states. Age verification on restricted goods, which is a licence matter. Temperature logs where the store sells chilled or frozen goods. None of those needs software; all of them need a schedule and a record that they were done, because the question after an incident is always whether the check was run and when. A compliance product turns the schedule into tasks with a name and a time against each, which is exactly what a laminated checklist and a pen do for a single store with a manager who signs it.
What the software is actually for
Three things. It puts the checks on a calendar so they happen when the manager is busy, which is when they are skipped. It keeps the record of each check in one place with a timestamp, which is what an inspector or an insurer asks for. And across several stores it shows which ones are running their checks and which are not, which is the point at which the subscription pays for itself. For one store with one manager the third job does not exist, and the first two are a checklist and a folder. Buy the software when the number of stores makes the folder impossible, not before.
Where the rota fits
The rota is a compliance document as well as a plan. It is the evidence of the hours scheduled, the breaks planned, and in cities with fair workweek rules the notice the team was given. A rota that is published, dated and kept is most of the scheduling record the law asks for. Footfally Pro keeps each week's rota against the store with the date it was published, which is the part of retail compliance that a scheduling tool can honestly claim; the fire extinguisher is still yours to check.
Questions people ask about retail compliance software
Does Footfally make our store compliant?
No, and no software does. Footfally keeps the rota and the hours it planned against the store, dated, which is one of the records an employer needs. It does not run store checks, track licences or advise on the rules that apply where you are. Those are yours and your adviser's.
How long do we have to keep payroll and hours records?
Federal rules set a minimum number of years for payroll records and a shorter period for the timecards and schedules behind them, and states can require longer. Keep the rota and the hours record for at least as long as the payroll they support, and check your own state's rule before you throw anything away.
Is a checklist enough for one store?
For the store checks, usually yes, if it is dated, signed and kept. The test is whether you could produce last March's checks tomorrow. If the answer is yes, the folder is working. If the answer is a shrug, the software is buying you the folder, and that is a reasonable thing to pay for.